ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Group overview and predictions

After an IPL season that was marred by spot-fixing controversy, international cricket is back, with England & Wales hosting the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, which marks the last time that the competition is being played. It will be replaced by the World Test Championship by 2017 as the game’s governing body ICC looks to have a world championship for each of its 3 formats. The tournament has, however, always craved for the attention that its illustrious cousin, the ICC World Cup receives and the arrival of World T20 in 2007 proved to be the final nail in its coffin. It became painfully obvious that it would either have to be scrapped or renovated completely to evoke spectators’ interest. Sadly that was not to be and now we have the competition being played for one last time, set to be replaced by the Test Championship in 2017.

 Here, I will be making some predictions for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

The tournament is already under way. Group B is also being called the “Group of Death”, as it is made up of current world champions and co-winners of the event in 2002, India; incumbent World T20 champions and 2004 winners West Indies; world’s numero uno Test team and inaugural champions in 1998, South Africa and last, but not the least, the enigmatic and ever-so-unpredictable, Pakistan.

The tournament opener saw India overcoming a stiff challenge from a Dale Steyn-less South Africa and West Indies limping to victory in a low-scoring encounter against Pakistan the very next day. This group is very hard to predict as all 4 teams, particularly Pakistan, are capable of beating the others on their day. However, with South Africa already without the experienced Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis and with Morne Morkel being ruled out and possibly Dale Steyn joining him as well, the prospects for the Proteas look very grim. There is also the “C-word” that has always haunted them and for all their dominance in Tests, they haven’t been as dominant in ODIs. So, I don’t see them moving past the group stage.

West Indies experienced a resurgence of sorts by winning the World T20 in 2012. However their one-day form has flattered to deceive as men from the Caribbean were whitewashed 5-0 by Australia in January. So, in spite of the presence of proven match winners like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine, I don’t see them moving beyond the league phase. This leaves us with the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan. Despite the spot fixing and betting controversy back home, the young Team India has what it takes to win the competition and with a cool head like MS Dhoni at the helm, the Men in Blue have the mettle to bring the trophy home.

Pakistan, on the other hand, remain as mercurial as ever. They can fall like a pack of cards or bring their A-game on any given day, and with a 100% record in Champions Trophy against India, one would underestimate them at their own peril. The Men in Green, for a change, enter the competition without any controversy (don’t be shocked if they are in some kind of mess by tomorrow!) and that makes them even more dangerous. Also, the last time they met in a bilateral series, Pakistan won 2-1 in India. No wonder then, the June 15 clash between them is the most anticipated match of the tournament and may well prove to be a game changer.

So, my semifinalists from Group B are India and Pakistan, with India being group winners and Pakistan finishing as runners-up.