NB In List | India's Champions Trophy 2013 Victory: 4 key players

After winning the T20 World Cup in 2007, and the ODI World Cup in 2011, MS Dhoni-led India got their hands on the 3rd ICC trophy, the Champions Trophy.

 

With a perfect blend of youngsters and experienced players, India achieved this milestone under the leadership of MS Dhoni. It is pertinent to mention that India didn't have some major names like Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh - who all were part of India's ODI World Cup triumph two years before that. But the CT 2013 win ensured the Indian cricket was in safe hands as Dhoni was ready to lead the next generation of Indian cricket.

 

 

 

Winning all of their five matches in their journey to win the Champions Trophy in 2013, India were favourites to win the ICC event. They beat South Africa, West Indies, and Pakistan in the group stage fixtures, and then beat Sri Lanka and England in the semifinal and final respectively.

 

So, let's see who were the four key players from that Champions League 2013 squad who played a major part in India's victorious campaign-

 

 

The batsman was in a great form who scored 363 runs in five matches with a humongous batting average of 90.75, consisting of two centuries in those. He scored hundreds against South Africa and West Indies in the group stage, and then also played a beautiful 68-run knock in the semifinal against Sri Lanka.

 

The batter scored 31 off 24 runs in the final against England an ended up as the highest scorer in the tournament. He was also the solitary player to score multiple centuries in that edition of CT.

 

 

India got an all-rounder, it needed for a long time! Though making his debut in 2009, a 23-year-old Ravindra Jadeja grabbed his opportunity in 2013 with a stellar performance. He picked up 12 wickets in five matches and finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He also scored 33 crucial runs in the final and picked up 2 wickets with the ball, which earned him the Player of the Match award.

 

The left-arm spinner was the only player in the tournament to have a five-fer, when he picked 5/36 against West Indies.

 

 

The bowler's performance was the highlight of the CT final. With England needing 20 off 16 balls in the Final, the pacer got the wickets of in-form batters Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in consecutive deliveries and changed the tide for team India.

 

Sharma spearheaded the Indian pace attack extremely well and picked up 10 wickets in the tournament.

 

 

Virat Kohli managed 176 runs in the tournament. Although his numbers were not as prolific as Kohli's standards, he made a crucial impact though.

 

Kohli scored an unbeaten 22 to get India home against Pakistan, and then backed it up with another crucial unbeaten 58 as Indian saw Sri Lanka off in the semifinal.

 

His major impact came in the Final when the batter scored 43 runs in a rain-curtailed match. With wickets tumbling around him, Kohli stitched a crucial 47-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja and helped India to amass a respectable total, which proved to be enough.