little separating top teams
The most attractive feature of Champions Trophy is that it involves no minnows and is supposed to be devoid of one-sided and meaningless matches. There were some concerns that the bottom three sides in the tournament may be a level below the top-five. However that didn't prove to be the case as Bangladesh, Sri lanka and Pakistan performed way above the expectations. This shows that there is much less separating the top-eight sides than previously thought. This bodes well for the future of ODI cricket.
India's bowling woes
There was near-unanimity among cricket experts that what separates the current Indian team from its illustrious predecessors is the strength of the bowling attack. While the batting was as strong as ever, the bowling seemed unusually fancied. Yet, at the end of the tournament, it can't be said that India has never had a better ODI bowling attack. The spinners were a big disappointment and Jasprit Bumrah needs more work.
Bowlers still IMPORTANT
There has been a growing concern among fans and experts that bowlers are being reduced to merely canon-fodder in ODI's. Small boundaries, bigger bats and increasingly flat pitches have tilted the balance far too much in batsmen’s favour. However, Pakistan have shown that talented and skillful bowlers are still a match-winning force in limited-overs cricket and they are essential for success in major global tournament.
Small margins
In the euphoria over Pakistan's victory, it is easy to forget how easily they could have got knocked at the group stage itself. In the virtual quarterfinal against Sri lanka, Pakistan very in serious trouble having lost seven wickets with 75 runs still to get and skipper Sarfraz being their last hope. Sarfraz offered two chances to Sri lankan's but they dropped both oppurtunities and eventually Pak got home. If one of those had been taken, CT would have panned differently.
Reverse-swing rules
Ever since the ICC brought back the rule of having two new balls in ODI cricket, one for each end, it was thought that reverse swing would cease to be a factor in this format as there won't be enough wear and tear on the ball. But the way Pakistani bowlers got the ball to reverse shows that if proper work is done on the ball and bowlers know the art, this mysterious art can be utilized to great effect.