5 cricketers who have better Champions Trophy records than World Cup records

The Champions Trophy, stature-wise, comes second only to the ICC Cricket World Cup amongst multi-nation cricket events. And yet the tournament has not been able to attract eyes as much as one would expect from an event with the top teams.

The short duration and the format of the league give very little room for error and even a solitary defeat can prove to be very costly. It is within this short period that players and teams have to peak and capitalise on the momentum.

Certain players have repeatedly hogged the limelight at the Champions Trophy stage. As the tournament’s eighth edition is underway in England, we take a look at the 5 players who have a better record in Champions Trophy than in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

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#5 Virender Sehwag

BATTING	Innings	Runs	Avg.	S.R.	50s	100s	Best
CT Record	10	389	48.62	100.77	2	1	126
World Cup Record	22	843	38.32	106.17	3	2	175

Swashbuckling Indian batsman Virender Sehwag made his maiden Champions Trophy appearance in the 2002 edition held in Sri Lanka. Opening the batting with captain Sourav Ganguly, the Nawab of Najafgarh ended the tournament as the highest run-getter, with 271 runs to his name.

Sehwag not just contributed with the bat but also came to his team’s rescue with the ball as he bowled a magical spell of 3-25 in the semi-final against the Proteas, helping India clinch victory from the jaws of defeat. His 126 off 104 balls single-handedly took India over the line in an important match against England.

For a youngster having his first burst at a major international event, Sehwag’s efforts not only helped India winning the edition (joint winners) but also ensured that the country had found an explosive top order batsman who would go on to annihilate bowling attacks for the next decade.

In his three appearances at the ICC World Cup, his best performance came at the 2011 edition held in India wherein the home team went on to win the laurels. Sehwag paired up with the Little Master to provide solid platforms for the strong batting order to capitalise.

His most memorable knock was the one against Bangladesh whom he destroyed with a 175-run knock in the opening match. He was also a part of India’s World Cup campaign of 2007 in the Caribbean where the team faced a first round exit after a shock defeat at the hands of Bangladesh.

#4 Daniel Vettori

Vettori helped his team reach the finals of the 2009 edition.

BATTING	Innings	Runs	Avg.	S.R.	50s	100s	Best
CT Record	8	299	37.37	83.75	1	0	79
World Cup Record	17	167	15.18	83.92	0	0	44

BOWLING	Wickets	Avg.	S.R.	Econ.	4 WI	Best
CT Record	18	29.00	47.5	3.65	0	3-14
World Cup Record	36	32.44	46.92	4.15	2	4-18

Daniel Vettori remained a pillar of strength for the Kiwis throughout his international career. It was due to players such as him that the Black Caps were never written off at any world event even though they lacked superstars. The left-handed spinner made his first appearance at the 2004 edition but it was 2009 when he peaked in the Champions Trophy.

In a must win encounter against the Lankans, he took two crucial wickets and scored a valuable 48 to win his team the match. In the semi-final against Pakistan he scored a vital 41 to go along with his spell of 3-43, helping New Zealand go through to the finals. Earlier in the 2006 edition, the intelligent left-hander brought to play his all-round abilities as he scored a gritty 79 in the semi-final match against Australia, having entered the while his side were reeling at 35 for 6.

Part of New Zealand’s World Cup campaigns in ’03, ’07, ’11 and ’15, Vettori could not help the Kiwis put their hands on the silverware although they made the semis thrice and even made the finals in 2015.

#3 Kyle Mills

Kyle Mills, surprisingly, remains the league’s highest wicket taker till date.

BOWLING	Wickets	Avg.	S.R.	Econ.	4 WI	Best
CT Record	28	17.25	24.1	4.29	2	4-30
World Cup Record	6	17.67	28.67	3.98	0	2-2

You ask anyone who is the highest wicket taker in the history of the Champions Trophy and it would be rare that someone comes up with the name of this Kiwi pacer. However, with 28 scalps across the three editions that he has featured in, Kyle Mills is the answer to the above question.

Mills produced magnificent performances with the ball; he accounted for 10 wickets at an average of 11 at the 2006 event in India which included a 4-38 spell in the semi-final, nine wickets in 2009 with 3-27 in the final and six wickets at 10 in 2013 in England.

The underrated bowler can be mighty proud of being the leader on the list of highest wicket takers, although his only disappointment would be that he could not be a part of the winning squad.

His World Cup stats, on the contrary, give us nothing to speak about.

#2 Shane Watson

Watson played an instrumental role in helping Australia clinch successive Champions Trophy titles.

BATTING	Innings	Runs	Avg.	S.R.	50s	100s	Best
CT Record	17	453	41.18	82.81	2	2	136*
World Cup Record	19	643	53.58	108.07	6	0	94

BOWLING	Wickets	Avg.	S.R.	Econ.	4 WI	Best
CT Record	17	23.29	33.8	4.12	0	3-16
World Cup Record	9	62.89	73	5.17	0	1-9

Going by his numbers, Watson can be considered to be a proven performer not just in the Champions Trophy but also the ICC Cricket World Cup. Yet he finds himself on this list of players with a better record in the former than the latter as it was his performance in this event that was instrumental in helping Australia go on to win successive titles in 2006 and 2009.

The wily all-rounder was also a member of the World Cup winning squads in 2007 and 2015 but he was less instrumental in those tournaments.

‘Watto' returned with figures of 2-11 and scored a patient 57* in the final of the 2006 edition in a rain curtailed match against the defending champions, West Indies. In the semi final of 2009, he first helped restrict the English to a modest 257 and when he came out to open the innings, he scored an unbeaten 136, taking his team over the line in fine style.

In the final of the same tournament against trans-Tasmanian rivals New Zealand, the then 27-year old all-rounder scored his second unbeaten century on the trot as Australia managed to defend their title. At the peak of his cricketing prowess then, the burly Aussie was man of the match on all three occasions.

Addressing the press after the victory of 2009, Watson said, “These last two games really were the making of me as an international all-rounder. I only ever dreamed of being able to perform like I did in those last two games, so for that dream to become a reality, instilled an incredible confidence in my cricketing abilities.”

#1 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle won the Player of the Tournament award in India, 2006.

BATTING	Innings	Runs	Avg.	S.R.	50s	100s	Best
CT Record	17	791	52.73	88.77	1	3	133*
World Cup Record	26	944	37.76	91.12	4	2	215

BOWLING	Wickets	Avg.	S.R.	Econ.	4 WI	Best
CT Record	17	22.35	22.35	4.48	0	3-3
World Cup Record	14	40.86	50.21	4.88	0	2-21

Christopher Henry Gayle is a deadly weapon to have at the top of the batting order, irrespective of the format of cricket. The West Indian powerhouse has a formidable Champions Trophy record. In its 2004 edition, Gayle was his side’s second highest run-getter, helping the Windies lay their hands on a major world title after the 1979 World Cup.

But it was during their title defence in India in 2006 when the ‘Six Machine’ owned the tournament. He plundered bowling attacks as he scored three centuries in the space of eight innings at a healthy average of 79, ending up as the highest run-scorer of the league and thus being chosen as the Player of the Tournament. His unbeaten knock of 133 in the semi-final against a potent South Africa attack remains one of the all-time best knocks in the history of the tournament.

The Jamaican was not just lethal with the bat but also produced effective spells of off-spin bowling. Although he scored runs at the World Cup stage, Gayle would be disappointed that he could not take his team anywhere close to the title.

The most memorable one of his World Cup knocks will remain the record breaking 215 against Zimbabwe in 2015, which also happened to be the first double hundred in World Cup history.