MS Dhoni's men won the Champions Trophy just last week and what a performance by Team India it was. It was 2 years ago when they lifted the World Cup in Mumbai but the difference this time was most of that squad had been dropped in the subsequent years. No longer do India rely on the class and aggression of Virender Sehwag, the genius of Sachin Tendulkar, the all round prowess of Yuvraj Singh or the craftmanship of Zaheer Khan. In fact, only 4 members of that World Cup winning squad remained for the Champions Trophy which is another reason why this victory was oh so sweet.
Leading into the final against England, there was no doubt that India were the best team of the tournament. They blew away every team that stepped in their way and they had got the balance between their bowlers and their batsmen just right. But England were always going to be a handful in home conditions, especially with the type of seam attack they have. In a rain affected final which was reduced to 20 overs a side, England won the toss and decided to bowl first which took place 5 hours before play finally got under way. Conditions were tough early on and after a solid start of 38-1 from 6 overs, the rain further delayed proceeding destroying any momentum India might have had. On a slow pitch, part timer Ravi Bopara struck 3 times with his slow medium pacers to restrict India to 66-5 off 13 overs. Kohli played a useful hand of 43 before he was dismissed in the 19th over and it was only until Jadeja struck a quickfire 33 that India got to 130-7 which seemed like at least 20 runs off a par score.
England lost Cook early and quickly slumped to 46-4 on a turning track after a debatable third umpire decision which saw the demise of Ian Bell. Dhoni decided against bowling spin in the middle overs and seemingly relieved the pressure off of England with some hapless bowling from Ishant Sharma. This saw England to a comfortable position of 110-4, needing just 20 from 16 balls. That was until that man Sharma picked up 2 wickets in just 2 balls to turn the final on its head. England then lost a further 2 wickets to collapse to 113-8 and fall 5 runs short of what should have been a certain victory. England once again fell short in a final and India once again win a major ODI trophy.
This young Indian side were very impressive throughout the Champions Trophy. Shikhar Dhawan won player of the tournament and most runs whilst Ravindra Jadeja took the most wickets. These two players were the stand out performers for India with Dhawan scoring back to back centuries in the group stage after a two year absence from the side. Jadeja proved to be a very useful all rounder with his spin proving his worth to the team. He hasn't always had the praise he might have deserved from the Indian media but surely now that will change. MS Dhoni proved why he is probably the best captain in World cricket. Bold moves were made throughout which went a long way to him lifting the title. So this new, young Indian side looks like it could be around for years to come and with one eye on the 2015 World Cup, they could well be the team to beat.
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