Fifty over final reduced to a farce of 20 overs:

Kohli curry provided by Virat:

India Cook England

Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting from England

In a farce of a game, reduced from 50 overs a side to 20 because of rain,India beat India England by five runs to carry away the final ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham, here today. And did not the Indian cricketers and their supporters celebrate. England like always choked in the final.

England seemed to be headed for victory when Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara hoisted a stand of 64 in 53 balls. But with the dismissals of Morgan for 33 and Ravi Bopara for 30 England slumped to 110 for 6.Then it was 112 for 7 when Butler went for no score.

With excitement mounting England lost Tim Bresnan run out for 2 and when the final over began England needed 15 to win and if India were to win they needed two wickets.

Failed to deliver

But Stuart Broad 7 and James Tredwell 5 failed to deliver and England made 124 for 8 and lost by five runs. It was Ishant Sharma’s two wickets in one over that turned the game in India’s favour. England in their chase started off disastrously losing Captain Cook who tried to cut and was brilliantly held by Ravi Ashwin in the slips off Umesh Yadav. He made two and the score 3. After a brief stand of 25 for the second wicket between Ian Bell and Jonathon Trott, Trott departed for 20 and lost Joe Root for 7 and Ian Bell for 13 and were 46 for 4. Bell’s dismissal stumped and ruled out by the third umpire was questionable.

Wicket covered for hours

The wicket which was kept covered for hours, played well although there was a bit of moisture on it. Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawn who have given their side good starts in all games, were untroubled by England opening bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad. After putting on 19 runs, Sharma played a little too early at a ball that moved in and was bowled through the ‘gate’ by Broad for 9. Virat Kohli joined Dhawan who was batting with his usual confidence and took the score to 38 in 6.2 overs when the rains came down again. Dhawan was on 22 and Kholi 6.

After the restart, stroke play was not easy as the England bowlers were bowing a tight line and length. India lost their most prolific batsman Dhawna for 31 with 2 four and a six at 50.

Dhawn failed to read a slow ball from Ravi Bopara and holed out to Tredwell at extra cover. The pressure was on India as they kept losing wickets. Out went Dinesh Karthik for 6, Suresh Raina for one and the big wicket for England was Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was out for zero.

At 66 for 5 India were on the skids. But a fighting 47-run stand in 33 balls by Virat Kohli and Ravi Jadeja helped them recover and finally make 129 for 7 in their 20 overs. Both hit out lustily and Kohli in top scoring with 43 had 4 fours and a six in a 33-ball knock.

India’s best left arm spinner Jedaja who is no mean batsman rose to the occasion and blasted 33 from 25 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He batted like a veteran and a lot is expected from him when he comes on to bowl.

Line and length

Medium pacer Ravi Bopara was pitching line and length, varying his deliveries and his wicket talking ball was the well disguise slow one. In his third over he had two wickets to add to his earlier wicket of Dhawan. He finished with figures of 4- 1- 20-3. It was a great shame when the original 50-overa side ICC Champions Trophy final had to be reduced to 20-over game. Pity because this is the last time that the Champions Trophy will be played and a final that promised exciting and nail-biting cricket had to be spoilt by the incessant rain that kept falling.

It was frustrating to all – the cricketers, the umpires, the spectators, the sponsors the broadcasters, the journalists and the ground staff. The rains ceased, but it returned and after inspections umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Rod Tucker decided on playing a 20-overs a side game.

Proudly waving flags

From morning the Indian supporters were rushing in proudly waving their national flags and making big noise and shouting ‘India Champions, India Champions’. England fans too were arriving, but they

were silently confident. It was cold and some of them were warming themselves with beer mugs in their hands.

Rain was predicted

The weather forecast had predicted rain. And if happens to rain, and overs are reduced, then it could take away the game as a contest. The winning of the toss was going to prove vital, because the side winning the toss was certain to ask the other side in.

England the home team had not won a global one-day competition in 17 years and 38 attempts and they gained the early advantage in their 39th attempt when Indian captain called ‘tails’, lost the toss and Alastair Cook asked India to bat. After the toss and after the national anthems of both countries were sung, there began a drizzle and the curators had the covers on promptly on the pitch and the surrounding areas.

Drizzle became heavy

The drizzle became heavy and the rains lashed the ground and the spectators were under their umbrellas and all of them posing the often asked question in this tournament: ‘why isn’t there an extra day – at least in the final?

The ground staff had the wicket and the surroundings covered and even when it was drizzling, they worked the hovercraft to take the water off that remained on the covers. What was great was that the outfield was not affected.

India 
R. Sharma b Broad 			 9 
S. Dhawan c Tredwell b Bopara 		31 
V. Kohli c Bopara b Anderson 		43 
D. Karthik c Morgan b Tredwell 		 6 
S. Raina c Cook b Bopara 		 1 
MS Dhoni c Tredwell b Bopara 		 0 
R. Jadeja not out 			33 
R. Ashwin run out (Bell) 		 1 
B. Kumar not out 			 1 
Extras (w4) 				 4 
Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 		129 
Fall of wickets: 1-19 (R Sharma), 2-50 (Dhawan), 3-64 (Karthik), 4-66 (Raina), 
5-66 (Dhoni), 6-113 (Kohli), 7-119 (Ashwin) 
Bowling: Anderson 4-0-24-1; Broad 4-0-26-1; Bresnan 4-0-34-0 (3w); 
Tredwell 4-0-25-1; Bopara 4-1-20-3 (1w); 

England
A. Cook c Ashwin b Yadav 	 2
I. Bell st Dhoni b Jadeja 	13
J. Trott st Dhoni b Ashwin	20
J. Root c I Sharma b Ashwin 	 7
E. Morgan c Ashwin b I Sharma 	33
R. Bopara c Ashwin b I Sharma 	30
J. Buttler b Jadeja 		 0
T. Bresnan run out (R Sharma) 	 2
S. Broad not out 		 7
J. Tredwell not out 		 5
Extras (lb1, w4) 		 5
Total (8 wkts, 20 overs) 	124
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Cook), 2-28 (Trott), 3-40 (Root), 4-46 (Bell), 5-110 (Morgan), 
6-110 (Bopara), 7-112 (Buttler), 8-113 (Bresnan)