The emergence and growth of ICC Champions trophy co-incided with the period of Australia's domination in world cricket. Hence, it is curious that they had to wait till the tournament's sixth edition in 2006 to get their hands on the trophy for the first time.
In the inaugural edition of 1998, it was the all too-familiar tale of Sachin Tendulkar's century denying them. Then in 2000, it wasn't Tendulkar but an 18-year old Yuvraj Singh whose innings made the difference. In 2002 they inexplicably lost to hosts Sri lanka after getting bowled out for 162 in the semi-final and in 2004, even more inexplicably, got knocked out by old foes England.
Australia set out for the next edition in 2006 hell bent upon ending their Champions Trophy hoodoo.
And they succeeded with aplomb, pushing aside all other contenders to win the trophy as well as Sharad Pawar, then BCCI chief, from the podium after receiving it.
Even though their decline was well underway by the time of the 2009 edition, they were still good enough to win the tournament with Shane Watson's successive hundreds in the semi-final and Final. By 2013, though, they were a pale shadow of their former self and couldn't progress beyond the first round.
This time around, they are going in as World Champions and top favourites. Since winning the World Cup in 2015, they have performed consistently and have won series in places as diverse as Sri lanka and England.
They don't have the sort of star-studded line-up which they did during the noughties, but they possess some big impact players as well as many useful ones capable of making important contributions.
In Mitchell Starc, they have arguably the best one-day bowler in the world today. He combines raw pace with deadly accuracy of his yorkers to deliver toe-crushers that remind one of Wasim Akram in his heyday. His bowling average of 19.88 and strike rate of 24.7 is dazzling for modern day ODI cricket.
Josh Hazlewood is the closest thing to Glenn McGrath that we have seen since his retirement. While he lacks pace, his accuracy and height more than makes up for it.
James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins have proven their mettle on the international stage and only injury has kept them from achieving greater heights. However, the surprise package may well be John Hastings who showed great skill and tactical nous on the dry pitches of Sri lanka last year in a bilateral series by bowling short of length cutters which created lot of problems for the batsmen.
In the batting department, Australia have an explosive opening combination of David Warner and Aaron Finch. Both are big-hitting stocky batsmen but are yet to fully prove themselves in all conditions.
The leader of the batting line-up as well as the team is the prolific Steve Smith. He has set the stage on fire in Tests but has shown similar ability in limited-overs format also. What makes him special is his ability to both build an innings as well as attack when needed.
Glenn Maxwell provides further ammunition down the order. Dropped from the one-day side last year, he found his way back in and is in all likelihood better for the experience. His striking ability was never in doubt but he often showed impetuousness which was his undoing. With a Test hundred now under his belt, he is probably calmer and therefore more useful. Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is a scrappy batsmen who, though he doesn't always look good while batting, contributes vital runs to his team.
The Aussies are the favourites and have shown the ability to adapt to different conditions. Chances of them becoming winners for a record third time look good.