If you are a cricket fan like me, I am sure you are also waiting endlessly for India to win an ICC Trophy. India has been unlucky for the past decade when it comes to winning ICC tournaments as going into most of them India was the team to beat. The last time India won an ICC Trophy was 10 years ago back in 2013! India won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. India beat Sri Lanka in the semi-final to reach the finals which they played against England. The final gets reduced to 20 overs a side due to rain and India bat first. India gets a decent start but then has a middle-order collapse. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja help India post a total of 129. England doesn’t get a good start as they lose early wickets. Morgan and Bopara provide a crucial partnership and almost brought their team victory when Ishant Sharma gets both of them out on successive deliveries. India is able to win the match by 5 runs and lift the trophy.
In this article, we discuss the last time India won an ICC event, the Champions Trophy 2013 Finals.
Young Blood & Winning Streak in the Group Stages
Leading up to the tournament India was the team to beat. India had won both the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. However, the team was in transition with old stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar retiring and senior players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh being dropped in favor of future prospects. It was in this series that the captain of the Indian team MS Dhoni decided to field a young team that could also field exceptionally well. With this approach, new faces came into the team like Jadeja, and Dhawan, also it was during this time that Rohit Sharma started opening the batting for India.
India dominates the group stage of the Champions Trophy by winning all their matches. They defeat South Africa, West Indies, and Pakistan pretty convincingly and advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, India defeat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets and extend their unbeaten winning streak to 4.
Also read: 2002 NatWest Series Final – When Dada Took Off His Shirt At Lord’s
The Final
On 23rd June, India was all set to play England led by Alastair Cook in the Champions Trophy final, when they were met with rain on the matchday. The rain didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon, and since there wasn’t a reserve day scheduled for the final, it meant India and England would have to share the title. However, soon the rain did stop but since a severe amount of time had passed, the match had to be reduced to 20 overs.
India Bat First
India bats first but doesn’t get a good start as India loses their key opener Rohit Sharma early. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli then stabilize the innings when after a small partnership, Dhawan gets out to Bopara. After that India have a collapse as Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni all get out cheaply. India was now reduced to 66/5 when in walks the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja put on a crucial partnership that allowed India to post a total of 129. This is arguably the most underrated white-ball innings Jadeja has played.
The Thrilling Run-Chase
England had to now chase 130 runs in 20 overs, which even though was quite gettable would prove to be very difficult because of overcast conditions. England don’t get to a good start as Indian pacer Umesh Yadav was able to take the wicket of their captain and their best batsman Alastair Cook.
Then, Ashwin was able to get 2 quick wickets in Jonathan Trott and Joe Root. Ian Bell too fell soon to Jadeja, and England was now struggling at 46/4.
It looked like India would win the match comfortably from here. However, just like India had a crucial partnership in the end between Kohli and Jadeja, England too have one between Eoin Morgan and Bopara. In fact, they took England to 102/4 at the end of the 17th over and required just 26 off 3 overs – a very gettable target in the era of T20 Cricket.
17th Over: The Ishant Sharma Show
Ishant Sharma bowls the next over and gets hit for a six in the second ball. If that wasn’t enough, Sharma under pressure then bowls 2 wides. England were now cruising to victory at 110/4, needing 20 off 16 balls when suddenly Ishant Sharma dismisses both the set batsman- Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the next 2 deliveries.
Ishant Sharma talks about bowling the all-important 18th over of the match:
18th Over: England reduced to 113-8
The game was now in the balance with England needing 19 runs in 12 balls, with 4 wickets in hand. It is at this time, that Jadeja bowls the 19th over and takes the important wicket of Buttler while giving just 4 runs. Tim Bresnan was also run out in this same over.
The Dramatic Last Over: Ashwin Holds His Nerves
This meant Ashwin who bowled the last over needed to defend 15 runs. The English tail-enders were able to score 9 runs of the first 5 balls of the over. The match went till the last delivery with England needing a six of the last ball for victory. However, Ashwin bowled a dot in the last delivery of the match to restrict England to just 124 runs as India bagged the victory by 5 runs.
Key Performances
Ravindra Jadeja’s – 33(25) while batting and 2/24 while bowling provided an all-round effort that help India win the match, and thus also was the Man of the Match for the final
Ravi Ashwin’s – 2/15, and Ishant Sharma’s 2/36 provided India important breakthroughs that help them defend a low total.
Ravi Bopara’s 3/20 while bowling for England derailed India’s batting effort in the middle and it was his crucial knock of 30(25) that brought England back in the game after losing quick wickets in the run-chase. He had almost taken England to victory had Ishant Sharma not taken his wicket at the right time.
🇮🇳 129/7
🏴 124/8#OnThisDay in 2013, India overcame England in a tense rain-affected match to win the ICC Champions Trophy 🏆Relive the top moments from the game, which was reduced to twenty overs a side 📹👇 pic.twitter.com/NnR8g5rLcY
— ICC (@ICC) June 23, 2020
India Crowned Champions!
With this, India lifted the 2013 Champions Trophy while Shikhar Dhawan was named the player of the series. This win was very symbolic as it signaled that a new period in Indian cricket has arrived. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli would go on to become legends of Indian cricket in the coming years. Ravindra Jadeja who was adjudged the player of the match also would go on to become one of the best Indian all-rounders of all time.
Captain MS Dhoni, with this win, became the only person in the history of cricket to win all the 3 ICC tournaments; the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Everyone thought that India’s golden period in cricket has come, but no one knew that this will be the last trophy for a while, as India failed to win any other ICC tournament for the next 10 years.
⏪ 23rd June 2013, ICC Champions Trophy final@msdhoni becomes the first captain in history to complete a hat-trick of ICC trophies:
🏆 2007 @t20worldcup
🏆 2011 @cricketworldcup
🏆 2013 Champions Trophy pic.twitter.com/0EdC96t1Dl— ICC (@ICC) June 23, 2021
I hope you enjoyed reading about the last time India won an ICC Event – The Champion Trophy 2013, do share this article with your family and friends. Till then, adios!
(Image Sources: Screengrabs – ICC on Facebook)