Champions Trophy ‘Golden Bat’ is for Flood Victims
Man of the Match, Shikar Dhawan Dedicates the Award to Those who Died in India's Monsoon Rains & the Ensuing Destruction
Mahendra Dhoni, India's cricket captain, is a rising star in the country, bringing home titles such as Champions Trophy, World T20 and ODI World Cup.
Dhoni expressed his satisfaction by his new line-up after a 5 run victory over England. The match was the last game in the Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The rain disrupted the match, limiting runs for the sides to 20 overs per side, World Cup holders India were restricted to 129 for seven after losing the toss in overcast conditions on Sunday.
England, after some early stumbles with the bat, needed 20 runs from 16 balls to win. The high expectations caused the England team to sport a lackluster performance with six wickets. Analysts commented that the poor show put forward bu the England team was atypical of its talent and skill.
The man of the match was bowler Ravindra Jadeja, who bagged 12 wickets during the tournament. He impressed the crowd with a quick 33 not out before making a team effort with Virat Kohli for 47. Later, Jadeja's spin bowling of two for 24 took the Indian fans by surprise.
Jadeja,24, has been dubbed by former Australian cricket star and India's Premier League captain of Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, as "rockstar." Apparently, the attribution revealed Jadeja's self-confidence in his skills.
"Jadeja is someone who keeps it very simple," said Dhoni, adding, "he just looks for the right area and the ball does the talking," reports AFS.
Dhoni continued to laud his teammate saying, "The good part was he contributed with the bat, which I feel is very important because he's someone who will have to bat at number seven."
Jadeja described the match saying, "The (Edgbaston) wicket was slow and it was difficult to rotate the strike so myself and Virat Kohli built up a good partnership."
He added, "I enjoyed bowling on this wicket, the ball was gripping and I was bowling to my strength."
The tournament's man of the match was India's opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan with an impressive 363 runs in 5 matches. The figure includes including two centuries and a 90.75 average combined with a 101.39 strike-rate.
Media reports have picked up on his dedication of the 'golden bat' award to those who lost their lives in the recent flood disaster in northern India. Zee News reports Dhawan as saying, "I would like to dedicate my performance to the people who have lost their lives back home due to the flood. My prayers are with them."
India seized the opportunity for a win after the International Cricket Council decided to bend their rules without a reserve date for the match, fixing it on Sunday with two hours of extra time. The win also follows a controversial investigation into match-fixing in which at least two players of the Indian squad are involved. Rising star, Srishanth of Kerala shocked India of allegations linking him to IPL-6 spot fixing.
Dhoni was than pleased with the decision saying that it was not fair that his side to play an ICC Champions Trophy with 50-over play format in 20-over play to find a win. The illustrious captain of the Indian team led his team to a World Cup title in Mumbai over Sri Lanka.With reports by AFS