ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final: India vs England: India preview

“Unerring India romp into the finals!” would be the headline across most dailies today. Frankly, India could do no wrong in this tournament after what has unraveled in the past two weeks. But things were not so rosy when the team for the Champions Trophy was announced. The selectors drew the ire of the fans as soon as they realized that their favourite stars were missing from the Champions Trophy line up. Nobody gave India a chance and it might just have been that freedom that allowed India to play fearless cricket.

The Final:

The squad for the final wont change in all likelihood as Dhoni believes in sticking with the ‘tested’ eleven. Therefore, barring injuries, India would be fielding the same line up for the final. They need to be wary of England as they have looked invulnerable at home. This could probably be termed as the toughest battle for India in the tournament. The battle would be fought till the last ball and England would leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of capturing their first major ODI title.

There are some interesting battles waiting to take place on Sunday. The teams are evenly matched and would be raring to go against each other, though experience-wise England have the upper hand. I am listing out few of the possible face-offs that are set to occur on the big day:

The Battle of Equals:

Shikhar Dhawan vs. James Anderson: The explosive south-paw from Delhi is having a dream run this tournament, having gotten the better of some good new ball bowlers in the earlier matches. But he will up against a wily bowler who has troubled the best in the business with his variation and vicious swing. Therefore, this would be a battle of form against experience, and Dhawan still has one more hurdle left to take his team through.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs. Alastair Cook: The right-arm swinger from Uttar Pradesh has got the better of many southpaws, but Cook has the perfect mix of poise and footwork to his batting that might unsettle Kumar’s line and length. Cook would be wary while playing against the new ball, and bowling to him would be tough for the relatively inexperienced bowler.

Ravindra Jadeja vs. Ravi Bopara: The hard-hitting batsman from Essex has provided the much-needed impetus to England’s score after their top-order batsmen have set the stage. But Bopara would be facing a problem or two when squaring up against Jadeja, since he sticks to a line and length that gives no room for the batsmen to free their arms.

Steve Finn vs. Suresh Raina: That Raina is uncomfortable while playing the short balls is no secret. Finn would be ready, therefore, to serve some short stuff to the southpaw and prise his wicket since England know the importance of Raina to the Indian side, as they found out earlier in January. Raina would be having a tough day while facing Finn and the only way to counter his bounce would be to attack!

The Pitch and the conditions:

The Edgbaston Cricket ground hosts the final between India and England. It is a perfect pitch, tailor-made for English conditions. The batsmen would have a tough time in the middle, but they could score runs if they are prudent in their approach. The pitch would definitely favour the seamers, but the spinners would have a vital role to play as demonstrated by Graeme Swann time and again in these conditions.

The conditions would be overcast as they were in the last match that was played here between India and Pakistan. Let’s hope that the rain doesn’t play spoil-sport come Sunday.

Possible Eleven: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(c & k), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Prediction: Glory and revenge – these are the two things that are at stake for team India. They have one last shot at winning this trophy – the only piece of silverware that is missing from Dhoni’s trophy cabinet. As they square up on Sunday, none of this would bear consequence though, and only the performances will. I am willing to put all my money on my home team, irrespective of the result, as they are the ultimate champions of this Champions Trophy edition, winning a lot of hearts back home!