Champions Trophy is all set to commence next week in Karachi with the top 8 teams in the world battling it out for the prestigious trophy. The last edition was held in England in 2017 with Pakistan defeating arch-rivals India in the final. The event will feature some of the best batters in international cricket and is expected to be a run-feast. We look at 5 batters who can make a big impact on the tournament.
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit is amongst the greatest openers in the history of ODI cricket with an aggregate of 10987 runs in 259 innings at an average of 49.26 and strike rate of 92.7. His 32 hundreds place him at number 3 on the all-time list after Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.
Rohit has this unique ability to score big hundreds and holds the distinction for the most double tons in ODI cricket – the Indian skipper has hammered three double centuries including the world record for the highest individual score in the format’s history – Rohit hammered a sensational 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2014.
Rohit has led India’s mini-revolution in limited-overs post their early exit from the T20 World in UAE in 2021. He has adopted an all-out aggressive policy at the top of the order focusing on maximizing runs rather than conserving wickets. He smashed a breathtaking 119 off just 90 deliveries – in an innings that included 12 fours and 7 sixes – in the recent ODI against England in Cuttack helping India gun down a stiff target of 305 with more than five overs to spare!
Amongst the 54 openers who have an aggregate of more than 3000 runs in ODIs, Rohit is the only one with an average of in excess of 50 (55.63) leaving giants like Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Gordon Greenidge and Matthew Hayden behind. Rohit also has big-match temperament and raises his game on the biggest stage.
He was in stunning form in the 2023 World Cup at home and it was his selfless and devastating batting at the top of the order which lay the foundation of India’s dominance in the tournament right till their loss to Australia in the final. Rohit piled on 597 runs at a strike rate of 125.94 in the 2023 World Cup in India. He was also in devastating form in the 2019 World Cup in England where he was the leading run-getter with an aggregate of 648 runs in just nine innings which included a record five hundreds!
2. Babar Azam Babar
Azam is one of the greats of this millennium and a master of the 50-over format with the second-highest batting average (56.29) in the format’s history amongst all batters who have played a minimum of 50 matches and scored at least 3000 runs. Babar will be Pakistan’s mainstay with the bat in home conditions where he has thrived in the past.
He also has a splendid record in Dubai and that makes him someone to watch out for at the Champions Trophy. While he has hammered 1481 runs in just 23 innings at an average of 70.5 and strike rate of 94.8 with 7 hundreds in Pakistan, Babar has scored 335 runs in six matches at an average of 55.8 in Dubai. One of the main characteristics of his batting is his play against spin bowling. Babar is a brilliant player of the turning ball with an average of 70.5 against the slower bowlers.
Daryl Mitchell has had a splendid start to his ODI career smashing 1708 runs in just 39 innings at an average of 50.23 and strike rate of 97.87. He has excellent conversion rate with six hundreds and as many fifties. Mitchell had a very successful tour of Pakistan in 2023 where he hammered 297 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 97 including two hundreds.
That was the turning point of his career and since then Mitchell has been one of the premier ODI batters in the world with an average of 61 and a strike rate in excess of 100! Five of his six tons have also come in the last couple of years. Mitchell was one of the heroes for New Zealand in their campaign in the 2023 World Cup in India.
He scored a whopping 552 runs in just nine innings at a strike rate of 111 including two hundreds – both against host India. His highest impact performance came in the semi-final at Wankhede when he blasted a magnificent 134 off just 119 deliveries giving a real scare to the home team. Mitchell has been in fine form in the ongoing tri-series in Pakistan and that should stand him good stead at the Champions Trophy which gets underway in a week’s time in Karachi. He is an excellent player of spin with an average of 57.7 and strike rate of 99.9 against the slower bowlers. One of Mitchell’s most productive shots against the spinners is the reverse sweep which has fetched him 90 runs in 68 deliveries with just two dismissals.
4. Travis Head
Travis Head is one of the most explosive openers in international cricket and will be key for Australia at the top of the order. The left-hander has redefined limited-overs’ batsmanship with his breathtaking stroke-play and has the ability to take the game away from the opposition within the powerplay. He has a scoring rate of 123.5 in the first 10 overs in ODIs since the beginning of 2022 – it is the highest strike rate in the world amongst all batters who have scored a minimum of 300 runs in this phase of play.
Head has serious big-match temperament and has scored the match-changing hundreds for Australia in two ICC Finals in 2023 – the WTC final at The Oval and the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. He also has a knack of producing his best when the chips are down and when others have failed around him. Head was one of the outstanding batters of IPL 2024 – he was the leading run-getter for Sunrisers Hyderabad and played a pivotal role at the top of the order in hammering his team to the final. The southpaw blasted 567 runs in just 15 innings at a strike rate of 191.55.
5. Harry Brook
Harry Brook is the latest batting sensation from England who has already created a stir in Test cricket. Brook has showcased glimpses of his batting prowess in the 50-over format too with 769 runs in 23 innings at an average of 36.6 and strike rate of 101.98! His highest impact performance came against arch-rivals Australia in the bilateral series at home when he blasted a brilliant undefeated 110 off just 94 deliveries in a stiff chase at Chester-le-Street last September.
Brook is a splendid player of the short-pitched delivery and has scored 139 runs off just 60 deliveries at a strike rate of 231.7 with just three dismissals while attempting the pull shot! He is a fine player of spin bowling which should stand him in good stead in Pakistan and UAE. Brook has an average of 41.63 against the slower bowlers at a scoring rate of 108.1.
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