ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India v/s West Indies - Heroes of the day

When you have two champion sides facing off against each other, you obviously expect a lot of fireworks from them. In today’s game between India and the West Indies, that is exactly what happened, though India had control of the proceedings till the 48th over of the WI innings. Nevertheless, it was an exciting game of cricket, proving once again that despite all the turmoil happening off the field, the game still hasn’t lost its sheen. Here are the heroes of the day:

Johnson Charles (60 runs off 55 balls – 7 fours, 2 sixes)

While the onus of getting the Windies off to a flyer was mostly on the dangerous Chris Gayle, it was his opening partner Johnson Charles who stole the limelight with a belligerent knock of 60 from just 55 deliveries. He looked in no discomfort against both spin and pace, and even took on R Ashwin, hammering the off-spinner for a lovely six over long on. Charles stitched together a 78-run stand with Darren Bravo, before becoming the first of Ravindra Jadeja‘s five victims. His dismissal saw a dip in the scoring rate before the last two overs of the WI innings changed all that.

Darren Sammy (56 n.o. off 35 balls – 5 fours, 4 sixes)

Relieved of the burden of captaincy, all-rounder Darren Sammy unleashed the powerful shots he’s known for, towards the end of the WI innings. His cameo spoiled an otherwise excellent bowling performance from the Indians, particularly from Jadeja and swing bowler Ishant Sharma. Sammy slammed four sixes – one each off Jadeja and Umesh Yadav, and two off Ishant in the 49th over. His pyrotechnics saw his side finish at 233/9 – a good score on the Oval’s track, but not enough to secure a win.

Ravindra Jadeja (10-2-36-5; 1 catch)

‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja was in his elements today, as he rattled the West Indian line-up with his slow left-arm spin. He started the slide by removing a well-set Johnson Charles, breaking a flourishing partnership. Following this, he dismissed Marlon Samuels (on review), veteran batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, mystery spinner Sunil Narine and polished off Ravi Rampaul to claim his maiden fiver in ODIs. If he continues in this vein, he could very well prove to be the all-round option that India have been sorely lacking for quite a while now.

Rohit Sharma (52 runs in 56 balls – 7 fours)

Perhaps the captaincy stint in the IPL has made Rohit realize the virtue of being patient and staying longer at the crease. In both the games he’s played, the Mumbai batsman has shown glimpses of his willingness to stick it out in the middle and play the shots when required. The way he’s been playing, it seems that he’s on a mission to cement his place in the national team, and enjoy his game at the same time. If he can shake off the bugbear of inconsistency which has been plaguing him for long, Rohit could well be the perfect replacement for Virender Sehwag, if the latter decides to hang up his boots.

Shikhar Dhawan (102 n.o. off 107 balls – 10 fours, 1 six)

There isn’t much to write about Shikhar Dhawan’s exploits since his hundred in the first game against SA. Today’s knock, however, required a lot of patience and the willingness to rough it out without taking unnecessary risks. Dhawan’s consecutive boundaries off speedster Kemar Roach and a lovely cover drive off ‘mystery’ bowler Sunil Narine were easily the strokes of the day. A century stand with Rohit Sharma set the ball rolling, and he stayed till the end to complete the successful run-chase, courtesy another 100-plus stand with Dinesh Karthik. In the process, Dhawan registered his second ODI hundred, thus becoming the first batsman to score two centuries in this year’s Champions Trophy.

Dinesh Karthik (1 catch; 51 n.o. off 54 balls – 8 fours)

Karthik seems to be enjoying the second wind his ODI career has received. Playing purely as a batsman, the Tamil Nadu player dropped anchor at one end while Dhawan played the shots in their match-winning partnership. He then stepped on the gas to score the winning boundary, and registered yet another fifty for himself. DK’s risk-free approach allowed his partner Dhawan to maintain focus, as the two took India home with plenty of overs to spare.