OTD WHEN INDIA TRASHED ENGLAND IN CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2013 FINAL

“So it’s five for a Super Over…Six for a win. Just get it straight, Ashwin”

Throwback to 9 years ago from now. 23rd June 2013, this is the day India lifted the Champions Trophy thrashing England in the finals on their soil. In the final match at Birmingham, India beat England by 5 runs.

ON THIS DAY: 9 YEARS AGO

June is known in India for the peak of summers, but the weather in England was totally contrasting. On 23rd June, Sunday every cricket fan was excited about the final match between India and England. But as usual, the rain interrupted the play. 

It had been hours since there was continuous rain in Birmingham, and the entire ground was covered. The cricket fans sitting in front of the televisions praying that rain should stop. After some hours, many cricket fans lose all hope of getting the rain to stop. Everyone started believing that both India and England will be the joint Champions Trophy 2013.

But after a lot of game time, the rain has finally stopped. The ground staff started removing the covers, and the fans started being enthusiastic. Due to the heavy rain, a lot of time was already lost. Thus, the official news came that the final match is to be played for 20 overs in each innings. And we all know how exciting 20-over matches are, especially when it is a final against the two best teams. 

AND THE MATCH BEINGS

Sometimes after the official news of the 20-over match came, the respective captains from both sides, MS Dhoni and Alister Cook came for a toss. Throughout the tournament, the luck was always in the favour of MS. But in the finals, Cook won the toss. Examining the team strength, pitch conditions, and outfield, Cook invited India to bat first. 

Both openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan came to bat. Since the match was reduced to 20 overs, it was expected from every cricket fan that we were gonna see a fiery start. But the quality bowling of England pacers and the pitch conditions were against the Indian openers. After an average start, India lost Rohit at a score of 19. 

VIRAT HELPED BUILD THE INNINGS

After the departure of in-form Rohit, Virat comes in to bat. Both Virat and Shikhar started building a good partnership. After the 8th over, Ravi Bopara took the crucial wicket of Shikhar Dhawan. At that time, the score of team India was 50 runs. 

Virat was all set to accelerate the innings, but in-between a 2-over span, from 11th to 13th over, three crucial wickets of India had fallen. The departure of Dinesh Kartik, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni broke the middle order of the Indian team. The game was all in the hands of England, but then, Ravindra Jadeja walked in. 

MATCH WINNING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN KOHLI AND JADEJA

The 47-run stand between Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja turned out to be the match-winning partnership for the country. Although the score was still not very much, they both took India to a comparatively good position. After the departure of Virat, Ashwin too went back to the pavilion soon. 

In the last couple of overs, Jadeja played some great cricketing shots helping India to reach a fighting total of 129 runs in 20 overs. Virat made 43 runs in the innings, while Jadeja scored not-out 33. Now it’s the time of England’s chase to 130.

ENGLAND’S CHASE BEINGS

The opening pair of England, Alastair Cook, and Ian Bell walked into the crease to chase the target of 130. Looking at the batting strength, the match seemed one-sided in England's favour. But, quite similar to the Indian innings, the batting of England was not so good as they lost their captain Cook in the second over itself, when the team score was only 3. 

By the 9th over of the second innings, England’s score was 46/4. Alastair Cook, Jonathan Bell, Ian Bell, and Joe Root were already sent to the Pavillion by the Indian bowling attack. It seemed that India could lift the champions trophy easily. But Bopara and Morgan were still on the crease. 

BOPARA AND MORGAN MADE ENGLAND’S STRONG COMEBACK

The innings of Bopara and Morgan were as crucial for England, as the partnership of Kohli and Jadeja for India. At the time everyone hoped that India could win the match in this situation, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan took England to a winning situation. The 64-run partnership between both pushed India on the backfoot, and Indian fans started losing their hopes. 

Till the 17th over of the second innings, England’s score was 102/4, and Morgan and Bopara were still playing. In the first two balls of the 18th over, Morgan smashed two consecutive boundaries. Only 20 runs were required off 16 deliveries, the game was all set for England.

MIRACULOUS OVER BY ISHANT SHARMA

In the last three overs, England needed 28 runs to reach the target. For the 18th over, everyone was believing that MS will either go with in-form Umesh Yadav or swing king Kumar. But captain cool’s decision shook everyone. For that crucial over, Dhoni picked out-of-form Ishant Sharma, who hadn’t given any match-winning performance throughout the entire tournament. 

Everyone was blaming MS for this stupid decision. After the first two balls, the Indian fans had almost lost all of their hopes. Morgan smashed consecutive fours in the first two balls of the over. 

With two main batsmen present on the crease, 20 runs in 16 deliveries seemed an easily achievable task for England. But then, a miracle took place. In the next two deliveries, Ishant took the wickets of both Morgan and Bopara, shocking every player and cricket fan. 

The two new batsmen entered the ground, and 19 runs were required in the last two overs for England. In the 19th over, Jadeja took the crucial wicket of Jos Buttler. Also, Tim Bresnan got run out by Rohit. 15 in the last over, the job was a bit tough for England. 

6 NEEDED IN THE LAST BALL

The strict spell by Jadeja already made the job of India a bit easier. But the English tailenders were not ready to accept the defeat till the last delivery of the match. Treadwell and Broad tried their best in the last over to take the match in England’s pocket. In the last delivery of England's Innings in the Champions Trophy 2013 Final, they were required 6 runs in the last ball. Tredwell was on a strike. 

The final delivery by Ashwin was made, and Tredwell missed the ball. The celebration started taking place in the Indian team, crowd, and dressing room. India won the Champions Trophy 2013 by 5 runs. What a match it was, full of excitement, ups and downs, and at the conclusion, a happy ending for India. 

JADEJA WAS GIVEN MAN OF THE MATCH

Ravindra Jadeja displayed an exceptional performance with both bat and ball in the entire match. While batting, he made crucial 33 runs being not out in the 25 deliveries. In England's batting, he did an outstanding job with the ball taking 2 crucial wickets by giving only 24 runs in his spell. Undoubtedly, he deserved this achievement for this incredible all-around performance in all dimensions. 

IT'S THE TIME FOR CELEBRATIONS

This epic win of India against England was special for plenty of reasons. In the last series between India and England on England’s soil, India had gone through a very bad loss against the hosts. Thus, beating them in the finals of the ICC tournament is perfect revenge for the Indian side. 

After the post-match presentation and medal distribution, finally, the ICC Champions Trophy is handed over to the Indian team. The level of enthusiasm after receiving the trophy was unmatchable in the Indian players. Indian players covered the entire group of Bermingham taking the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 in their hands and celebrating the moment with their lovable fans. 

Today, 23rd June 2022, is the anniversary of India’s win in the Champions Trophy 2013 over England in the Finals. It's been 9 years now, but still, the memories and everything about that match are in the heads of the true ICT fans. It was absolutely an unforgettable experience.