On September 30, 2002, India and Sri Lanka had to share the ICC Champions Trophy title after the final was washed out even on the reserved day due to rain. This was India’s first major ICC title under
Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy after the 1983 World Cup. Along with this, Sri Lanka also won their second big title after the 1996 World Cup under Sanath Jayasuriya.
Talking about the 2002 Champions Trophy, India, who ended as the runners-up in the previous edition in 2000, dominated the group stage with consecutive wins over England and Zimbabwe. After that, India defeated South Africa in the semi-final by 10 runs to make it to their second consecutive Champions Trophy final. On the other hand, Sri Lanka also remained unbeaten in the group stage and qualified for the final after defeating the strong Australia in the semi-finals.
Reserve day also gets washed out as India and Sri Lanka shared Champions Trophy 2002 title
Now, India and Sri Lanka were set to face each other in the final of the Champions Trophy on September 29, 2002. In an important clash, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat. While batting first, Sanath Jayasuriya and his men posted 244/5 in 50 overs with captain leading from the front with 74(89) runs, along with a 54-run knock by Kumar Sangakkara. Chasing a target of 245 runs, India were 14 without loss before the rain played a spoilsport. After that, the play couldn’t continue and the match was rescheduled to the reserved day on September 30.
On the second day, It was Sri Lanka again who won the toss and again opted to bat first. This time, Sri Lanka posted 222 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Zaheer Khan was highest wicket taker for India with three scalps to his name. Now, chasing 223 runs on the reserved day, India reached 38/1 in 8.4 and the rain interrupted the play again. This time as well, the rain couldn’t stop and the final of the Champions Trophy was washed out. As a result, India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners and shared the trophy.
