REMINISCING ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY
REMINISING ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2013
A six needed off the last ball… Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl… James Tredwell on strike… One of the most interesting and nail biting finals Team India has ever played… James Tredwell swings and misses the ball… MS Dhoni jumps with joy… India beat England by 5 runs in a thriller at Edgbaston, Birmingham. This incident happened 7 years ago on this day. But it still feels like it happened recently for me. On this day, MS Dhoni become the only captain in the world to lift the 3 major ICC trophies ( ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013) 7 years ago. Today I’m going to share my views about India’s performance in this tournament.
Preparations ahead of this tournament
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 took place in England and Wales from June 6 to June 23 after the IPL 2013 got over in 26th of May. India was placed in Group B along with Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa. The Indian squad for this tournament include MS Dhoni as captain and wicket keeper, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay as specialist batsmen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra as spinners and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Vinay Kumar as fast bowlers.
Before the start of this tournament, the Indian team was scheduled to play 2 warm up matches against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively. One particular match I still remember was the 2nd warm up match against Australia. India was struggling at 55-5 in 16 overs. Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni played well and stitched a partnership of 211 runs and scored 308-6. After that, the bowlers bowled beautifully and bowled out Australia for 65 runs. Umesh Yadav took 5 wickets in that match.
Group stage matches
India played its first group stage match against South Africa on 6th June at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. This match is of importance because India tried our Hitman Rohit Sharma as an opener for the first time. And it went on to work out for team India. His partner Shikhar Dhawan scored a wonderful hundred and India went on to win the match by 26 runs. My favourite memory of that match was Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma batting well in the new ball and finally India got its new opening pair.
The second group stage match against West Indies was held at the Oval, London. In this match, Ravindra Jadeja took 5 wickets for 36 runs and Shikhar Dhawan went on to score his 2nd century of this tournament as India won the match comprehensively by 8 wickets. My favourite memory of that match was that the wicket of Chris Gayle. Gayle was edged and caught at the first slip by Ravichandran Ashwin off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s bowling. The catch took by Ashwin was unimaginable and I still remember it.
The third group stage match against Pakistan was held at the Edgbaston, Birmingham. Playing against Pakistan in any ICC event is always a pressure on India to win that match. I still remember watching that match. My best memory of that match is of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s 8 over spell. His swing bowling assisted by the pitches in England, he was at his peak form. He took 2 wickets for 19 runs in his 8 overs. Rain interrupted the match and the match was reduced to 40 overs. Pakistan got all out for 165 runs and the target for India was revised to 102 runs in 22 overs. Shikhar Dhawan scored 48 runs and India won the match by 8 wickets.
Knockout Stages-Semi-finals
As a result of group stage matches, India, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka qualified for the semi-finals. In the first semi-finals, England beat South Africa by 7 wickets and qualified for the finals.
In the second semi-finals, India played against Sri Lanka in the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. In this match, India won the toss and chose to field first. Indian bowling was extremely good during that match. The Sri Lankan batting line up struggled to score runs against the in form Indian seamers. The best memory of this match was that of the bowling of MS Dhoni. MS Dhoni bowled 4 overs during that match and he dismissed Mahela Jayawardanae but the decision was overturned by DRS. Sri Lanka scored 181 runs in 50 overs. Batting second, India batted well and reached the target within 35 overs. India won the match by 8 wickets and qualified for the finals. Shikhar Dhawan scored 68 runs in the match. Ishant Sharma got the man of the match for his bowling performances of 3 for 33 runs in 9 overs.
Finals
The finals between India and England was held at Edgbaston, Birmingham. It was the third Champions Trophy final for India and second Champions Trophy final for England. The rain delayed the start of the match for a long time and the match was reduced to 20 overs. England won the toss in the finals and chose to field first. I remember watching the match late in the night. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opened the batting and got out cheaply. Before that match, Indian middle order never came to bat. The Indian middle order fell cheaply in that match. Virat Kohli top scored in the final with 43 runs. Ravi Bopara took 3 wickets for 20 runs in his 4 overs.
Batting second, England started the match in a positive note. But Indian bowlers came back strongly. But the change in that match came in the form of the dismissal of Jonathan Trott. MS Dhoni stumped Jonathan Trott off Ravichandran Ashwin in a superb fashion bowling leg side. England struggled for 46-4 at some stage. Then Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara stitched a partnership which became a nightmare for Indian bowlers. But the breakthrough for the Indian bowlers came in the 18th over. Ishant Sharma bowled that particular over and he took the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara. That changed the course of the match. Jos Buttler was dismissed in the 19th over by Ravindra Jadeja. Ravichandran Ashwin bowled the 20th over beautifully and won that match for India. India won the match by 5 runs and won its 2nd Champions Trophy. Ravindra Jadeja was the Man of the Match in that match for his allround performance.
Statistics
Shikhar Dhawan was the Man of the Tournament for his batting performances of 363 runs in 5 matches with 2 centuries and 1 half century. He was awarded the Golden Bat also. Ravindra Jadeja won the Golden Ball as he took 12 wickets in 5 matches.
Controversies during that tournament
David Warner was suspended before the tournament after an altercation with Joe Root of England.
During the semi finals between India and Sri Lanka, some young tamil activists invaded the pitch with flags of Tamil Eelam and banners protesting against the Sri Lankan team playing in England.
Conclusion
According to me, this tournament was the rise of new reign for team India. And this tournament showcased the captaincy of MS Dhoni. He never changed the starting XI throughout the entire tournament. He tried out Rohit Sharma as the opener of the team. Now, Rohit Sharma is one of the best batsmen in the ODI format. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s swing bowling was really appreciated. Shikhar Dhawan’s batting in the ICC tournaments was really amazing. After this, he continued to perform well. MS Dhoni became the only captain to win all the three ICC trophies. This is the last ICC tournament that India has won. After this, Indian team began to choke in all the ICC tournaments. Let’s hope for wonderful performances from the Indian team after the lockdown.
A six needed off the last ball… Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl… James Tredwell on strike… One of the most interesting and nail biting finals Team India has ever played… James Tredwell swings and misses the ball… MS Dhoni jumps with joy… India beat England by 5 runs in a thriller at Edgbaston, Birmingham. This incident happened 7 years ago on this day. But it still feels like it happened recently for me. On this day, MS Dhoni become the only captain in the world to lift the 3 major ICC trophies ( ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013) 7 years ago. Today I’m going to share my views about India’s performance in this tournament.
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 took place in England and Wales from June 6 to June 23 after the IPL 2013 got over in 26th of May. India was placed in Group B along with Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa. The Indian squad for this tournament include MS Dhoni as captain and wicket keeper, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay as specialist batsmen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra as spinners and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Vinay Kumar as fast bowlers.
Before the start of this tournament, the Indian team was scheduled to play 2 warm up matches against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively. One particular match I still remember was the 2nd warm up match against Australia. India was struggling at 55-5 in 16 overs. Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni played well and stitched a partnership of 211 runs and scored 308-6. After that, the bowlers bowled beautifully and bowled out Australia for 65 runs. Umesh Yadav took 5 wickets in that match.
Group stage matches
India played its first group stage match against South Africa on 6th June at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. This match is of importance because India tried our Hitman Rohit Sharma as an opener for the first time. And it went on to work out for team India. His partner Shikhar Dhawan scored a wonderful hundred and India went on to win the match by 26 runs. My favourite memory of that match was Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma batting well in the new ball and finally India got its new opening pair.
The second group stage match against West Indies was held at the Oval, London. In this match, Ravindra Jadeja took 5 wickets for 36 runs and Shikhar Dhawan went on to score his 2nd century of this tournament as India won the match comprehensively by 8 wickets. My favourite memory of that match was that the wicket of Chris Gayle. Gayle was edged and caught at the first slip by Ravichandran Ashwin off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s bowling. The catch took by Ashwin was unimaginable and I still remember it.
The third group stage match against Pakistan was held at the Edgbaston, Birmingham. Playing against Pakistan in any ICC event is always a pressure on India to win that match. I still remember watching that match. My best memory of that match is of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s 8 over spell. His swing bowling assisted by the pitches in England, he was at his peak form. He took 2 wickets for 19 runs in his 8 overs. Rain interrupted the match and the match was reduced to 40 overs. Pakistan got all out for 165 runs and the target for India was revised to 102 runs in 22 overs. Shikhar Dhawan scored 48 runs and India won the match by 8 wickets.
Knockout Stages-Semi-finals
As a result of group stage matches, India, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka qualified for the semi-finals. In the first semi-finals, England beat South Africa by 7 wickets and qualified for the finals.
In the second semi-finals, India played against Sri Lanka in the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. In this match, India won the toss and chose to field first. Indian bowling was extremely good during that match. The Sri Lankan batting line up struggled to score runs against the in form Indian seamers. The best memory of this match was that of the bowling of MS Dhoni. MS Dhoni bowled 4 overs during that match and he dismissed Mahela Jayawardanae but the decision was overturned by DRS. Sri Lanka scored 181 runs in 50 overs. Batting second, India batted well and reached the target within 35 overs. India won the match by 8 wickets and qualified for the finals. Shikhar Dhawan scored 68 runs in the match. Ishant Sharma got the man of the match for his bowling performances of 3 for 33 runs in 9 overs.
Finals
The finals between India and England was held at Edgbaston, Birmingham. It was the third Champions Trophy final for India and second Champions Trophy final for England. The rain delayed the start of the match for a long time and the match was reduced to 20 overs. England won the toss in the finals and chose to field first. I remember watching the match late in the night. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opened the batting and got out cheaply. Before that match, Indian middle order never came to bat. The Indian middle order fell cheaply in that match. Virat Kohli top scored in the final with 43 runs. Ravi Bopara took 3 wickets for 20 runs in his 4 overs.
Statistics
Shikhar Dhawan was the Man of the Tournament for his batting performances of 363 runs in 5 matches with 2 centuries and 1 half century. He was awarded the Golden Bat also. Ravindra Jadeja won the Golden Ball as he took 12 wickets in 5 matches.
Controversies during that tournament
David Warner was suspended before the tournament after an altercation with Joe Root of England.
During the semi finals between India and Sri Lanka, some young tamil activists invaded the pitch with flags of Tamil Eelam and banners protesting against the Sri Lankan team playing in England.
Conclusion
According to me, this tournament was the rise of new reign for team India. And this tournament showcased the captaincy of MS Dhoni. He never changed the starting XI throughout the entire tournament. He tried out Rohit Sharma as the opener of the team. Now, Rohit Sharma is one of the best batsmen in the ODI format. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s swing bowling was really appreciated. Shikhar Dhawan’s batting in the ICC tournaments was really amazing. After this, he continued to perform well. MS Dhoni became the only captain to win all the three ICC trophies. This is the last ICC tournament that India has won. After this, Indian team began to choke in all the ICC tournaments. Let’s hope for wonderful performances from the Indian team after the lockdown.
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