OTD | Sri Lanka pummelled India by a staggering 245 runs in 2000 Coca Cola Champions Trophy final

The day 29th of October was one of the biggest defeats the men in blue faced in the Coca Cola Champions Trophy final 2000. The day the Island Nation surprised everyone after hammering the Indian team by 245 runs at Sharjah and won the trophy disappointing all the Indian fans who were favourites to win the tri-series with a squad filled with some phenomenal players in the mix.

The Coca Cola Champions Trophy was one of the tri-series that showed the growth of Sri Lanka cricket among the masses. The other two teams that participated in the tournament were India and Sri Lanka who were the two favourites going into this tournament. It was no surprise that the Lankans and Indians would meet each other in the finals, but in the end, it was the final that shocked everyone in Sharjah.

The horrible defeat for the Indian team

This was one of the matches that established the Island nation as a threat. Though the Indian bowlers looked like they could make a comeback with the ball having the Lankans at a score of 116-4, Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya with his knock of 189 from 161 deliveries made sure they got to 299 and put pressure on the Indian bowlers. This was perhaps one of the best innings we had ever witnessed from the flamboyant left-hander.

Though this was a big total and Sourav Ganguly was still new to his role as a skipper, the people still expected a big fight but unfortunately witnessed one of the most disastrous collapses in ODI cricket. The five-wicket haul of Chaminda Vaas and guile and variations of Muttiah Muralitharan created havoc and India were bundled out for 54 with only one double-digit score in the entire innings. The Lankans were deserving winners and completely hammered the Indians by 245 runs to win the trophy and disappoint every Indian fan.

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