A 50-over One-Day International requires a minimum of 20 overs from either side to constitute a game. The final of the 2013 Champions Trophy between India and England at Edgbaston had fans waiting for an eternity before getting under way.
With no reserve day in store for the ultimate showdown in Birmingham, the rain tried its best to play spoilsport. However, just in the nick of time, the rain eased up and the teams were allocated 20 overs each to get a potential result. Ultimately, it was the Indian cricket team who went on to lift the trophy by defeating the hosts by five runs. Take a look at how the game panned out.
A rusty Indian batting display
Alistair Cook and England won the toss and chose to field first, factoring in the overcast conditions. The decision paid off as the English bowlers were able to restrict the swashbuckling Indian batsmen to a paltry total of 129 runs for the loss of seven wickets.
With Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan at the crease, India got off to a relatively slow start, scoring 19 runs in the opening four overs. Stuart Broad drew first blood for England as he found a yawning gap between the bat and pad of a scratchy looking Rohit to knock back his stumps.
The left-handed Dhawan and Virat Kohli steadied the ship for India with a partnership of 31 runs from 27 balls, but Dhawan was foxed by a slower off-cutter from Ravi Bopara as he slapped it straight into the palms of James Tredwell at extra-cover to leave India at 50 for the loss of two.
India lost wickets at regular intervals and after 13 overs, stared down the barrel at 66/5.
Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell cheaply to leave India in more than a spot of bother. Ravi Bopara, with a spell of 4-0-20-3, ripped the heart out of the Indian batting to leave them in absolute shambles.
The onus was now on Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to drag India out of the precarious position and shepherd the team to a respectable total. With a partnership of 47 runs from 33 balls, the pair managed to gain some momentum for Team India.
Nevertheless, with nine balls remaining in the innings, James Anderson snapped up the big fish. Kohli attempted a lofted shot only to hole out to Ravi Bopara at the long off boundary.
Jadeja got a couple away to the boundary, but the late charge from India never came as they huffed and puffed their way to 129 runs.
India survive Morgan and Bopara partnership
The chase didn’t commence well for England as they lost their captain Cook in the second over, Umesh Yadav finding the outside-edge of the left-hander. India then managed to pick up wickets frequently enough and after 8.4 overs England struggled to 46 runs for the loss of four wickets with 84 runs required from the last 64 balls.
The positive for England was that they had a right-hand left-hand pair of Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara at the crease and also depth in batting.
The partnership turned out to be vital for the game as it fetched 64 runs in 53 deliveries, taking England to the brink of victory.
With 19 runs required off the last 16 balls, England were all set to pocket their maiden 50-over ICC trophy, but India weren't done just yet. Ishant Sharma dismissed Morgan and Bopara off back to back deliveries.
In the next over, Golden Ball winner Jadeja inflicted a body blow, cleaning up Jos Buttler for a golden duck. Panic clearly showed on the English batsmen’s faces and Tim Bresnan got himself run-out soon after.
With 15 runs needed from the last six balls, Dhoni decided to gamble, handing the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin. He conceded nine runs from the over and India pulled off a miraculous victory after being pushed back in their first innings.
Four years down the line, India reached the final yet again, but succumbed to a robust Pakistan team. Barring the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, India have performed reasonably well over the past decade in ICC tournaments.
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