BY the time International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to organise the third edition from Sept 12 to Sept 30, 2002, the event was officially named as the ICC Champions Trophy — a title that was universally accepted to this day — with the lovely island nation of Sri Lanka becoming the latest hosts.

To make the event more competitive and allow fancied outfits get equal chance, the ruling body of the game opted to do away with the knockout phase for the preliminary rounds by introducing group stages.

The Netherlands became the latest invitees as the tournament was expanded to 12 teams with three sides making each of the four groups; all the matches were played in capital Colombo at two venues — R. Premadasa Stadium and the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground.

The ICC also decided to try on a trial footing the use of television referral technology to adjudicate on leg-before-wicket and disputed catches. But the idea to use it in subsequent competitions was outright rejected soon after until further medications were made much later.

Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik earned the dubious distinction of being the first such victim to be declared out in that fashion when the verdict was referred to the TV umpire Rudi Koertzen in the opening fixture. The South African official took almost a minute, instead of the recommended 20 seconds, to rule him out to left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas in the opening fixture of the tournament.

The hot and humid weather made life tough for the cricketers while some pointless games in the initial phase were heavily criticised by all and sundry. The impeding monsoon was the last straw of an event that was unwisely taking place just five months close to the 2003 World Cup in southern Africa.

Unsurprisingly, the heavy rainstorm forced the final to be replayed on successive days but to no avail, leaving the red-faced organisers in the end to make Sri Lanka and India joint champions.

The opening game, a day/night affair at the Premadasa Stadium, saw Sri Lanka outclass Pakistan by eight wickets in Pool 4 after Waqar Younis-led outfit, which was missing Inzamam-ul-Haq with an ankle injury, crumbled for 200 with just Saeed Anwar (52), Misbah-ul-Haq (47) and Younis Khan (35) making some contributions, while the wily Muttiah Muralitharan (3-29) and Dilhara Fernando (3-30) share the bowling honours.

Captain Sanath Jayasuriya (102 off 120 balls, 10 boundaries) and Aravinda de Silva (66) saw the host nation home in an unbroken partnership of 156 as Pakistan sulked in vain after Wasim Akram was denied use of TV replay when a passionate caught-behind appeal was turned down by on-field umpire Daryl Harper.

Despite defeating the Netherlands in their last group game at the SSC Ground by nine wickets — Shahid Afridi starring with three cheap wickets and an 18-ball unbeaten 55 containing half a dozen sixes and four boundaries — Pakistan’s campaign came to a halt as Sri Lanka topped the pool standings with two wins to qualify for the semi-finals.

South Africa won Pool 3 after recording a thrilling last-ball success by two wickets after their target was revised to 239 in 49 overs against the West Indies at the SSC Ground before inflicting a 176-run loss on Kenya at the Premadasa Stadium a week later. Herschelle Gibbs stole the show against Steve Tikolo’s men with 116 off 126 balls in a total of 316-5 — the highest of the 2002 competition.

India, the runners in the ICC Knockout Cup in Kenya in 2000, chalked up contrasting victories at the Premadasa Stadium in Pool 2 to seal their place in the last-four stage.

Zimbabwe nearly pulled off a sensational result. Having elected to bat first in day/night tie, the Indians found themselves in real strife at 87-5 in the 14th over with paceman Douglas Hondo grabbing four of those wickets. Rahul Dravid’s calm approach and the exuberance Mohammad Kaif came to the rescue with a defining partnership of 117.

Dravid, who kept wickets as he did in Nairobi two years before, compiled an 81-ball 71, while Kaif struck an unbeaten 111 from 112 balls that eventually guided India to 288-6.

Zimbabwe’s response was inspired by a great Andy Flower innings. The future England coach single-handedly carried his team’s hopes of a shock win with a breathtaking 145 off 164 deliveries (13 boundaries) before falling to Sachin Tendulkar’s occasional spin. Zaheer Khan claimed 4-45 as India heaved sigh of relief while Zimbabwe ended at 274-8 to lose by just 14 runs.

In India’s next fixture, Virender Sehwag (126 off 104 balls, 21 fours and one six) and skipper Saurav Ganguly (117 off 109, 12 fours and three sixes) put on 192 for the opening wicket inside 29 overs as their side overhauled a healthy England total of 269 with more than 10 overs and as many as eight wickets to spare.

Australia, in contrast, encountered no such threat in booking their semi-final berth as they cornered Pool 1 rivals New Zealand and Bangladesh at the SSC Ground. Jason Gillespie was a handful for the feeble Bangladeshi top-order as his seamers took care of three batsmen before Ricky Ponting’s team won by nine wickets with more 23 overs to spare.

Trans-Tasman foes New Zealand found Glenn McGrath simply too hot to handle as the winners of the 2000 KnockOut event crashed to 132 all out to suffer a 164-run humiliation. McGrath finished with 5-37 in seven probing of seam bowling.

In the knockout round matches at the Premadasa Stadium, India prevailed over Shaun Pollock’s South Africa by 10 runs in the first semi-final which was dominated by Gibbs who hit 116 from 119 balls with 16 boundaries before retiring hurt with severe body cramps brought about by hydration. The departure of Gibbs in the 37th over was the death-knell for the Proteas who were then 192-1, chasing 262.

Australia dealt with aplomb and when confronted by wizardry of Muralitharan with decent support from Kumar Dharmasena (now a respected umpire on ICC’s elite panel), Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Upul Chandana, they succumbed meekly in a semi-final that for the host nation was akin to a ‘World Cup final’. Daily News, a state-owned paper, went to the extent of publishing a dedicated 15-page colour supplement.

Moreover, illegal printing presses printed forged match tickets which were sold in the black, resulting in thousands of disappointed diehards were turned away at the turnstiles by the police. On the pitch itself, Sri Lanka cruised to a seven-wicket victory by chasing down 163 with 10 overs left unused.

Heavy north-east monsoon rains had the last laugh when both the original final and the one played on the reserve day 24 hours later. In the first, Sri Lanka made 244-5 before India got 14-0 in two overs when the heavens opened.

In the second, India had reached 38-1 in the ninth over, while chasing a gettable 223, when the tournament ended on a premature note and the trophy shared in addition to teams splitting $300,000 on offer for the winning team.

This is the third of a six-part series in which Dawn looks back at the past happenings in the ICC Champions Trophy, an event which is aptly described as the ‘mini’ World Cup.