England and India will lock horns in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday with an aim to lift the trophy that has eluded them both all these years. However, the latter can still claim to have won the title once when they were declared the joint winners along with Sri Lanka in 2002. Of course, they would have loved not to share the spoils with their island neighbour. Now, India have another chance to have a go at the title and their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be looking to complete his trophy cabinet with this final piece of silverware.
Alastair Cook, leading England in a major ICC tournament for the first time, will be eager to continue the good run and become the first skipper from his country to lift an ICC trophy in a 50-over competition. He must be confident to walk the extra mile this time because of the team that he has at his disposal and the imperious form that the English bowlers and batsmen have been in in this tourney. The last time England made it to the finals of this competition, West Indies stood in their way and handed them a heartbreaking defeat. Courtney Brown and Ian Bradshaw had staged a remarkable comeback to stitch an unbeaten 71-run stand to land West Indies the 2004 Champions Trophy – in England.
India, the current world champions and top-ranked ODI side, also came close to winning the title twice – in Kenya (2000) and Sri Lanka (2002). In Kenya, they were denied by Chris Cairns who struck an unbeaten century in the final while in Sri Lanka, the rain played spoilsport – twice. So, both these teams will be eager to make up for the past slips (natural or otherwise) on Sunday. It seems a fitting finale to the much debated competition which is to breathe its last as the ICC has finally decided to scrap it altogether due to the packed international calendar. It will be a battle of Indian batting v/s English bowling.
Indian batting, led by Shikhar Dhawan, has been the most consistent while their only concern remains the yet-to-be-tested middle order. The openers have provided them, unfailingly, with a fairly strong start, leaving the upcoming batsmen with the luxury to go hammer and tongs at will. Their strength will be up for a stern test in the event of a failure of the top order and when facing the English pace attack, it is very much a possibility.
James Anderson, even in the absence of the conventional swing, has done enough to trouble the batsmen. It is his consistency that has landed him 10 wickets in four games. The duo of Anderson and Stuart Broad was prominent in destroying South African hopes of a title in the semi-final when they shared five wickets between them.
A worrying factor for India is their death bowling. After Zaheer Khan, they haven’t been able to delegate the responsibility of halting the late charge in the final 10 overs of the innings. Their bowlers have got them the early breakthrough, but plugging the leakage when the batsmen are going after everything will be crucial in this match.
If the rain permits, on Sunday we are in for a close contest between the current two best ODI sides in the world.
Champions Trophy has been marred by controversies in the past and the same was expected this year too. However, England, to the surprise of many, have hosted a competitive event. Apart from the odd incident of a game between Australia and New Zealand being completely abandoned due to persistent rain, so far the tourney can be counted a success. It is a pity that a sleek and crisp Champions Trophy – a tournament that has a much superior claim of being the premier 50-over competition than the oversized World Cup – will cease to exist after the final on Sunday at Edgbaston.
Last Five Matches(Most recent first)
England WWLWW
India WWWWL
Team news
India are highly unlikely to disturb their winning combination, and while England might want to go the same route they could have two temptations. James Tredwell has done enough to challenge Graeme Swann's status as the best ODI spinner in the country, but will England be able to overlook Swann's experience should he be fit? The only other change could be Tim Bresnan playing ahead of Steven Finn because Edgbaston can assist reverse swing. However, it will be difficult to leave out Finn against any Asian side.
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 James Tredwell/Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn/Tim Bresnan
India 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
Pitch and conditions
The big concern is what is overhead. It rained a day before the final, and the weather is expected to play some part during the match, but will it do enough to affect what have been almost subcontinental conditions at Edgbaston? The pitch for this match hasn't been used previously, but If it retains enough moisture, the ball could seam around crazily as it did in the Cardiff semi-final.
Stats and trivia
· India and England have played only three knockout matches against each other. India won the 1983 World Cup semi-final and the 2002 tri-series final, both in England, but England won the 1987 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai.
· India have not lost a single wicket in the mandatory Powerplays this Champions Trophy. Their smallest opening stand has been 58, against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
· England have made it to four finals in ICC ODI tournaments without winning any of them.
Match Details
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Final
India Vs England
Date: 23rd June 2013
Venue: Edgbaston
Last Five Matches(Most recent first)
England WWLWW
India WWWWL
Team news
India are highly unlikely to disturb their winning combination, and while England might want to go the same route they could have two temptations. James Tredwell has done enough to challenge Graeme Swann's status as the best ODI spinner in the country, but will England be able to overlook Swann's experience should he be fit? The only other change could be Tim Bresnan playing ahead of Steven Finn because Edgbaston can assist reverse swing. However, it will be difficult to leave out Finn against any Asian side.
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 James Tredwell/Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn/Tim Bresnan
India 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
Pitch and conditions
The big concern is what is overhead. It rained a day before the final, and the weather is expected to play some part during the match, but will it do enough to affect what have been almost subcontinental conditions at Edgbaston? The pitch for this match hasn't been used previously, but If it retains enough moisture, the ball could seam around crazily as it did in the Cardiff semi-final.
Stats and trivia
· India and England have played only three knockout matches against each other. India won the 1983 World Cup semi-final and the 2002 tri-series final, both in England, but England won the 1987 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai.
· India have not lost a single wicket in the mandatory Powerplays this Champions Trophy. Their smallest opening stand has been 58, against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
· England have made it to four finals in ICC ODI tournaments without winning any of them.
Match Details
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Final
India Vs England
Date: 23rd June 2013
Venue: Edgbaston
Time:10:30 Local time, 10:30 GMT, 15:15 NST
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