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Champions Trophy: Dhoni boys have been dominant

Stephen Brenkley
Saturday 22 June 2013 22:41 BST
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India have dominated the seventh Champions Trophy in every aspect of play in the past fortnight, winning all four of their games. It suggests they will be a handful in any conditions.

Batting: Openers shine

They have not lost a wicket in the mandatory powerplay in the first 10 overs. It was risky to play an untried opening partnership, but Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma – lowest stand 58 – have delivered triumphantly. Yet if England can expose an underused middle order, India could be in the mire.

Fielding: Jadeja leads

Outstanding. Even with the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar in their prime, India's fielding was a joke. Their former coach John Wright said they were unused to diving because doing so on the outfields at home would have risked injury. This time, led by the marvellous Ravi Jadeja, they have been athletic, alert and worth 20 or 30 runs a match in the field.

Bowling: Hunting in packs

The seam bowling has been second only to England. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the pick. He has swung the ball both ways with accuracy, and they have hunted as a pack. But English batsmen are used to English conditions.

Captain: A wily veteran

MS Dhoni is a wily captain and this will be his 140th match in charge. Alastair Cook has learned quickly and knows England's chief quality is their tenacity.

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