India will take on hosts England in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2013 final at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Sunday. The winners of Group A and Group B will meet in the final after convincingly winning their respective semi-final matches.
Overview:
The title match between India and England on Sunday promises to be a cracker of a contest with both the teams reaching the final convincingly. England have home ground advantage while India's batting line-up look strong.
India come into the contest as the favourites to win the title after their good performance in all departments - batting, bowling and fielding. They defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the semi-final to book a place in the final. They remain undefeated in the tournament, beating South Africa by 26 runs in the opener before defeating West Indies by eight wickets and then arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets. They will be keen to take their winning momentum into the final.
England, who have 19-10 win-loss ODI record at Edgbaston, will have home crowd support in the title match. They defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the semi-final en route to the final. They beat Australia by 48 runs in the opener but conceded a seven-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in the second match. However, they entered the semi-final by defeating New Zealand by 10 runs in the crucial third match. They will be keen to lift their first ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday.
Previous Meetings:
India have 46-35 win-loss record against England in their 86 meetings which includes two ties and three no-results. However, England lead 18-11 in their 33 meetings in England.
They have met two times in the ICC Champions Trophy and India won on both the occasions.
Team News:
India: Openers - Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma - have given superb start to the team throughout the tournament. Dhawan is the highest scorer of the tournament with 332 runs after scoring two centuries and a half century in four matches. Rohit Sharma too has scored 168 runs with two half centuries. Their partnership will be crucial in the final too. With batsmen like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja in the line-up, they surely make an intimidating batting side.
On the bowling front, Ravindra Jadeja has taken 10 wickets in the tournament, second only to Australia's Mitchell McClenaghan who took 11 wickets. Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma too have been impressive throughout the tournament. Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets apiece in the semi-final match against Sri Lanka.
England: Skipper Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have scored two half centuries each in the tournament, while Ian Bell and Joe Root scored a half century apiece. It was Trott (82 not out) and Root (48), who guided the team home in the semi-final against South Africa. The top-order will be expected to perform in the final. With batsmen like Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara in the line-up, they are capable of putting up a big score on the board.
On the bowling front, James Anderson is the highest wicket taker for the team with 10 wickets. Stuart Broad and James Tredwell took three wickets apiece in the semi-final, helping restrict South Africa's score to 175. They also have Steven Finn, Graeme Swann, Joe Root and Ravi Bopara in the bowling attack. They will be expected to take early wickets and restrict India's score in the final.
Prediction:
England have home ground advantage but going by the performance this tournament, India are the favourites to win the title.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and R Vinay Kumar
England: Alastair Cook (Captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes
Where to Watch Live:
The match will kick off at 03:00 PM IST on Sunday and it will be telecast live on Star Sports and Star Cricket channels in India.
