The Gibbs cramp and the Dhoni gambit – the greatest ICC Champions Trophy comebacks

MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik celebrate India's victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final (AFP/File Photo)

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 gets underway from February 19 as hosts Pakistan open their campaign against New Zealand, which will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi. India then start their campaign the next day with all their matches scheduled to be played at Dubai. The BCCI had refused to send its team across the border citing security concerns, which led the tournament be played in a hybrid model. While the other seven participating nations will play their match across three cities in Pakistan, India will play all their matches in Dubai.

As the excitement rise, we take a look at four famous comebacks cricket fans witnessed at the elite ICC tournament, which India have won twice previously.

New Zealand v India, 2000

Within months of taking over a team reeling from the match-fixing scandal, Sourav Ganguly’s blazing form with the bat helped take India into the final of the ICC Knockout – as the tournament was known then – in Nairobi. There, he smashed 117 off 130 balls and added 141 for the first wicket with Sachin Tendulkar as India piled up 264-6. When New Zealand slipped to 132-5 in the 24th over, India were huge favourites. But Chris Cairns was in his pomp, and he added 122 with the other Chris, Harris, to take New Zealand to the threshold of victory. Cairns finished with an unbeaten 113-ball 102 as they won with two balls to spare.

India v South Africa, 2002

Most journalists at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo had finished writing out the bulk of their reports when this match took a bizarre turn, South Africa needed 70 runs at less than a run a ball to win the semi-final, with Herschelle Gibbs having rampaged his way to 116 off 119 balls. But when he retired hurt, complaining on cramp in his hands in the stifling humidity, Gangauly and his spinners seized their moment. Jacques Kallis couldn’t find the fence, and as the pressure mounted, Virender Sehwag took three wickets and Harbhajan Singh too. Kallis fell for 97, and India won by 10 runs.

West Indies v England, 2004

After Marcus Trescothick’s 104 had set West Indies 218 to win the 2004 final, they slumped to 80 for 5, with Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan among those to fall. Shivnarine Chanderpaul chiselled out a 66-ball 47, but when he fell to Paul Collingwood, West Indies were still 71 short with only two wickets in hand. As The Oval crowd prepared to celebrate England’s first global trophy, Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw got to work. Against a formidable England attack – Darren Gough, Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff – there were more than a few lucky edges and misses, but the duo batted 15.1 overs to take West Indies to the most unexpected of victories.

India v England, 2013

In a match reduced to 20 overs a side by rain, it was largely because of Virat Kohli (43 off 34 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (33 not out off 25) that India even had a half-decent total to defend. Set 130 to win, England recovered from a shocking start and 46-4 to reach 110 in the 18th over. But both Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara fell trying to take on the previous expensive Ishant Sharma – MS Dhoni’s last roll of the dice – and India’s captain then had the nerve to call on his spin twins to finish the job. Jadeja castled Jos Buttler and then saw Tim Bresnan run out in an over that went for just four. With England needing 15 off R Ashwin’s final over, there was just one four struck by Stuart Broad. India home by five runs, and Dhoni with another inspirational gambit to compare with the use of Joginder Sharma in the final over of the 2007 World T20.