List of Golden Bat winners in Champions Trophy

The Golden Bat is presented to the batsman with the most runs in the Champions Trophy, and there have constantly been Indian players in the list of top run-scorers. The 2017 edition of the tournament is no different, with India’s opener Shikhar Dhawan finding his way to the top of the list, despite competition from Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and India’s Rohit Sharma.

The first winner of the Golden Bat was West Indies’ right-handed batsman Philo Wallace, followed by India’ Sourav Ganguly, who won the title in the next year. India continued its trend of producing top batsmen in the Champions Trophy, with Virender Sehwag making it to the list in the 2002 title-winning campaign.

English skipper Marcus Trescothick found his place at the top of the chart during the 2004 season, while run-machine Chris Gayle found his place in the 2006 edition with 474 runs. Australia’s only representative in the list is the former skipper Ricky Ponting, whose 288 runs were enough to make him the top run-scorer in the 2009 edition.

From then, it has been an onslaught from the Indian southpaw Shikhar Dhawan, who has won the Golden Bat for consecutive Champions Trophy in England.

Here is a list of the leading run-scorer in each of the Champions Trophy thus far:

1. 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy- Philo Wallace (West Indies)

The stylish right-handed batsman made light worry of the bowlers in the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy, which was called as the KnockOut Trophy and was played between the Test-playing nations. The opener from West Indies scored a huge hundred on the day it mattered, but his efforts went in vain as South Africa managed a narrow victory in the end.

It would, however, be difficult to forget the knocks from the stylish right-hand bat for the West Indies throughout the tournament. The right-hander scored a total of 221 runs in the three games he played in the tournament, with a high score of 103 against the Proteas in the final. However, his career came to a standstill within the next two years, as Wallace played his final game against the Proteas in 2000.

2. 2000 Champions Trophy- Sourav Ganguly (India)

It was only time before the Indian contingent found their way to the top of the run-scoring list, with the stylish southpaw Sourav Ganguly ending up as the leading run-scorer of the 2000 edition. He was at the peak of his career, with the fluent flicks and the pull shot coming through at ease.

The Indian batsman scored a total of 348 runs in the tournament, with India reaching the finals where they faced the test of New Zealand. The left-hander scored an unbeaten 141 against South Africa in the semi-finals of the tournament and followed it up with a fluent 117 against the Kiwis in the finals. However, to everyone’s surprise, New Zealand’s all-rounder Chris Cairns completed the Kiwi comeback to take the title away from Sourav and co.

3. 2002 Champions Trophy- Virender Sehwag (India)

Another Indian featured in the list as the leading run-scorer, and no surprises, it was another opener with India’s Virender Sehwag emerging as the leading run-scorer in the 2002 edition of the tournament. The aggressive right-handed batsman threw the challenge open to the bowlers and knocked them to all parts of the ground.

Sehwag ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer thanks to his constant exploitation of the opposition bowlers, ending up scoring 271 runs in the tournament against the likes of England, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The right-handers’ best knock of the tournament came against England, where he made 126 runs from 104 balls.

4. 2004 Champions Trophy- Marcus Trescothick (England)

The tall left-handed English batsman Marcus Trescothick had the tournament that he would not forget. The southpaw was influential on England’s chances at the Champions Trophy, with the additional burden of being the hosts costing them dearly.

Trescothick scored a total of 261 runs in the four games that he played in the edition. The left-hander saved the best till the finals, where he scored 104 runs in 124 balls, prior which he had never scored a century in the tournament. The opener was a crucial point in England’s path to the finale against West Indies in the tournament.

5. 2006 Champions Trophy- Chris Gayle (West Indies)

The West Indian left-handed opening bat of Chris Gayle was the difference in the tournament between West Indies and the other team. The southpaw scored a total of 474 runs, which till date stands as the highest runs scored by an individual batsman in the tournament history.

However, the catch in the tournament was that the left-hander played eight matches in the series, scoring 474 runs at an average of 79 with a high score of 133*. Gayle had three hundreds in the tournament, which helped the Carribean side to the finale of the tournament, where they met a rampant Australian side, who went past them with ease.

6. 2009 Champions Trophy- Ricky Ponting (Australia)

Ricky Ponting, who skippered the Australian side to the second consecutive victory, was the backbone of the Australian batting unit. The stylish right-handed batsman scored 288 runs in the tournament, with a high score of 79 runs coming against West Indies in the opening Group A game.

The right-hander’s contribution against England and New Zealand was the difference between a victory and a loss for the Kangaroos, with the side in Yellow coming in as victors from the tournament. The 2009 edition was also the right-hander’s last Champions Trophy.

7. 2013 Champions Trophy- Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Another Indian opener featured on the list, and it was not a surprise to see the stylish Shikhar Dhawan as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. India owed its 2013 victory to the left-hander who scored 363 runs in the tournament. Dhawan was one of the most consistent batsmen in the Indian batting unit, at an average of 90.75 in the five games he played.

In the five games that the left-hander played, he scored 363 runs at an average of 90.75, with a high score of 114 coming against South African in the tournament opener. The opener continued his prime form with another century against West Indies at the Oval, where he scored an unbeaten 102.

8. 2017 Champions Trophy- Shikhar Dhawan (India)

There was an immense expectation on the Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan after his exploits in the previous edition of the tournament, where he was the leading run-scorer. The southpaw made a similar start to the 2017 edition of the tournament, with a brisk knock against Pakistan in the opener.

It was not until the second game of Group B, where the left-hander showed what he is capable of, with a 125 off 128 balls against Sri Lanka. In the following game against South Africa, Dhawan top-scored with 78 off just 83 balls. The left-handed batsman became the leading run-scorer of the tournament once again, with a total of 338 runs in five innings, at an average of 67.70 and a high score of 125 thus becoming the only batsmen to get the golden bat twice.