The clash of the champions

Would have anyone thought that something like this cud happen at the beginning of the Champions Trophy!!?

• NZ, Eng and Pak comfortably thru to the next round.


• Particularly Eng who just came out a 6 match losing streak against Aus


• SL being thrown out of the tournament despite their good form


• India and Aus fighting for a spot in the semis


• SA (regarded as one of the title contenders) finishing at the bottom of the table at the end of round 1


• At the end of round 1, India, the no. 1 team in the official rankings at the start of the tourney has been pushed out

Phew!!

Points Table (At the end of league matches)

Group - Group B
Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	NRR	Points
New Zealand	3	2	1	0	0	0.782	4
England	3	2	1	0	0	-0.487	4
Sri Lanka	3	1	2	0	0	-0.085	2
South Africa	3	1	2	0	0	-0.171	2

Group - Group A
Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	NRR	Points
Pakistan	3	2	1	0	0	+0.999	4
Australia	3	2	0	0	1	+0.510	5
India	3	1	1	0	1	+0.290	3
West Indies	3	0	3	0	0	-1.537	0

Current official ICC Rankings for ODI teams

Rank		Team	Points
1		Australia	126
2		India	124
3		South Africa	121
4		Pakistan	112
5		New Zealand	109
6		England	107
7		Sri Lanka	106
8		West Indies	76
9		Bangladesh	55
10		Zimbabwe	26

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Meanwhile, somewhere in South Africa, Pontings speaks sense. Thats a news really!! :)

Ponting paid tribute to Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in ODIs and Tests. "The number of innings of his I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player," he said. "Look at his stats and records and it's quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair."

He sits at third behind Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the list of all-time ODI run-getters. Ponting is the only Australian with over 10,000 runs. In Tests, Ponting is also third to Tendulkar's 12773 runs with 11345. Like Tendulkar, Ponting has stepped down from playing Twenty20 internationals for his country.

Good on ya mate!! :)