The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is quickly approaching, and all of the teams are looking to start strong. Many of the main contenders have spent the last few weeks playing white-ball in an effort to get ready for this.
In that time, who has made an impression?
By defeating South Africa and Pakistan in the Tri-Nation Series, New Zealand has prepared for the competition in a spectacular manner.
Each squad faced off against the hosts. The Kiwis made it three wins from three when they faced the Blackcaps in the final.
Following his fifty-run performance in the opening victory against Pakistan, Kane Williamson has been in outstanding form, hitting a beautiful century in a successful chase against South Africa.
In that match, Daryl Mitchell contributed two half-centuries, and Glenn Phillips scored an undefeated 106 off just 74 deliveries.
Salman Agha and Muhammad Rizwan both scored three figures in Pakistan’s victory over the Proteas, for whom Matthew Breetzke had a stellar debut for his country with two innings of 83 and 150.
During their recent white-ball matches against England, India’s defending ICC Men’s T20 world Champions Trophy have been playing well.
Following their 4-1 victory in the T20 series, they won all three of their meetings and claimed a clean sweep in the 50-over match.
With a century in the third ODI and 259 runs at an average of 86.33, Shubman Gill was the highlight of the performance.
India successfully chased in the first two games and amassed 356 runs after batting first in that match, winning by 142 runs.
The series’ best knock may have been Rohit Sharma’s century in the second ODI, but Shreyas Iyer also made an impression at bat.
With the ball, Ravindra Jadeja claimed six wickets at an economy rate of 3.21 and an average of slightly over 10, with Adil Rashid taking the most with his seven.
Afghanistan appeared to be the most successful of the three teams playing in Pakistan and the UAE, winning a series in Zimbabwe in December and defeating Bangladesh 2-1 in Sharjah prior to that.
In the Caribbean, Bangladesh lost 3-0 to the West Indies after that series loss, but they will be looking to bounce back under more comfortable circumstances.
Last but not least, Australia lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka 2-0 despite having several key players out from their Champions Trophy team. In the first game, Spencer Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, and Nathan Ellis all made an impression with the ball, despite their batters’ inability to establish themselves in either of the two Colombo matches.
India
