They won the T20 World Cup in 2007, and the ODI World Cup in 2011. And within two years, MS Dhoni-led India got their hands on the 3rd ICC trophy, the Champions Trophy.
In that team led by MS Dhoni, there was a fantastic blend of youth and experienced who performed in fantastic fashion to emerge victorious in tough English conditions. There were newcomers who shone, experienced players who took onus and performed, and a captain cool who guided his team towards glory.
India didn’t have some major names like Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh – who all were part of India’s ODI World Cup triumph two years before that. But the CT 2013 win ensured the Indian cricket was in safe hands as Dhoni was ready to lead the next generation of Indian cricket.
India won all of their five matches in their journey to win the Champions Trophy in 2013. They beat South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan in the group stage fixtures, and then beat Sri Lanka and England in the semifinal and final respectively.
Today we shall talk about four key performers from that Champions League 2013 squad who played a major part in India’s joyous and victorious campaign-
Shikhar Dhawan
The name that comes on top of the mind is Shikhar Dhawan. The southpaw wreaked havoc in that tournament and thus embarked his fantastic ICC trophy records.
Dhawan scored 363 runs in five matches with a humongous batting average of 90.75, consisting of two centuries in those. He scored hundreds against South Africa and West Indies in the group stage, and then also played a beautiful 68-run knock in the semifinal against Sri Lanka.
The batter scored 31 off 24 runs in the final against England an ended up as the highest scorer in the tournament. He was also the solitary player to score multiple centuries in that edition of CT.
Ravindra Jadeja
A 23-year-old Ravindra Jadeja made his ODI debut in 2009, but cemented his place in the national team in 2013 with a stellar performance.
Jadeja picked up 12 wickets in five matches and finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He also scored 33 crucial runs in the final and picked up 2 wickets with the ball, which earned him the Player of the Match award.
The left-arm spinner was the only player in the tournament to have a five-fer, when he picked 5/36 against West Indies.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is remembered for a spell of four balls in the entire tournament. With England needing 20 off 16 balls in the Final, the pacer got the wickets of set batters Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in consecutive deliveries and changed the complexion of the whole match.
But even without it, the lanky bowler did well for the team. Sharma spearheaded the Indian pace attack extremely well and picked up 10 wickets in the tournament.
Can’t Believe India ???????? Won the match ( CT 2013 final ) from here !
20 runs from 16 balls with 6 wickets remaining ???? !
Ishant Sharma, Ashwin ???????? !
MS Dhoni :- the ???? captain ! pic.twitter.com/uLKPakbc6G
— ???????? ✨. (@ritik______raj) May 22, 2023
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli managed 176 runs in the tournament. Although his numbers were not as prolific as Kohli’s standards, he made a crucial impact though.
Kohli scored an unbeaten 22 to get India home against Pakistan, and then backed it up with another crucial unbeaten 58 as Indian saw Sri Lanka off in the semifinal.
His major impact came in the Final when the batter scored 43 runs in a rain-curtailed match. With wickets tumbling around him, Kohli stitched a crucial 47-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja and helped India to amass a respectable total, which proved to be enough.
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