Champions Trophy

No room for error at Champions Trophy

The new format of the Champions Trophy is to be applauded. No dead games and no Super Sixes, just two groups of four, which provides four semi finalists. There is no room for error, which might just be a problem for MS Dhoni’s men.

India have no problem in following a 139-run defeat with a convincing victory in a tournament final three days later. Veering between mediocre and excellent is not a problem in longer tournaments, but not in the new-look Champions trophy. Consistency and efficiency will be rewarded.

It is for this reason that South Africa are the team to beat. They rarely deliver really poor performances and whilst their best might not be as good as India’s best, they are perhaps more likely to string together the run of four or five wins that will be needed, and the cricket betting odds are showing this.

India have West Indies, Pakistan and Australia in their group. The Aussies are finding form at the right time by steamrolling England, whilst the Windies’ reserve squad can be discounted. Pakistan are inconsistency personified and cannot afford the slow start they experienced in their triumphant ICC World Twenty20 campaign.

Two wins might not be enough to progress, so there can be no heavy defeats like the one suffered at the hands of Sri Lanka last week. If India get it right they can go all the way. The problem is they need to get it right straight away.

Tags: Australia, Champions Trophy, Compaq Cup, indian team, MS Dhoni, pakistan, South Africa, sri lanka, west indies