South Africa was the first team to etch their name in the ICC Champions Trophy winners list. They won the tournament in 1998 when it was known as the KnockOut Trophy. South Africa was led by Hansie Cronje, who is arguably one of the greatest captains and, at the same time, a very controversial leader.
The Proteas started their journey with a quarterfinal clash against England. England scored 281 runs in the first innings, thanks to half-centuries from Neil Fairbrother and skipper Adam Hollioake. South Africa, in response, chased down the total with Daryll Cullinan, Cronje, and Jonty Rhodes.
The semi-final clash against Sri Lanka was a cakewalk for the South African side. They scored 240 runs in the first innings, thanks to an unbeaten century from Jacques Kallis. The first innings was reduced to 39 overs with rain interruption. The Asian side in the second innings was rolled out for 132 runs, with Steve Elworthy and Pat Symcox picking up a three-wicket haul each.
The final between South Africa and Brian Lara’s West Indies was closely contested. Batting first, West Indies scored 245 runs in the first innings thanks to a century from Philo Wallace, while Kallis picked up a fifer. The Proteas chased down the target with four wickets remaining, thanks to a half-century from Cronje. Kallis was named the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series.
New Zealand was the second team to enter their name in the Champions Trophy winners list. Interestingly, both New Zealand and South Africa have won only these two trophies in white-ball men’s tournaments. The Kiwis were led by Stephen Fleming as they won their first ICC title.
Their first game was a quarterfinal clash against Zimbabwe. New Zealand scored 265 runs thanks to a knock of 85 runs by Roger Twose. In the second innings, Paul Wiseman picked up a four-wicket haul as Fleming-led side won the match by 64 runs.
In the semi-final, New Zealand faced off against Pakistan. The ‘Men in Green’ batting first scored 252 runs, with opener Saeed Anwar scoring a century. However, his knock was overshadowed by Shayne O’Connor’s five-wicket haul. In the second innings, Twose carried on with his form and scored 87 runs as New Zealand chased down the target for the loss of six wickets in 49 overs.
India faced New Zealand in the final of the tournament. In the first innings, Sourav Ganguly scored a century as his team raced to a score of 264 runs. The match went to the last over even after Chris Cairns scored a century. His namesake, Chris Harris, provided great support with a knock of 46 runs. The Fleming-led side won the match by four wickets with only two balls remaining. Cairns was named the Player of the Match.
The 2002 Champions Trophy was shared by Sri Lanka and India. It was the only occurrence of two teams making it into the Champions Trophy winners list. The 2002 Champions Trophy was also the first time that it did not follow a pure knockout format. Twelve teams were divided into four groups of three teams each.
Both Sri Lanka and India topped their groups with two wins each. Sri Lanka won their games against Pakistan and the Netherlands comfortably, while India emerged victorious against Zimbabwe and England.
In the semi-final, India defeated South Africa by 10 runs in a closely contested match. The island nation, on the other hand, defeated Australia comfortably by seven wickets to reach the final.
The final was scheduled for the 29th of September, where Sri Lanka scored 244 runs in the first innings before rain interrupted and stopped the game. The following day was the reserve day, where Sri Lanka once again batted first and scored 222 runs. Only 52 balls were bowled in the second innings before rain made its presence felt once again, leading to the match being called off.
Check out: IND vs NZ Match Prediction 2025
West Indies won the Champions Trophy in 2004, led by skipper Brian Lara. It was the first title won by WI after their back-to-back World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979. West Indies won their two group games against Bangladesh and South Africa. They defeated Bangladesh by 138 runs, thanks to a knock of 99 runs and two wickets by Chris Gayle. Against the Proteas, it was Ramnaresh Sarwan’s knock of 75 runs that helped the West Indians to win by five wickets.
The two-time World Cup champions faced Pakistan in the semi-finals. Corey Collymore, Dwayne Bravo, and Wavell Hinds picked up two wickets each in the first innings as Pakistan was bowled out for 131 runs. Sarwan once again performed brilliantly with the bat in the second innings, making 56 runs while remaining not out to steer his side to victory.
In the final, West Indies faced their toughest battle in the shape of England. Opening batter Marcus Trescothick made a century in the first innings, however, with little support from the rest of his teammates, England was bowled out for 217 runs. None of the West Indies’ batters made a fifty, but most players made regular contributions, which included an unbeaten 71-run ninth-wicket stand that won them the match and the tournament. Sarwan was named the Player of the Series for making 166 runs in the tournament.
Ricky Ponting’s Australian team started its dominance in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup and continued it for the rest of the decade. In 2006, Australia was unarguably the best team in the world, and it was only fair that they entered their name into the Champions Trophy winners list in the fifth edition. Unlike other teams that had won the coveted trophy, Australia started their journey with a loss against the West Indies by a slender margin of 10 runs. In their next games against rivals England and India, the Ponting-led side bounced back to winning ways. They defeated both England and the hosts by six wickets each.
In the semi-final, Australia faced trans-tasman rival New Zealand. Batting first, the 2003 WC champions scored 240 runs. In the second innings, Glenn McGrath showed why he is one of the best bowlers in the world by registering figures of 3/22. The right-arm pacer bowled two maidens and steered his side to victory by 34 runs.
In the final, Australia faced the only team they had lost to in the tournament, West Indies. However, they made sure to end the tournament by squaring the record against the Lara-led side. The Australian bowlers dented the opposition’s batting lineup as they bowled them out for 138 runs. The small target was chased in the 29th over in spite of rain interruptions. Shane Watson, in addition to his two wickets in the first innings, scored an unbeaten half-century and was named the Player of the Match.
Australia in 2009 etched its name in the record books by becoming the first team to write its name in the Champions Trophy winners list twice. What’s more commendable is that they did it back-to-back without almost breaking a sweat. Their first game in the tournament was a repeat of the 2006 edition. This time around, Australia started on a winning note by defeating the West Indies with a 50-run margin. The Ricky Ponting-led side defeated Pakistan by two wickets on the final ball, which was their closest margin of victory. In between their two wins, their clash against India was washed out.
In the semi-final, Australia faced arch-rivals England. Batting in the first innings, England scored 257 runs thanks to a fighting knock of 80 runs by Tim Bresnan at number eight. However, the chase ended up being a cakewalk for the Australians, thanks to centuries from Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting. They won the match by nine wickets, with Watson being named the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
In the final, Australia faced New Zealand. The Kiwi batters were bowled out for 200 runs, thanks to a three-fer and a two-fer from Nathan Hauritz and Brett Lee, respectively. Watson once again made a century as Australia won the match by six wickets. He was named the Player of the Match in the final, while Ponting was named Player of the Series.
India in 2013 was arguably one of the weakest squads to enter the Champions Trophy winners list. Led by MS Dhoni, the team was comprised mostly of young players. Opening batters Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were also new to their roles. The bowling attack, too, was pretty inexperienced. In their first game against South Africa, India scored 331 runs and won by 26 runs. They registered comprehensive wins in the next two games against the West Indies and Pakistan by eight wickets.
In the semi-final, India faced their 2011 World Cup final opponent, Sri Lanka. The island nation batting first was bowled out for a low score of 181 runs, thanks to three-wicket hauls from Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. India chased down the target comfortably in the 35th over with eight wickets in hand.
The hosts, England and India, faced each other in a rain-curtailed match, which was reduced to a 20-over-a-side contest. The 2011 World Cup champions scored 129 runs in the first innings. In spite of making a small total, a complete bowling led by Ashwin, who was duly supported by Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma in the death, allowed India to win their second Champions Trophy title.
Pakistan, in 2017, against all odds, got themselves on the Champions Trophy winners list. Led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, the ‘Men in Green’ faced arch-rivals India in their opening game. They were handed a thumping at the hands of their neighbor as they started the tournament with a 124-run loss (D/L Method). Pakistan bounced back and registered wins against South Africa and Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals.
They faced the hosts, England, in the semi-finals. A three-fer from Hasan Ali and two wickets each from Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees were enough to bowl out the English team for 211. A century opening stand between Fakhar Zaman and Asif Ali helped Pakistan to win the match by eight wickets.
India and Pakistan clashed once again in the finals. Given the track record of India vs Pakistan matches in ICC tournaments, no one expected the latter to get their names in the Champions Trophy winners list. Zaman scored his maiden century in the first innings as Pakistan scored 338 runs in the first innings. Mohammed Amir and Hasan registered three-wicket hauls in the second innings as India lost the match by 180 runs.
India won their record third Champions Trophy title in 2025, led by Sourav Ganguly. They made it to the Champions Trophy winners list for the third time after an emphatic win over New Zealand in the finals by four wickets. They faced Bangladesh in the opening game and defeated them by six wickets. Their next clash was against arch-rivals Pakistan, and once again, it was Virat Kohli who produced another classical knock in a successful chase. Kohli scored a century as the Men in Blue won by six wickets. India’s final group stage clash was against New Zealand. It was yet another victory for the Rohit Sharma-led side by a 44-run margin.
In the semi finals, India clashed with Australia. Australia has been a nightmare for them in ICC tournaments in recent times, especially, in knockouts. India lost the final of the ODI World Cup against them in 2023. However, they turned the tide upside down on the 4th of March. Virat Kohli once again produced a masterclass as India defeated Australia by four wickets to reach the final.
India and New Zealand clashed in the Champions Trophy 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India started the clash as favorites to win the game and their chances increased further when Matt Henry was ruled out of the match. The Indian skipper after having a rather quiet tournament lit up in the final. He was named the Player of the Match after scoring 76 runs in a successful chase of 252 runs. The Asian nation won the match by four wickets to seal their third trophy in the tournament.
India has got their name written on the Champions Trophy winners list thrice. They won the first time in 2002 when the trophy was shared between them and Sri Lanka. Sourav Ganguly was the Indian skipper at that time. In 2013, India went on an unbeaten run to win the title again by defeating hosts, England in the final. MS Dhoni led the rather inexperienced Indian squad to the title. Their third title came in 2025 being led by Rohit Sharma. The Indian opening batter was also named the Player of the Match in the final against New Zealand.
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