Who Was the Man of the Match in Champions Trophy Final 2013? History was made on this day 23rd June 2013. India was to face one of their biggest rivals England in the final of ICC Champions Trophy. Clouds dominated the ground; heavy rains caused a slight delay in the beginning of the showdown. However, there were few rays of hopes for the fans when the authorities decided to have a match which was reduced to twenty overs as soon as they saw clear skies and whatever happened next is written in the history of cricket with golden words.
Who Was the Man of the Match in Champions Trophy Final 2013? What Happened in the Match?
Ravindra Jadeja who stood like a knight in shining armor was awarded the man of the match because of his all-round performance with the bat and the ball. The pitch was a little damp and slightly two paced due to the rain favoring the bowlers. England won the toss and fielding was their obvious choice analyzing the conditions.
India under MS Dhoni had to bat first in the crucial final against a Strong English side. Although they lost Rohit Sharma very early as he had to depart for only 9 runs playing 14 balls, Shikhar Dhawan who scored 31 runs for 24 balls and Virat Kohli scoring 43 runs of 34 balls gave India a decent start. However, losing wickets and early dismissals of the middle order batsmen caused India to land on below par score of 129. Bopara’s spell was the deadliest where he took 3 significant wickets giving only 20 runs. Ravindra Jadeja in this innings played his key role as a finisher scoring 33 runs of 25 balls and remained not out.
The 2nd innings started with fingers crossed and hearts beating high for the Indian fans. Few pessimistic critics already declared that England had an upper hand in this situation. Indian pacers entered the ground with a lot of pressure as the asking run rate was only 6.5 per over but showing his peak talent Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent Alaister Cook back to the pavilion in the very first over giving only 3 runs which was a huge loss for England. Jonathan Trott and Ian bell tried to rebuild the innings in between 2 -5 overs but Trott was lost to Jadeja on the very first ball of the 5th over.
This was some relief for the Indian squad and the Fans. Root fell to Ishant in the seventh over. Later on, captain Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara tried to build the innings by scoring 64 runs off 56 balls. But losing wickets simultaneously boosted the Indian squad and there was a stable performance by both the spinners Ashwin and Jadeja made a great impact. However, after the 17th over England still had all the cards in their hands as they required only 20 runs of the last 18 balls with 6 wickets still in their hands.
A Nail-Biting Finish
In a dramatic spell, the 18th over started with a boundary. But soon Ishant Sharma sent the two batsmen back to the pavilion in the 3rd and the 4th ball of this over and the Indian fans were cheerful again. Buttler was sent back by Jadeja on the 2nd ball of the 19th over and now England needed 15 off the final over with 2 wickets in hand. Ashwin managed to defend these runs successfully and India won by 5 runs.
MS Dhoni trusted spinners over pacers which proved to be a psychological and strategical masterclass by India. Ishant bowled the most pivotal over of the innings. Ravindra Jadeja was Indeed the man of the match in this victory because his performance with the bat and the ball kept the hopes alive for the team and backed them to perform at crucial situations. MS Dhoni became the first Indian Captain to win all the 3 ICC trophies and Shikhar Dhawan scored 363 runs which were highest by any player in the tournament. All these records made India one of the most successful teams in the History of cricket on this day 23rd June 2013.
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