Champions Trophy - Rise of Team India!

India’s journey in the Champions Trophy has seen many highs and lows. India won the tournament twice and is one of the most successful teams. Let’s go through India’s performance in each edition.

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The first edition of the tournament, called the ICC Knockout Trophy, was held in Bangladesh in 1998. Mohammed Azharuddin led the team, which reached the semi-finals but lost to the West Indies.

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Led by Sourav Ganguly, this edition was in Kenya in 2000, where India reached the finals. Ganguly and Sachin were in excellent form but lost to New Zealand in the finals.

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It was named the Champions Trophy in this edition, which was held in Sri Lanka in 2002. India reached the finals and shared the trophy with Sri Lanka after rain washed out the finals.

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Held in England in 2004, India’s performance in that Champions Trophy edition was a disappointment. Led by Sourav Ganguly, India made a group-stage exit after losing to Pakistan.

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As the host nation of the 2006 edition, India failed to improve their previous performance and faced another group-stage exit. Led by Rahul Dravid, India lost to the West Indies and Australia.

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In the 2009 edition, which was hosted by South Africa, India made a stage-group exit for the third consecutive year. That year was led by MS Dhoni, where they lost to Pakistan.

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In the 2013 edition, India dominated the whole tournament. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, the team defeated South Africa, West Indies, and Pakistan and lifted the cup by defeating the host nation, England.

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Virat Kohli captained the 2017 edition, which was hosted by England and Wales. India reached the semi-finals by winning over Pakistan, South Africa & Bangladesh but lost to Pakistan in the finals.

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