Indian Team History In CT

1998 - Bangladesh

It looked as if Sachin Tendulkar was all that India required to progress to the semi-finals. The Little Master had worked wonders with both bat and ball against Australia as he smashed 141 in 128 balls and also picked up four wickets into the bargain. It was little wonder that he was awarded man of the match for his exploits which saw Australia being trounced by 44 runs. The semi-final bout against West Indies erased all happy memories of the previous win when India was trounced by six wickets and crashed out of the tournament. Tendulkar failed to fire this time around and despite half-centuries by Sourav Ganguly and Robin Singh, the team was dismissed for 242 runs.

2000 - Kenya

Still nursing the wounds of the previous event, India trampled Kenya by eight wickets. Skipper Ganguly and Rahul Dravid scored half-centuries in reply to Kenya's 208. The quarter-finals saw a repeat of the 1998 performance when India once again defeated Australia. Man of the match Yuvraj Singh smashed 84 in 80 balls with 12 boundaries to build up India score to 265. In response Australia were all out for 245.
In the semi-finals against South Africa, the Proteas were bundled out for 200 runs giving the Indians a lead of 95 runs. Ganguly fired on all cylinders and scored an unbeaten 142-ball 141 complete with 11 fours and six sixes. This run of good form continued into the finals against New Zealand where he scored a valiant 117 ably supported by Tendulkar with 69. However, the Kiwis, powered by an unbeaten 102 by Chris Cairns, edged India out in the finals by four wickets to claim the title.
Despite losing in the final the tournament will be remembered for the batting of Sourav Ganguly, who made 348 runs in all, including centuries in the semi-final against South Africa and final against New Zealand.

2002 - Sri Lanka

India was forced to share the trophy with their neighbours Sri Lanka after rain played the role of spoilsport in the final. Zaheer Khan took 3-44 on the first day and spinner Harbhajan Singh took 3-27 on the second day of the final. The side, after defeating South Africa in a closely fought semi-final was pitched to be the favorites to win the event. Virendra Sehwag was named man of the match for his gusty half century with the bat and three-wicket haul with the ball in the semis. The team had earlier defeated both England and Zimbabwe in the pool stage to progress to the semis.

2004 - England

Previous winners India failed to progress beyond the pool stage after losing against Pakistan by three wickets. The side, which saw a top order batting collapse and left to defend a total of only 200, had to rely on Irfan Pathan (3-34) to save the match but in vain. They had, however, beaten Kenya by 98 runs earlier with an excellent batting display by skipper Ganguly (90 not out).

2006 - India

The hosts had a dismal performance this year too as they lost two matches in the group stages and with it the chances to qualify to the semi-finals. A six-wicket loss to Australia despite half-centuries by both Virendra Sehwag and Rahul Dravid was followed by a three-wicket loss to West Indies even though keeper MS Dhoni (51) and Rahul Dravid (49) contributed significantly. Their only victory in the tournament was against England when they won by four wickets after limiting England to 125 after three-wicket hauls by both Munaf Patel and Ramesh Powar.