It has been 28 years since the World Cup started, but the world’s second-largest continent was still deprived of hosting it. After 7 World Cups, finally, the African continent got its opportunity and South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya were ready to host the 8th edition of the Cricket World Cup. This edition is famous for the beginning of the India-Australia rivalry, the excellent display of batting from master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and the entry of Kenya in the semi-final, the only non-test playing team to play in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup.  

Another blow came two days later in the tournament when Shane Warne, then one of the game’s leading spinners, was sent home in disgrace after testing positive for a banned substance. Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar also set a world record by becoming the fastest bowler in cricket history, hitting a record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a match against England.

In continuation to our series “A Countdown to World Cup” today we are sharing the stories of the 2003 World Cup. 

World Cup of 2003

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 was the eighth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This World Cup was the first to take place in Africa. The tournament was eventually won by Australia, who won all 11 matches and defeated India in the final played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. It was Australia’s third World Cup win, as the only team to achieve this milestone.

Format

14 teams participated in the tournament, which was the largest number in the history of the World Cup at the time, and a total of 54 matches were played. It followed the format introduced in the 1999 Cricket World Cup where teams were divided into two groups and the top three from each group advanced to the Super Sixes stage. Semi-finals were played between the top four teams of the Super Six. 

Super Six

Semi-finals

The first semi-final was played on a hard and slow pitch in Port Elizabeth. Australia won the toss and elected to bat, they struggled and just scored 212 runs in 50 overs, thanks to a brilliant innings from Andrew Symonds 91* off 118 balls. Australia’s fast attack then tore apart Sri Lanka’s top order as Brett Lee claimed three early wickets and Glenn McGrath took one. By the time the rain arrived in the 39th over, Australia continued tight bowling and had reduced Sri Lanka to 123 (7 wickets, 38.1 overs), well short of the Duckworth-Lewis target. This is the match where Adam Gilchrist famously ‘walked’ in a game of spirit despite not being declared out.

In the second semi-final, the fairytale got over for Kenya, the only non-test-playing nation ever to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar (101 off 83 balls, 5 fours and 1 six) and Sourav Ganguly (111 off 114 balls, 5 fours and 5 sixes) knocked the Kenyans out with India’s total of 270. Under the Durban lights, the Indian attack of Zaheer Khan (3/14 from 9.2 overs), the experienced Javagal Srinath (1/11 from 7 overs) and Ashish Nehra (2/11 from 5 overs) took Kenya to the bottom. Kenya was bowled out for 179 (all out, 46.2 balls) with only Steve Tikolo (56 from 83 balls, 5 fours and 2 sixes) putting up any significant resistance.

Finals

India won the toss and elected to field, hoping to exploit the pitch left by dew and rain. The Australian opener took advantage of very timid Indian bowlers to get off to a blistering start. Shared an opening partnership of 105 runs in 14 overs, forcing Ganguly to bring in the Spinners unusually early. After the fall of two wickets Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn scored a record-breaking partnership of 234 runs and set a target of 359, the highest score of any team in the finals till now. 

In reply the Indian batting crumbled like a house of cards, World-best batsman Sachin Tendulkar was out in the very first over of the run chase. Virender Sehwag 82 and Rahul Dravid 47 give India a respectable total of 234. Australia won the World Cup by 125 runs and shattered the dreams of India. Ricky Ponting was awarded Man of the Match for his heroic performance and the great Sachin Tendulkar was the player of the series. 

Statistics 

Top Run Scorer

Top Wicket Taker