India vs England: Shikhar Dhawan and a fairytale called Champions Trophy

For Shikhar Dhawan, the ICC Champions Trophy has been nothing short of a fairytale. Of course, his two centuries and a fifty contributing to 332 runs from 4 innings has not been a fantasy, a dream come true perhaps.

As India hopes to ride on his willow power and, possibly, cruise past England to the Champions Trophy crown, there is a lot for this 27-year-old to look forward too, personally.

When he takes to the field on Sunday (June 23) at Edgbaston, the southpaw will have an eye out on becoming the highest-ever Indian run-getter in a single edition of Champions Trophy. Currently 17 short, Dhawan will hope to go past Sourav Ganguly's record of 348 at an average of 116 in the 2000-01 edition. The performance from the veteran then, took India to the final where New Zealand pipped the team to take the trophy. This year, it is England standing between India and the crown with a much different but almost equally stylish left-hander looking good to take his team all the way. (Also read: India vs England - past 10 ODIs)

Then there is the question of whether Dhawan will be able to add yet another century to his tally. If he does, the Delhi batsman will equal Chris Gayle's record of most tons in a Champions Trophy edition - three in 2006-07. (Related read: Intense battles to watch out for in India vs England contest)

Dhawan though is not the only player with milestones lying for him in the offing. The bowlers too have a lot to look forward to as both Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson stand a chance to either equal or surpass Jerome Taylor's record of 13 wickets in the 2006-07 edition. That both spin and pace has reaped rewards in the ongoing tournament clearly shows that England tracks have slightly deviated from their usual character of assisting only pace and seam. The track at Edgbaston - average ODI score of 275 - may continue to have a lot on offer for batsmen and bowlers of different styles and abilities. (Read: The ODI story at Edgbaston, so far)

Even the two teams - India and England - have varying strengths with a win each in Birmingham over each other. Though India's last win came way back in 1999 when the team vanquished the hosts by 63 runs, England will have a fresher memory to bank upon - defeated India by 42 runs in 2007.

All stats by Rajesh Kumar