India beat England in 20-over thriller, win Champions Trophy

Ravindra Jadeja's superb all-round show helped India score a thrilling five-run victory over hosts England, in a rain-shortened final, and win the ICC Champions Trophy in Birmingham on Sunday.

The victory also gave Mahendra Singh Dhoni the unique record of being the first captain to win three World titles, having won the 2007 World T20 and 50-overs World Cup.

- Scorecard

After frustrating showers reduced the final to 20-overs-per-side, India posted 129 for seven and then restricted England to 124 for eight in a topsy-turvy game that went down to the wire.

Jadeja shone with bat and ball, hitting a quick 33 not out in the closing overs before bagging two wickets for 24 runs.

The sizeable Indian crowd erupted in joy when Ravichandran Ashwin (2/15) completed the final over, with James Tredwell unable to hit the required six off the last delivery.

Skipper Dhoni jumped in joy as delirious Indian players hugged each others and collected souvenir stumps to mark another remarkable chapter in Indian cricket history.

This was India's second Champions Trophy triumph, having won the first jointly with Sri Lanka back in 2002.

What made it special was that India won the championship two days before the 30th anniversary of their maiden World Cup triumph, June 25, 1983.

Chasing a modest total, India needed early wickets and it was Umesh Yadav who struck in his first over. He got the big breakthrough when skipper Alastair Cook guided one to Ashwin at first slip off Umesh Yadav's bowling.

England's in-form-man Jonathan Trott (20) hit a couple of sweetly-timed boundaries but Ashwin got the better of him.

Coming from round the wicket, he drew Trott forward with an off-break that pitched on leg-stump and turned, and Dhoni completed a smart stumping.

From 28 for two, it soon became 40 for three as Ashwin accounted for Joe Root, who top-edged a pull shot and was caught at fine leg by Ishant Sharma.

Ian Bell (13) could consider himself unlucky as he got a raw deal from third umpire Bruce Oxenford. He was adjudged stumped off Jadeja's bowling when TV replays showed that Bell had got his foot back before Dhoni whipped off the bails.

At 46 for four, England were in dire straits, with their best T20 player Eoin Morgan (33) at the crease. He and Ravi Bopara (30) added 64 runs for the fifth wicket before Ishant dealt a double blow.

First he removed Morgan, who fended a slower and was caught by Ashwin at mid-wicket. Then he bowled a short one which was again gobbled by Ashwin, standing at square leg this time.

From 110 for four, England slumped to 113 for eight, losing four wickets for the addition of only three runs.

 The last few overs turned out to be interesting as man-of-the-match Jadeja conceded only four runs off the penultimate over and also got the wicket of Jos Butler, who attempted a wild swing, missed and was bowled for a first-ball duck.

With 15 required off the final over, Ashwin kept his cool, mixed it up well and conceded only 10 runs in the end.

Earlier, India's batting struggled in difficult conditions as they were restricted by a disciplined England attack.

A couple of stoppages after the match finally started also didn't help India's cause. Barring in-form Shikhar Dhawan (31) and Virat Kohli (43), none of the other top-order batsmen made significant contributions after India was put in to bat.

Kohli and Jadeja added 47 runs for the sixth wicket to put India back on track after they were reduced to 66 for five.

Ravi Bopara's (3/20) brilliant incisive spell in the middle overs proved invaluable for England's cause as the largely untested Indian middle-order cracked under pressure.

Rohit Sharma failed with the bat, scoring just nine before he was bowled by Stuart Broad.

The in-form Dhawan had no such worries as he started from where he had left against Sri Lanka in the semi-final. The first significant shot was a slash over backward point off Broad for a six straightaway after the rain break.

The start-stop affair did hamper the proceedings and Dhawan hit a slog sweep off James Tredwell after a second rain interruption and followed it with another deft reverse sweep to lift the tempo.

However, it was Bopara's gentle seam-up stuff that brought about an end to Dhawan's innings. The ball stopped on the left-hander who tried to make room to hoick it over cover but only managed to find Tredwell. His 31 came off 24 balls, with two boundaries and a six, but, importantly, he tried to attack the English bowlers despite interruptions.

The first 10 overs produced 59 runs at the expense of both openers.

Dhoni's decision to send Dinesh Karthik (6) above himself and Suresh Raina was surprising considering the match was curtailed to 20 overs. Karthik struggled to get
going during his brief stay and was out trying a wild sweep shot as Eoin Morgan took a simple skier.

The watershed moment of the match came when Bopara struck twin blows, dismissing both Raina and Dhoni in the 13th over of the innings.

Raina (1) was also done in by the slow nature of the pitch, as his attempted lofted shot over mid-on off Bopara never got the required elevation and skipper Cook took a simple catch.

Dhoni (0) went for a big slash over point when Bopara dug one short, only to find a fielder in the deep. From 50 for one, it suddenly became 66 for five.

Kohli carried on manfully as India reached 100 in the 18th over. The best shot he hit was a six over deep mid-wicket off Broad.

Jadeja took a leaf out of Kohli's book and lofted Anderson over extra-cover. He faced 25 balls for his 33, hitting two fours and as many sixes.

Image: Indian players celebrate after clinching victory

Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images