2006 ICC Champions Trophy

<p>The 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was a <a href="/facts/One_Day_International/EBq50MAd">One Day International</a> <a href="/facts/Cricket/tjuTASkU">cricket</a> tournament held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. It was the fifth edition of the <a href="/facts/ICC_Champions_Trophy/ToVY8njH">ICC Champions Trophy</a> (previously known as the ICC Knock-out). The tournament venue was not confirmed until mid-2005 when the Indian government agreed that tournament revenues would be free from tax (the 2002 tournament had been due to be held in India, but was switched to <a href="/facts/Sri_Lanka/VtTBmysE">Sri Lanka</a> when an exemption from tax in India was not granted). <a href="/facts/Australia_national_cricket_team/GtjyHHS7">Australia</a> won the tournament, their first Champions Trophy victory. They were the only team to get one loss in the tournament, as all other teams lost at least two matches. <a href="/facts/West_Indies_cricket_team/cAg3txg4">West Indies</a>, their final opponents, beat Australia in the group stage but were bowled out for 138 in the final and lost by eight wickets on the <a href="/facts/Duckworth%25E2%2580%2593Lewis_method/ev1M5P3V">Duckworth–Lewis method</a>. West Indies opening batsman <a href="/facts/Chris_Gayle/UFETLHfd">Chris Gayle</a> was named Player of the Tournament.
</p><p>English writer <a href="/facts/Tim_de_Lisle/0lPtt8vM">Tim de Lisle</a> said the tournament "had been fun" because "it had been unpredictable." The unpredictability was in part shown by the fact that no Asian side qualified for the semi-final, for the first time in a major ICC tournament since the <a href="/facts/1975_Cricket_World_Cup/NMBkPBMA">1975 World Cup</a>. De Lisle also claimed that "the pitches" had been the "tournament's secret," saying that they were "sporting and <a href="/facts/Quixotism/z4Q6hCLA">quixotic</a>" and "quite untypical of both one-day cricket and the subcontinent." His views were echoed by panelists in a roundtable discussion organized by ESPNcricinfo, "who hoped that the tournament would not be a one-off in a batsman-dominated game," according to news site rediff.com. The tournament recorded five of the 10 lowest team totals in the tournament's history, and totals of 80 (for West Indies v Sri Lanka) and 89 (for Pakistan v South Africa) were the lowest recorded in matches involving the top eight ranked One-day International sides of the world.
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2006 ICC Champions Trophy open-in-new

2006 ICC Champions Trophy