Proteas strut into Champions Trophy

"We can handle top-ranking pressure', said South African skipper Graeme Smith a day before their opening match against Sri Lanka at the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Commenting on SA moving to top spot in the ICC ODI rankings, Smith boasted, "For us to be rated number one is a credit to the way we play the game." Team mate and pacer Dale Steyn even went on to deliver a challenge by saying no team will match hosts South Africa in the two-week tournament .

Unfortunately, now the team is having to eat humble pie. All that initial gloat and glory has been washed away just like their match was, by the rain. Chasing Sri Lanka's score of 319, the hosts made it with much difficulty to 206/7 when the downpour began. Messrs Duckworth-Lewis prevailed, awarding the match to SL, and that too by a margin of 55 runs. Experts believe the match would probably have turned out a worse outcome for RSA had it not rained. Underestimation of the Lankans on RSA's part cannot be ruled out either.The Proteas, who were the hot favourites at the start of the tournament, are now struggling for survival. What makes it worse is their substantial loss margin of 55 runs, which means they now have a negative net run rate to overcome as well.

The hosts have a difficult two weeks ahead of them, if they want to get back on track - they will have to overpower New Zealand and England, and make sure their wins are qualitative, in order to look toward the semi-finals.