Jadeja consistent throughout; Ishant surprised

If India's batsmen were on the mark, could their bowlers be left behind?

Traditionally a batsman-dependent side, India's triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy, for once, had significant contributions from the bowlers. 

While the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav scored in the fast bowling department, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin excelled as spinners. 

In fact, at the end of the tournament, India had two bowlers in the top five, and three (Ashwin) in the top six. 

Jadeja was consistent throughout and finished with 12 wickets, thereby earning the 'Golden ball', awarded to the highest wicket-taker. 

The fact that New Zealand couldn't make it to the knock-out stages hampered his chances considerably. 

However, in the three matches he featured in, Mitchell McClenaghan was at his very best. 

The 27-year-old quick took four wickets apiece in New Zealand's opening two matches, against Sri Lanka and Australia, while also picking three in the team's defeat against England. 

James Anderson was, by far, England's best bowler. 

The 30-year-old had a haul of 11 wickets in the tournament, something that played a crucial role in his team's passage to the final. 

Andreson's best effort (3-30) came in the opener against Australia, at Edgbaston.

From zero to hero. 

That's how the twitteratti summed up Ishant Sharma's effort in the final. 

The 24-year-old seemed out-of-sorts till he dismissed Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara with successive deliveries to put India back on track. 

The English duo had put together a good partnerships and looked set to takle the game away from the visitors. 

Ishant finished the tournament with 10 wickets.

Ryan McLaren did enough to justify his poistion in the South African team. 

The 30-year-old picked three wickets in the opener against India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, before registering even better figures (4-19) in the match against Pakistan, at The Oval.

McLaren finished with eight wickets even as South Africa's campaign was cut short by the hosts in the last four stage.