The tournament favourites, team India has played well in the warm-up matches against Bangladesh and New Zea Land.
Today, the first match of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 for Group A is going to be played at the Oval in London between England and Bangladesh teams.
For India, the tournament would be crucial, especially its first match against Pakistan given the rising tension between the two nations, especially with the latest announcement by Sports Minister Vijay Goel that ruled out the possibility of a bilateral cricket series between them.
Defeat by 240 runs was certainly not wanted Bangladesh wanted any more than England, a much-improved one-day side since the Tigers knocked them out of the 2015 World Cup, wished to see their top order suffer such a spectacular slump against South Africa, even if they were already 2-0 up in the three-match series.
After their clash with Pakistan, India will take on Sri Lanka and South Africa on June 8 and 11 respectively. India won both matches.
Bangladesh collapsed to 22 for six in 7.3 overs against India, not as bad as England on Monday, but concerning all the same. This is the third time the Champions Trophy is being held in England - the previous two times were in 2004 and 2013.
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Australia, who have a pace battery that includes Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson, are expected to top Group A. So it could be an interesting battle in the semi-finals with India.
South Africa, who are often labelled as chokers due to their poor record in ICC events, will also be looking for a fresh start.
On Monday, across London at Lord's, England collapsed to 20 for six in five overs - the worst start in one-day global history - against the South Africa new-ball duo of Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell.
Apart from them, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also have an outside chance of reaching the knockout stage.
"When Pakistan had the likes of Imran, Wasim, Qadir, and Miandad, India used to lose nearly every time; but now Indian team has improved and is on a winning track", he added.
One may call it a mini World Cup, but there will be nothing miniature about the thrilling matches which will be played during the 16-day tournament.
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