Impressive India's passage to ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Final

To borrow from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, change is the only constant in life. When Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s young team boarded the flight to England and Wales, there was much furore among the media and fans alike over the absence of the illustrious seniors. The galacticos – Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, had hung up their boots, the prolonged barren patch of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan forced them out of the set-up. The crisis deepened further when the IPL spot-fixing scandal threw up questions regarding the credibility of Indian cricket. And captain MS Dhoni found himself in the eye of the storm.

As the ice-man always does, he thawed the pressure and built a platform for his boys to shine in the Champions Trophy firmament. Dhoni’s fathomless self-confidence has percolated down to his inexperienced side. Shikhar Dhawan is climbing mountains with the ease of a professional, India’s figure of fun turned gracious grafter – Sir Ravindra Jadeja – has been at the forefront of India’s success with the ball, bat and in the field as well.

Runs are flowing from the batsmen, bowlers are providing a steady feed of wickets, 4 wins in 4 fixtures – India’s transition is as smooth as silk. If the Champions Trophy is anything to go by, then it won’t be long before the change of guard is complete. Here’s a sneak-peek at impressive India’s passage to the finals.

Match 1: India vs South Africa

Result: India won by 26 runs

Inserted to bat first in overcast conditions, India’s new opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, showcasing pristine timing, added 127 for the first wicket to lay the foundation for a bumper start to the event. While the mature Rohit Sharma fell for 67, the intrepid Shikhar Dhawan cracked his maiden ODI hundred, quickly following in the heels of his debut Test ton against Australia. In the latter half of his innings, Dhawan exploded to put the Steyn-less South African attack to the sword. Though the likes of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni exited in pursuit of quick runs, Ravindra Jadeja played a charming cameo to hoist India past the 330 mark.

In reply, the Proteas responded to early wickets with counter-attack. Pinch-hitter Robin Peterson and AB de Villiers lit up the chase with some dazzling store-play. Enter Ravindra Jadeja! The fleet-footed Jadeja, diving full length at mid-wicket, conjured up a direct hit to run-out Peterson. Jadeja and Ashwin soon settled into an asphyxiating rhythm to choke the proverbial chokers. And yes, they did choke, as India won by 26 runs. Ryan McLaren smacked a few meaty blows at the end but it was all too late for South Africa.

Match 6: India vs West Indies

Result: India won by 8 wickets

The dashing duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja, with the twirlable Sindely mostache, came to the party again to push the original party animals – the West Indies – to the brink. After the early loss of danger man, Gayle, Johnson Charles intended to wallop every delivery out of the Oval. While Charles was on the prowl, a stat was beginning to hang like the sword of Damocles over the Indian bowling – Charles had a 100% conversion of fifties into 100′s. All that was changed by Jadeja, who also sparked off a middle order collapse. Darren Sammy, ever the gay cavalier, then staged an impressive riposte to take WI to a middling 233. India’s razor-sharp fielding also came to the fore in this duel. The awesome foursome of Kohli, Jadeja, Rohit and Raina nearly shaved 30 runs off West Indies’ final total, an invisible turning point in the clash.

A target of 234 was never really going to trouble the Indian batting department that backs itself to gun down any total. Whilst Dhawan continued to bat like a dream, sealing his second successive ODI ton, Dinesh Karthik (51*) and Rohit Sharma (52) played the supporting acts to perfection. The upshot was that India marched into the semis besides knocking arch-rivals Pakistan out of the tournament.

Match 10: India vs Pakistan

Result: India won by 8 wickets

The much-awaited gladiatorial India-Pakistan clash was rendered a dead rubber but the mercurial India-Pakistan that has supplanted the Ashes as cricket’s blue-ribbon rivalry and the electrifying atmosphere at Edgbaston suggested otherwise.

The Pakistani batting blacked out again in what kick-started as a full game but was reduced to a 40 overs per side contest owing to severe rain interruptions. The way Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja flighted and turned the ball prodigiously, it seemed as if they were operating on the Chepauk pitch rather than Edgbaston. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-18), extracting swing and lateral movement early on delivered a neat spell. His upright seam position catalyzed his ability to nip the ball in the air and plant uncertainty in the minds of the opposition. Pakistan’s total of 165 all-out was adjusted to 167 because of the rain-breaks.

With ‘Dabangg Dhawan’ (48) powering on, India cantered home to register their first Champions trophy victory against their old foes.

Semi-final 2: India vs Sri Lanka

Result: India won by 8 wickets

Flawless. Dominant. Impeccable. India produced that kind of a display that would delight coaches. Bowling first on a helpful pitch, India’s callow pace-attack tore open the portal to the glorious summer of 1983, when Kapil Dev and his swing battery ruled the roost in similar English conditions. The accurate Bhuvneshvar Kumar and the bustling Umesh Yadav softened the prey before Ishant Sharma’s steep bounce made the incisions. The doughty 78 run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews was the lone bright spot in Sri Lanka’s horrendous batting effort of 181.

India’s batting petered out in a familiar manner with the consistency personified Dhawan (68*) leading the charge. Virat Kohli, who comprehends the Lankan attack very well, also scored an equally vintage fifty to mop up the chase as India stormed into the final.

India were the first team to book the semi-finals ticket and will be the red-hot favorites in the grand final too, and rightly so.