England and India are raring to roar against each other in the much awaited final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 which is to be played at Birmingham on Sunday. Both the teams have performed brilliantly in this edition of mini World Cup and with the strong performances in semis, confidence of both the team must be sky-high. Shikhar Dhawan has been stupendous with the bat and with Virat Kohli getting into groove, India are favourites to win this contest.

However, the duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad can surely outplay the Indian batsmen on any given day. Meanwhile, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have been quite consistent with the bat but they will have to negotiate the Indian spin-twin of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too is looking in good rhythm and can surely trouble the top-order of England which has been in great touch.

Here we bring to you the players to watch out for in the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

Shikhar Dhawan: Dhawan has been absolutely brilliant in the tournament so far. His ability to stay on the crease for considerable time has paid rich dividends for India and it’s going to be interesting to see that how he tackles the pace of Anderson and Broad, who have been giving early breakthroughs quite frequently.

Alastair Cook: Cook has good amount of runs under his belt and would be looking to give his side an ideal start against the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has be getting out the left-handed batsmen quite frequently. Cook is the cornerstone of England batting and if he starts knitting a partnership with Trott, then it’s not going to be easy for MS Dhoni to stop them.

Virat Kohli: Kohli has finally shown some good form in the Champions Trophy. His performance was not up to the mark in first couple of matches, but with the half-century in last match, he looks very much ready to face the pace attack of England. It’s going to be interesting battle between Kohli and Anderson as both of them are peaking at right time for their teams.

Jonathan Trott: Trott has been the saviour for English team on quite a number of occasions and this tournament is a real example of it. Whenever England have looked in trouble in the start of their innings, he has always stood up and made sure that his team remains in a comfortable position. His consistency makes him the trumpcard for the English side in this match.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Bhuvneshwar has made the most of the opportunity of leading the Indian pace attack. He has picked up six wickets till now off which five came off left-handed batsmen. He looks a completely different bowler when he bowls to left-hander and this will surely give some nightmares to Cook.

James Anderson: Anderson has been phenomenal with the new ball and Shikhar and Rohit needs to be wary of that. His ability to create pressure from one end makes it quite easy for Broad and this makes this pace attack one of the best in this tournament. Attacking either of the two is what Indian batting would be looking for in this very important match.

Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja is the leading wicket-taker for India and a lot is expected from him in this match. His batting skill has not been tested much in Champions Trophy but surely his bowling skills has done wonders for India at crucial times. He was phenomenal in his last four overs against Sri Lanka where he bowled 19 dot balls and gave away just seven runs.

Stuart Broad: Broad has been more on a shorter side throughout the tournament and this might give Dhawan and Sharma an edge. He makes a very good use of the pressure created by Anderson from the other end, which makes him bag quite a few wickets in his first spell. He can be made soft target if he starts the bowling spell with Anderson or come as a first change with James Tredwell

Ravi Ashwin: Ashwin has been the unsung hero for India in this champions Trophy. He has always managed to slow down the run rate of which Jadeja has always drawn some benefit. This bowling duo is looking simply unplayable at the moment and it would be interesting to see how they will bowl to Joe Root and Jonathan Trott.

James Tredwell: Tredwell was the hero for England in the semi-final as he picked up three wickets in quick succession which ultimately turned out to be the turning point of the match. He was outstanding against left-handers when England toured India. It would be interesting to see how he bowls to Virat, who was troubled by Sunil Narine in the league match.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network