2002 ICC Champions Trophy

The 2002 ICC Champions Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Sri Lanka in 2002. It marked the third edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, with the previous two tournaments being known as the ICC Knock Out Tournaments. Originally scheduled to be held in India, the tournament was moved to Sri Lanka when India did not grant an exemption from tax, as needed. The tournament consisted of fifteen matches, including two semi-finals and a final match. This event was notable as it marked the first time that teams from all full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) visited Sri Lanka to participate in a cricket tournament. Twelve teams participated in the tournament: the ten Test-playing nations, along with Kenya, who held full One Day International (ODI) status, and the Netherlands, who were the winners of the 2001 ICC Trophy. The teams were divided into four pools, each consisting of three teams. In the pool stage, each team played the other two teams in its pool once. The top team from each pool advanced to the semi-finals. In the first semi-final, Australia was defeated by Sri Lanka, while India emerged victorious over South Africa in the second semi-final. However, the final match between India and Sri Lanka was affected by rain and had to be abandoned on two occasions, resulting in no result being declared. Virender Sehwag emerged as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, while Muttiah Muralitharan claimed the title of highest wicket-taker.