Cricket History and Facts

Jose Mourinho holds the record of 119 consecutive unbeaten home games across spells at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United. This unbeaten home streak spans multiple leagues and nearly a decade.

India has reached the Champions Trophy final twice - first in 2000 (losing to New Zealand) and then in 2017 (losing to Pakistan). India has never won the Champions Trophy despite being runners-up on two occasions.

Chris Gayle holds the record for most runs in Champions Trophy history. Across multiple tournaments, the explosive West Indies opener accumulated 791 runs, making him the highest run-scorer in the tournament's history.

Muttiah Muralitharan, the legendary Sri Lankan spin bowler, is the highest wicket-taker in Champions Trophy history with 32 wickets. His ability to take wickets consistently in limited-overs cricket made him the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

In the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy final, West Indies defeated England by 2 wickets in a thrilling match at The Oval. This was West Indies' first Champions Trophy title, with the victory coming in a close contest decided by just 2 wickets.

Yuvraj Singh made his ODI debut in the ICC KnockOut Trophy (later renamed Champions Trophy) in October 2000 against Kenya. This tournament was the precursor to what became the ICC Champions Trophy.

Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan was the highest wicket-taker in ICC Champions Trophy history till 2009. His exceptional bowling in the limited-overs tournament format made him the leading wicket-taker, ahead of other great bowlers like Shaun Pollock and Vaas.

Kumar Sangakkara, the legendary Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman, holds the record for the most dismissals (catches and stumpings combined) by a wicketkeeper in ICC Champions Trophy history. His consistent performance across multiple tournaments made him the most successful wicketkeeper in the competition's history till that point.

ICC Champions Trophy 2002 and 2004 both featured 12 teams each. The tournament format included all ten Test-playing nations plus two associate teams. The 12-team format was used in these early editions before the tournament was later reduced to 8 teams and then to the current top 8 ranked teams format.

The 1998 ICC Knock Out tournament (later known as ICC Champions Trophy) featured 9 teams playing 8 matches in knockout format. All matches were sudden-death with no group stage, and Kenya won by defeating India in the final.

In their opening match of the 1983 World Cup against the West Indies at Manchester, India scored 262 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their allotted 60 overs. This competitive total set the stage for India's surprising victory.