England had hosted four World Cups and two Champions Trophy before this, but never earlier was batting as simple in these conditions. In a tournament that had only 15 matches, as many as ten batsmen registered centuries. The tone was set by none other than Tamim Iqbal, who stroked a ton in the opening game against England. His innings set the tone for Bangladesh's fairytale-like run in the tournament, where they ended up reaching the last four.
ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2017
ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Top knocks
Fakhar Zaman's century in the final helped Pakistan seal a massive win and the title. © Getty
However an interesting feature of the tournament was that most of the best innings came in partnerships, and often two batsmen didn't bat in the same tempo and with the same finesse. However, their contribution had a nearly similar impact. In fact, the foundation of two of the biggest upsets of the tournaments (Sri Lanka beating India and Bangladesh beating new Zealand) were laid by some superb partnerships.
Here's a look at the top knocks of Champions Trophy 2017:
Mamhmudullah 102* and Shakib Al Hasan 114 (115) vs New Zealand
There was very little to separate the impact of the two centuries. It was a century that came in a must-win match, it came when the team was reeling. The duo came together at the crease when the scoreboard read 33 for 4 in a chase of 268. With New Zealand also needing a win to keep their qualification chances alive, they went on the attack. With the move working on eventually, they didn't step back. The experienced duo soaked the pressure, kept the scoreboard moving with singles and twos, and with their 224-run stand set-up Bangladesh's win and helped them qualify for the semifinal. Shakib, who was the aggressor in the partnership, departed with Bangladesh on cusp of victory, while Mahmuddulahtook them through - both of them scoring at close to run-a-ball.
Ben Stokes's century came from a position similar to what Bangladesh were in. Just the difference was, in Australia, the New Zealand-born allrounder had a more challenging bowling attack to deal with. The difference, however, was that England didn't have the pressure to win; they had already qualified for the semifinal.
Chasing 278 to win, England were 35 for 3 in six overs against a rampaging Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, before rain interrupted play. After play resumed, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes came out and went on a counter-attack. In what was an audacious display of batting, they turned the momentum against Australia in no time. In 26.1 overs, they added 159 runs for the fourth wicket and pulled the match in England's favour. By the time rain came to play spoilsport again, England were 40 runs ahead of the par score.
The tone was set by Morgan, which was later capitalised on by Stokes. The English skipper was unfortunate to miss out on a ton, but Stokes registered his career best 102 not out to take England home.
The Pakistani left-hander came to Champions Trophy without any international experience, and in no time showed the kind of spark Pakistan's batting has lacked in a long time. His aggressive and positive approach at the crease made a huge impact in Pakistan's surprising road to the final, and even in the summit clash, his innings was the difference between what Pakistan lacked in the tournament opener and what they had in the finale.
The start to his innings was scratchy, when he was finding it difficult to middle the ball. However, as the innings progressed, he got the confidence to go after the bowlers. And on a small ground, he managed to hit 12 boundaries and three sixes en route his century. A maiden ton. In the final. Against India. It couldn't have gotten bigger.
Kusal Mendis 89 (93) and Danushka Gunathilaka 76 (72) vs India
Sri Lanka may have come into Champions Trophy with one of the weakest batting line-ups, and once India posted 321, it seemed near impossible for the Asian side to chase down. However, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka combined to forge a 159-run stand in 23.1 overs and set-up the chase. Despite Virat Kohli's several bowling changes, none of his men could trouble the pair. They scored freely and brisk.
While Mendis proved yet again why selectors need to back him for a longer run, Gunathilaka, who had come into side after Upul Tharanga was suspended, made good use of the opportunity. The partnership helped Sri Lanka deliver one of the biggest upsets of the tournament and kept the group games alive till the end.
In India's tournament opener, the openers began cautiously, and whatever momentum they gained, was lost due to to rain breaks. Not once, twice. Virat Kohli was struggling to middle the ball and when Rohit Sharma departed, it felt that India will fail to go past the 300-run mark despite a good start. And then came Yuvraj Singh. Driving, cutting and swinging in vintage fashion, reminiscent of the way he batted a decade ago. Against a good bowling attack of Pakistan, he stroked a 32-ball 53 to turn the tide in India's favour. A match that was in balance before his arrival, never titled in Pakistan's favour as they suffered a massive thrashing.
Two rain breaks didn't do much good to the Indian batsmen during their innings against Pakistan in the tournament opener. Definitly not for Virat Kohli, who compiled possibly his scratchiest half century in limited overs cricket. He knew how badly he was struggling in the middle, and that became evident with his aggressive celebration after swatting a six over long on off Hassan Ali to bring up his half century. Till then, his innings was one of grit, a rarity in modern day limited-overs cricket. He didn't throw his wicket away, and reaped the rewards once he found the touch. Having scored 45 runs off his first 57 deliveries, in the last 11 balls, he clobbered 36 runs to take India past the 300-run mark.
The way Pakistan played in their must-win tie against Sri Lanka, they didn't deserve to win. Most teams wouldn't have won. The only reason they did win was because Sri Lanka played at a level below theirs. Pakistan were reduced to 162 for 7, chasing a modest 237. With not a deep batting order to fall back on, Sarfraz Ahmed combined with Mohammad Amir to put on an unbeaten 75 runs stand for the seventh wicket and take Pakistan over the line.
Sarfraz, who scored an unbeaten 61, was aided by two dropped chances. Simple catches put down by the Sri Lankan fielders. Despite being scratchy in the middle, he managed to keep Pakistan's charge going. A fighting innings, which went a long way as Pakistan produced their best cricket in the next two matches - against tournament favourites England and India to win their maiden Champions Trophy.
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