A look back at India’s moments in ICC Champions Trophy till date

With the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy already underway in England, it has, as always, created an immense hype. Termed as the ‘mini World Cup’, the Champions Trophy, which is contested by the top eight teams, usually lives up to the expectations, as it brings out immense competition among the top sides which battle it out for the next prestigious title after the ICC Cricket World Cup. Former champions Australia and defending champions India have been the most successful sides in the tournament till date. As India get set to defend the title and look for their record third title, let us have a look at India’s classic moments in the Champions Trophy till date.

ICC Knockout Cup 1998

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If you are confused with the name, allow me to clear the air. Prior to the 2002 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, the previous and the opening two editions of the tournament were played under the very name of the ICC Knockout Cup. As the name suggests, it was a knockout format based tournament, with the team losing being eliminated instantly. India did manage to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, being contested in Dhaka, where they lost to West Indies.

Overall in the tournament, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was the highest Indian run scorer of the tournament, scoring 149 runs in just two matches, with an average of 75 and a strike rate of 105, including a ton, as his highest score was 141. Moreover, it was not all, as he also excelled with the ball, claiming six wickets in the two matches, with an average of 11 and an economy of 3.49, while his best spell was 4 for 38.

ICC Knockout Cup 2000

The second edition of the tournament was being held at Nairobi in Kenya. It was one of the most successful tournaments for India as they did manage to reach the final of the tournament, where they faced New Zealand, only to lose by four wickets.

Nevertheless, it was an overall successful tournament for the Indians, with Sourav Ganguly being the highest run scorer, as the run machine scored massive 348 runs from the four matches, with an average of 116 and a strike rate of 84, including a couple of centuries and a half-century.

As for the ball, it was Venkatesh Prasad, who shined for India, claiming eight wickets in the four matches, with an average of 21 and an economy of 5.23, while his best spell was 3 for 27.

ICC Champions Trophy 2002

The third edition of the tournament was where things changed, along with the format, as it was renamed to ICC Champions trophy, which did not involve the most notable feature of getting knocked out. The teams were divided into groups, with total of 12 teams participating.

India managed to reach the final of the tournament, where they took on hosts Sri Lanka. Despite having a reserve day, the final was interrupted by rain on both the days, leaving both the teams to share the honours as they were declared the joint winners of the tournament.

As for India, Virender Sehwag had an explosive season with the bat in the tournament, scoring 271 in five matches, with an average of 90 and a strike rate of 120, including a century and a half-century, while his highest total was 126.

As for the ball, it was India’s speedster Zaheer Khan, who had an impactful run in the tournament, claiming eight wickets from the five games, with an average of 25 and an economy of 4.14, while his best spell was 4 for 45.

ICC Champions Trophy 2004

The fourth edition of the tournament was held in England for the first time. The same format and the number of teams were followed. As for India, it was one of the tournaments where they really underperformed and would like to forget it, as they were ousted in the group stage itself, losing their match to Pakistan, while the managed to win against minnow Kenya.

As for them, Rahul Dravid was the star, scoring 97 runs from the two matches, with an average of 97 and a strike rate of 78, including a half-century, while his highest score was 67.

With the ball, it was Irfan Pathan, who had a good outing, claiming five wickets from two matches, with an average of 9 and an economy of 3.00, as his best spell was 3 for 34.

ICC Champions Trophy 2006

This was one of the poorest tournaments for India. Having played at home, India managed to win just a game off the three games they played. Suffering consecutive losses to West Indies and world champions Australia ended India’s fate in a crashing manner.

As for India’s success in the tournament, it was once again their skipper Dravid, who shined with the bat, scoring 105 runs off the three matches, with an average of 35 and a strike rate of 79, including a half-century, while his best score was 52.

As with the ball, it was once again the same man from the 2004 edition, as Pathan claimed four wickets, thus being the joint highest wicket-taker for the side along with Munaf Patel, with an average of 24 and an economy of 4.80, as his best spell was 2 for 20.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Yet again, India did not have a good run. Being held in South Africa, India lost their opening match of the tournament to arch-rivals Pakistan by 54 runs, while their tie against defending champions Australia ended in a no contest, as they went on to win their tie against West Indies, finishing third in the points table and crashing out.

As for their records, it was Virat Kohli with the bat, who scored 95 runs from the three matches, with an average of 95 and a strike rate of 74, including a half-century.

With the ball, it was Ashish Nehra, who had a splendid run in the tournament, claiming eight wickets from the three matches, with an average of 16 and an economy of 4.76, as his best spell was 4 for 55.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013

The most successful tournament for India till date, as they went on to win their second and first clean title win, as they beat hosts England in the final at their own backyard.

As for the Indian performance, it was Shikhar Dhawan, the star of Indian batting, having put up a dominating performance in almost all the matches he played. Dhawan scored massive 363 runs from the five matches, with an average of 91 and a strike rate of 101, including a couple of centuries and a half-century, while his highest score was 114, which saw him making a name for himself and cement his spot in the Indian side.

As for the ball, it was all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who made a tremendous impact with his spin, claiming 12 wickets in five matches, with an average of 13 and an economy of 3.75, while his best spell came in a match where he claimed all the five wickets and finished with figure of 5 for 36. He was also adjudged the Man of the Tournament for this.