India vs England: Top players and intense battles to watch out for

Giants of international cricket - England and India - will battle each other for the Champions Trophy 2013 crown. It is going to be a contest where heroes will look to emerge as champions and bring down every challenge thrown at them from the opposite end. (Read: Match preview)

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Top-5 Indian performers

Shikhar Dhawan

With 332 runs from four matches, Shikhar Dhawan has been in a smashing form in the last edition of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in England. There have been only three centuries scored in this edition of the tournament and two have been hit by Dhawan himself - the third one is by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara. Apart from the two tons, the Delhi dasher has also scored one half-century. Seeing him bat, India great Kapil Dev said, "Shikhar (Dhawan) is the future of Indian cricket and how well he handled the situation (on a new wicket that had bounce). It's time to move ahead (with new players)." The left-hander has a wide range of shots from playing through the covers to upper-cut and also a good puller of the ball.

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is skipper MS Dhoni's trump card. From a lighting fast fielder to rolling over his arm and adding depth to the batting line-up is what Jadeja has to offer. He came in to the side as a part-timer but has emerged as a strike bowler for India. Jadeja is the only bowler to bag a five-wicket haul in this edition of the ICC Champions Trophy and is the joint second-highest wicket-taker along with England's James Anderson in the tournament. Out of his 10 wickets, five came against the West Indies while he took 2 each against South Africa and Pakistan and one versus Sri Lanka in the semi-finals.

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma may have failed in the warm-ups - batting in the middle order with a 5 and a 10.  Once the tournament began however, never disappointed the Indian fans and lived up to the expectations of skipper MS Dhoni when he was promoted to open the innings for India. The Mumbaikar answered his critics by hitting back-to-back fifties in the first two matches against South Africa and West Indies. So far, he is involved in two 100-plus and two fifty-plus stands for the opening wicket along with Shikhar Dhawan. The right-handed bat is the sixth-highest run-getter in the batting list with 168 runs from 4 matches. (Read: Rohit Sharma must learn from Shikhar Dhawan)

Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is making it count in the ODIs thanks to favourable conditions in England. The lanky pacer was adjudged Man of the Match for his 3 for 33 against Sri Lanka in the semi-finals, which India won by 8 wickets. The right-arm speedster has so far collected eight wickets and is the fourth-highest wicket-taker (jointly) in the list.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

He just keeps it simple and gives nothing away. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been impressive with his seam movement with the new ball and is skipper's go to bowler of late. He is averaging just under 20 and has a very good economy rate of 3.68. His best performance came against Pakistan when he broke the back of the batting line up by scalping Nasir Jamshed and Mohammed Hafeez. The 23-year-old has a habit of getting early breakthroughs as out of his six wickets, four have been openers of different teams - Colin Ingram (South Africa), Chris Gayle (West Indies), Nasir Jamshed (Pakistan) and Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka).


Top-5 performers for England

Jonathan Trott

Jonathan Trott is the leading run-getter for England in the ICC Champions Trophy this year. He is third best in the runs tally with 209 runs under his belt - behind Shikhar Dhawan (332) and Kumar Sangakkara (222). The middle-order batsman is averaging 69.66 with the help of two half-centuries. He otherwise averages over 50 in ODIs. The 32-year-old brings solidity to the middle-order and has the right mix of caution with aggression.

Alastair Cook

Although averaging 39 in this tournament, it will be wrong to write Alastair Cook off. On paper he might not look absolutelysolid, but he is the third-highest run-getter for the hosts in this edition. The skipper is firm at the top and believes in leading by example. His scores in the tournament are 30, 59, 64 and 6 - totalling 159 runs from four matches.

James Anderson

Between James Anderson and Dale Steyn, skipper Cook says he will go with his teammate. It was the first match for England in the ICC Champions Trophy this year when James Anderson became the leading wicket-taker for them in the One-Day Internationals. The right-arm pacer went past Darren Gough's tally of 235 wickets on June 8, 2013 during England's 48-run triumph over Australia at Edgbaston. He has been a consistent performer with the ball and there is no doubt why he is ranked fourth in the ODI charts. In the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, the 30-year-old has the best average (12.70) among bowlers and has scalped 10 wickets from four matches. His economy rate of 3.84 is equally good.

Stuart Broad

Many thought his career will be over when he was hammered for 6 sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, but Stuart Broad has moved on and earned his place in the side on a permanent basis. The 26-year-old pacer struggled at the start of the tournament before he came to his own to bag a three-for against South Africa in the semi-final at the Oval - a warning sign for India. He has bagged 5 wickets in the tournament so far and is tipped for more with his coming back to form.

Joe Root

The young and talented Joe Root is already averaging 53 for England in as many as 15 matches in the 50-over format. The Yorkshire-born batsman has also fared well in this edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. With scores of 12, 68, 38 and 48, the 22-year-old has amassed 166 runs at a decent average of 41.50 from four matches.



Top duels to watch out for:

Shikhar Dhawan vs James Anderson - When Shikhar Dhawan takes guard against James Anderson, expect a furious battle as both have enjoyed great success in the Champions Trophy, so far. While Dhawan is the highest run-getter in the tournament with 332 runs from 4 innings so far, Anderson has claimed ten wickets - second-highest behind New Zealand's Mitchell McClenaghan.

Rohit Sharma vs Stuart Broad - Both Rohit Sharma and Stuart Broad have played a decent role in providing support to Dhawan and Anderson respectively. This also means that they may now look to outshine their partners at the biggest stage and can be expected to take their games up by several notches.

Virat Kohli vs Graeme Swann or James Tredwell - Graeme Swann and James Tredwell have put in serious doubts on this line of thinking. While both may or may not play against India together, their superb form makes them extremely dangerous. For India, there is Virat Kohli - a sensational performer with the bat who further flourishes against spin.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Alastair Cook - England skipper Alastair Cook has been solid at the top with 159 runs from 4 innings at an average of 39.75. He however will have to deal with Bhuvneshwar from the word go and it won't be easy. The lanky Indian seamer has made the most of the English conditions and has six wickets and a miserly economy of 3.68 to show for his efforts. Not perturbed by matches where stakes are high, Bhuvneshwar will hope to claim early wickets against England - an intent which Cook will look to blunt with his maturity and talent.

Ravindra Jadeja  vs Joe Root - Both Ravindra Jadeja and Joe Root are wily customers - on and off the field. They play excellent cricket and believe in looking at the lighter aspects of life outside the stadium. When both face each other though, there is hardly going to be any light exchanges. While Jadeja's spin has got him 10 wickets and the turn he has extracted stunned most, Root has a half-century from the tournament to extract confidence from.