2003 Cricket World Cup Final

2003 Cricket World Cup Final

The 2003 Cricket World Cup Final was a One Day International match played on 23 March 2003 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Australia won the match by 125 runs to claim the title for the third time. The tournament was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, and lasted 43 days. The winner of the tournament was awarded the man of the series, while Sachin Tendulkar was named the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

About 2003 Cricket World Cup Final in brief

Summary 2003 Cricket World Cup FinalThe 2003 Cricket World Cup Final was a One Day International match played on 23 March 2003 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Australia won the match by 125 runs to claim the title for the third time. The final was Australia’s seventeenth successive ODI win, a record, and they were the first team to win three World Cups. The tournament was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, and lasted 43 days. There were 14 participating teams, the largest number in a World Cup until then. A total of 54 matches were played in the tournament, with the most successful three from each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage. The competition was the first to be played in Africa, and the first World Cup to be held in Africa. The winner of the tournament was awarded the man of the series, while Sachin Tendulkar was named the tournament’s leading run-scorer. Australia’s spinner Shane Warne was found guilty of using a prohibited drug during an ODI series held before the tournament and banned from playing for one year. India’s captain Sourav Ganguly decided to field first before a crowd of nearly 32,000. Despite a brief interruption by rain after the 17th over, no time was lost from the game. Virender Sehwag top-scored for India with 82 runs, before the team were bowled out for 234 runs in the 40th over. For Australia, Glenn McGrath took three wickets for 52 runs, while Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds claimed two wickets each.

The match was played according to the standard rules of a ODI, and fielding restrictions applied for the bowling side. For the first 15 overs only two fielders were allowed outside the infield, and for the rest of the innings four fielders had to be deployed in the infield. No player was allowed to bowl more than 10 overs in an innings. The Australian opening pair, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, added 105 runs in 14 overs. After their dismissals, Ponting and Damien Martyn were involved in a partnership of 234 runs, then an Australian record. Harbhajan Singh took both the Australian wickets, conceding 49 runs. In response, India lost their key batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, at the start of the inning. Later that day, Jason Gillespie and Nathan Bracken were replaced by Warne and Hauritz Bracken, respectively. The BCCI announced the provisional squad for the World Cup final on 31 December 2002, but several changes were made to the team before theournament was completed. In January 2003, Shane Warner was ruled out following a stress fracture and was replaced by Ian Harvey. As well as the 10 Test-playing nations, four associate teams took part. Kenya, by virtue of its ODI status, automatically qualified for the tournament; Canada, Namibia and Netherlands—the top three teams of the 2001 ICC Trophy—formed the rest.