ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India vs Pakistan - Heroes of the day

Finally, Team India broke their jinx against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. They kept their focus despite the numerous rain interruptions, and managed to get through the league stage without a hitch. The way this team has been playing, I’d consider them serious favourites for the title now – though how the semifinals pan out is yet to be seen. Here are the heroes for the day:

Shikhar Dhawan (48 runs in 41 balls – 5 fours)

India’s latest opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan once again came to the party with a composed knock that set the tone for another successful run chase. He continued his scoring spree, hammering five boundaries in an approach that could be termed as caution mixed well with aggression. By his fearless efforts, he completely negated the threat posed by all three Pakistani left-arm pacers, especially Junaid Khan. For me, he is truly the find of the tournament!

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8-2-19-2)

The young seamer seems to be enjoying his English sojourn as he has been in red-hot form in the tournament so far. His nagging accuracy and clever variations have fetched him early wickets, and he has always fulfilled his captain’s expectations to the letter. Today was no exception as he took out Nasir Jamshed without too much fuss, before removing the dangerous Mohammad Hafeez just as he was settling down. Bhuvneshwar needs to be groomed well for the future as he is definitely a long-term prospect for the side.

Asad Shafiq (41 runs off 57 balls – 3 fours)

Under the difficult circumstances that his side were in, young Asad Shafiq played a responsible innings as he set about trying to get his side to a defendable total. His 54-run stand with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq did give the Indians some anxious moments, but his dismissal by Ishant Sharma (on review) was the turning point in the game, as his side collapsed without putting up too much of a fight. Nevertheless, it was a solid batting performance from the youngster.

Mohammad Hafeez (27 runs off 31 balls – 5 fours)

After the early dismissal of his opening partner, T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez opened up his arms and played some delightful shots all over the wicket, as he went about resurrecting Pakistan’s innings with Kamran Akmal. His 46-run partnership for the second wicket caused the first signs of a frown on MSD’s normally expressionless face. But a brilliant delivery from rookie Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent him back just after the rain interruption. Had he gone on to make a big score, India would have been hard-pressed to secure a win. A good knock, but in the final analysis, it wasn’t enough.