India in Champions Trophy final: The men who stood up and became heroes

A loss-less record is not created by a few individuals and yet, here is taking a look at some of the stand-out players who helped the team set-up a title clash against England.

Shikhar Dhawan: At 27, he has arrived in the international scene late but it has been a terrific tale of tremendous batting since. The highest run-getter in the tournament currently, Dhawan has ensured India's famed batting lives up to its formidable reputation. A perfect composure while opening the innings for his side, the south-paw's ability to blend aggression with a mature outlook has made him a rage.

In Champions Trophy 2013:

Total runs: 332; Average: 110.66; Half centuries: 1; Centuries: 2

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Rohit Sharma: Blasted and criticized for his seemingly endless phase of bad form till recently, Rohit has come to this tournament with a positive air around him. And it has shown in how he has batted at the top.

Partnering Shikhar, he has been responsible for providing the team with a solid foundation - crucial either batting first or chasing.

Even in seaming conditions, Rohit has managed to respect the good deliveries which has resulted in the respect being returned by the opposition. This then, seems to have further bolstered the confidence of this Mumbai batsman and helped him play his natural game with ease.

In Champions Trophy 2013:

Total runs: 168; Average: 42; Half centuries: 2; Centuries: 0

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Ravindra Jadeja: With the top-half of the batting performing exceedingly well, this all-rounder has not been let his bat do a lot of talking. So, instead, he has made his deliveries scream out loud. With 10 wickets till the semifinal win against Sri Lanka, this Saurashthra lad has once again shown why he is such an asset for the national side.

Interestingly, Jadeja has not just been amongst the wickets but has also been extremely economical. Even more interestingly, the massive turn that he has extracted on English tracks has left everyone apart from the Indian contingent, 'unpleasantly surprised.'

In Champions Trophy 2013:

Total wickets: 10; Economy: 3.51; Average 13; Best figures: 5/36

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar: No surprises here. This 23-year-old from Meerut was expected to flourish in seaming English conditions and he has not disappointed.

Even on tracks which did not appear to, strangely, have much for seamers, Bhuvneshwar taunted batsmen to find outside edges with precision. On tracks with even the slightest assistance, Bhuvneshwar has been absolutely unforgiving.

Bowling several overs in a single spell just shows how much confidence skipper MS Dhoni has in his new ball bowler and six wickets so far at an economy of 3.68 further cements that trust.

Total wickets: 6; Economy: 3.68; Average 19.66; Best figures: 2/19

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Suresh Raina: Many would say he has been ordinary. Others may assert that he has not had the opportunity to showcase his batting might. Fact though is that while Raina's batting has been nothing spectacular, he has led on the field by example.

While the Indian team has been lauded as a whole for its high standards of fielding, Raina has been a mascot of sorts with dives, hits and committed runs.

In the match against Sri Lanka in particular, Raina completed three glorious catches in the slips cordon to dislodge the top-half of the opposition. His standards and its counter-effect on all others has been a massive boon for Team India.