Only one Indian scored a century in the Champions Trophy Final; Know who and when this historic knock was played?
This century is included in the golden moments of Indian cricket history, which made Ganguly the hero of the Champions Trophy;
The Indian team has made it to the finals of the Champions Trophy a total of four times, out of which India won this prestigious title twice. The final of the 2002 Champions Trophy was to be played between India and Sri Lanka, but the match could not be completed due to rain and both teams were declared joint winners. After this, the Indian team won the Champions Trophy title in 2013 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. So far, only once has an Indian batsman scored a century in the final matches played by the Indian team, and Sourav Ganguly played that historic innings.
Under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, the Indian team made it to the finals of the Champions Trophy 2000, when it faced New Zealand. In this match, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly came out to open for the Indian team. Both the players had a partnership of 141 runs for the first wicket. Ganguly scored 117 runs in 130 balls, which included 9 fours and four sixes and Ganguly also became the first Indian to score a century in the final of the Champions Trophy. In the match, Tendulkar was run out on a score of 69 runs. Apart from these two, no batsman of the Indian team was able to bat well. India scored a total of 264 runs in 50 overs.
After this, New Zealand, which came to chase the big target, did not start well. When it opened Craig Spearman was out after scoring just 3 runs. Then the Kiwi team lost its four wickets for 109 runs. In such a situation, the victory of the Indian team seemed certain. But then Chris Cairns scored a strong century for New Zealand and scored a total of 102 runs. Apart from him, Chris Harris contributed 46 runs. It is because of these players that the New Zealand team was able to win the match by 4 wickets.
Pakistan is hosting the Champions Trophy 2025, but it will be played on a hybrid model. All of India's matches will be held in the UAE and the rest of the Champions Trophy 2025 matches will be held on Pakistani soil. The Indian team will face Pakistan on 23 February.