ICC Champions Trophy 2013 - The dream XI

Leaving England 6 to win off the final delivery in a rain-reduced 20-20 shoot-out, India’s go-to bowler, Ravichandran Ashwin befuddled James Tredwell with viscous turn as the vociferous India-centric crowd that braved torrential rains and chilly howling winds for more than 6 hours let out a primeval roar along with Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Men in blue held their nerve amidst frenzied action to seal the elusive title in the tightest of twilight finishes. Not often does Dhoni gives vent to his emotions and let his hair down. But beating England in England was mighty special, especially after the ignominy of surrendering to the Poms in the home Test series last year.

Bar the infuriatingly frequent rain interruptions, the 2013 Champions Trophy, apparently the farewell edition, has been the most engrossing one by a country-mile. Despite majority matches being one-sided affairs, we witnessed some edge-of- seat thrillers too, where fortunes swung like stock-market gone crazy. Monumental batting and some inspired bowling coupled with intense fielding was warmly welcomed by England and Wales’s multi-cultural population. Despite the rain threat, 13 of 16 games boasted of sell-out crowds.

Now it’s time to pick the best XI to comprise the Dream Team of ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

Shikhar Dhawan: The Delhi dasher typifies the new age Indian cricketer- bulging biceps, an attractive ear-ring, and the stylish tattoos, twirlable moustache and and turbo-charged aggression. Shikhar Dhawan, who was a mere dot on the Indian cricket‘s horizon a year ago, turned out to be the brightest star of Champions Trophy, aggregating an incredible 363 runs in 5 games at an average of 90.75. His strike rate – 101.39 – is a testament to the fact that he has not only inherited Virender Sehwag‘s position but also his intrepid batting approach.

In addition to clobbering the ball like the original Delhi dasher, he can caress the ball like Sourav Ganguly. Dhawan’s biggest asset though is his sky-high confidence. Dhawan, who signed off as the lead run-scorer of the tournament, knew that he could fire every time he strode out to bat even before the tournament began.

Rohit Sharma: Rohit’s international career has had more start-stops than a bus in Bangalore traffic. Indian cricket’s ultimate enigma has finally come of age, melding sound temperament with outrageous talent. Showing courage to open the batting in alien English conditions, Rohit slapped all those who cast aspersions over his ability. In the very first game of Champions Trophy, he scored a crisp 83, playing the ideal foil to Dhawan. With 4 fifty plus stands in 5 matches, Dhawan and Rohit are the solution to India’s opening conundrum. He finished as the tournament’s fourth highest run getter with 177 runs under his belt.

Kumar Sangakkara: The suave run-machine was the engine-room of Sri Lanka’s promising campaign, compiling 222 runs including an unbeaten 134*- the highest individual score in the tournament. After a patient fifty against New Zealand, Kumar Sangakkara’s masterful century willed Sri Lanka to pull off an improbable run-chase against eventual finalists England. The way he manipulated the English bowlers and fielders in the batting powerplay would serve as a model innings to any aspiring batsman.

Jonathan Trott: Trott, whose equally impressive 76 was relegated to the sidelines by Sanga’s ton would be honoured to share the dressing room with the Sri Lankan stalwart. For a change, Trott’s batting was more a gallop rather than a trot. His refreshingly fluent batting brought him 229 runs, yet some distance behind Dhawan.

Virat Kohli: From 50 for 1, India had slid to 66-5 in the final. The Poms were on the prowl. The conditions overhead and underfoot heavily favoured the bowlers. Surmounting tremendous odds, Kohli played a gutsy innings (43*) to steer India to safe shores. Kohli was in the zone, drilling the ball beautifully through the covers and launching Stuart Broad’s short ball into the deep square-leg stands. India’s future captain had warmed up for the final showdown with a sublime fifty against familiar rivals, Sri Lanka.