India's triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy marked a hat-trick of ICC trophies for MS Dhoni, making him the first captain to win all three ICC trophies.
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England’s triumph in the 2019 World Cup on home soil marked the end of a barren run in ICC tournaments. The team won its first trophy since the 2010 T20 World Cup, where they recorded a victory against arch-rivals Australia in the final. However, the search for silverware could well have ended in 2013 after reaching the final of the Champions Trophy, only to be denied by a MS Dhoni masterstroke. Dhoni turned the game around completely with a brilliant decision, denying England an opportunity to win the Champions Trophy for the first time. India’s triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy marked a hat-trick of ICC trophies for the former Team India skipper, making him the first to do so.
Dhoni handed pacer Ishant Sharma the ball with 28 runs needed off 18 deliveries after Team India recorded a total of 129 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. The visitors were sent in to bat in conditions that were not very batting-friendly, having been hampered by rain with the duration of the game reduced from the original 50 overs. Ishant had conceded 27 runs in three overs, with Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara at the crease. Both the players were well set on the pitch with victory seeming like a mere formality. The former’s confidence certainly reflected in the second delivery as Morgan hooked a short on leg stump delivery away off leg stump with even elevation to direct it over the boundary.
Ishant seemed under pressure as evident from the two consecutive wide deliveries bowled right after. With the equation close to a run a ball, not many would have backed Dhoni’s choice just like they did not after Joginder Sharma’s poor start in the final over of the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan.
However, Ishant delivered the goods when it mattered the most deceiving Morgan with a brilliant move. The batsman tried to pick up a delivery from outside off over midwicket, having failed to take into account the rolling of fingers across the seam. The delivery was quite wide resulting in the ball looping off the bottom of the bat towards Ravichandran Ashwin who was inside the circle.
Ishant was fired up following Morgan’s dismissal, accounting for the wicket of Bopara off the next delivery. The all-rounder picked out Ashwin who was placed inside the circle, drilling the short ball out of the middle of the bat. With two new batsmen in Tim Bresnan and Jos Buttler at the crease, India earned an opportunity to make a comeback in a clash that seemed done and dusted just an over back.
Ravindra Jadeja was handed the ball in the penultimate over with 19 runs needed off 12 deliveries. Jadeja accounted for the key wicket of Jos Buttler off the second delivery, with the batsman’s middle-stump disturbed after attempting to smash wildly. Bresnan was dismissed following a run-out just two deliveries later, having been left stranded for a run that was never on.
Ashwin delivered the goods in the final over after being handed 15 runs to defend. While Stuart Broad scored a boundary off the second delivery after a low full toss, the spinner maintained his cool over the remaining few balls to lead Team India on to a massive win. Dhoni who is usually reluctant to show his emotions extensively, celebrated wildly after the Indian team pulled off a comeback against the odds.
England may well have been optimistic of lifting their second ICC trophy in three years, after Bopara helped the hosts restrict India to 129. The all-rounder accounted for three wickets, with James Anderson, Broad and James Tredwell recording a dismissal apiece. Virat Kohli was the top run-scorer, accounting for 43 runs off 34 deliveries with four boundaries and a six to his credit. Jadeja chipped in down the order, with 33 runs from 25 balls smashing two fours and maximums apiece. However, Dhoni had the last laugh as has been the case on many occasions.
“When we were batting I just said get close to 130. The shower helped us because the ball was gripping later on. It’s important to be positive. I said ‘we are the No. 1-ranked team, let’s play like that’. I knew the two-overs of Powerplay were crucial. I wanted to make them slog off the spinners. They all handled the pressure really well, in international cricket people talk about technique but it’s the ones that deal with the pressure,” said the former Indian skipper as quoted by Cricinfo.
England captain Alastair Cook admitted that his players were devastated following the close defeat.
“The first credit has to go the groundstaff to get a game. We’ve come up a little short. I though we bowled well, you’d take 130. It’s tough to take at the moment. I think both sides found the pitch quite hard to bat on. You are always going to think of different reasons. I’m proud of the way the players have performed in this tournament. With 20-odd needed off 16 balls it was in our hands. There have been a lot of good performances, but at the moment we are a bit devastated,” he stated.
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