2003 World Cup Recap - Revisiting unforgettable moments

Introduction

The 2003 World Cup was the eighth installment of the Cricket World Cup. For the first time, the biggest ODI tournament was played in the African continent. South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya were the co-hosts of the marquee event that took place from February 9 to March 23, 2003. The number of teams also increased in this World Cup as this time, 14 nations were allowed to take part in it.

The tournament witnessed the domination of Australia who successfully defended the title under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting with their excellent performance, while the young Indian team ended their journey as the runners-up losing to the Men in Yellow in the final by 125 runs at the Wanderers.

The teams and players

Before the competition, the defending champions Australia were the favourites to lift the trophy as they had a lot of experienced players who possessed the potential to make their side the first team to bag the coveted World Cup trophy for the third time. South Africa, who were one of the hosts, were expected to take advantage of their home conditions and pose a tough competition for other teams.

India went into the competition with a lot of young players and some veterans who had more than 10 years of experience. The composition of the squad almost worked for the Men in Blue as they beat quality sides in the tournament and qualified for the final of the competition. After 1983, it was India’s first appearance in the finals of the World Cup.

Tournament format

The tournament consisted of 14 teams divided into two groups with seven on each side. At the end of the group round, the top three teams from both pools advanced to the Super Six round. In the Super Six, all sides clashed with teams that they didn’t encounter in the group round.

Following the action in Super Six, four teams that topped the chart went ahead to play the knockouts which included a couple of semi-finals and the grand final. Like the 1999 World Cup, points from the group stage were carried by teams to the Super Six round in the 2003 edition as well. 

Iconic matches and moments

The tournament was played from February 9 to March 23, and during these one-and-a-half months, cricket fans witnessed some incredible cricketing action. During the competition, some nerve-wracking matches were relished by avid cricket supporters. In the 26th contest of the tournament, Kenya beat the star-studded Sri Lanka, by 53 runs. 

This associate team’s standout performance against the 1996 champions helped them to qualify for the next round as South Africa, one of the hosts, got eliminated in the group round after losing the match against Sri Lanka by one run after failing to understand the Duckworth-Lewis method rules. 

In the competition, the much-awaited rivalry between India and Pakistan happened in Centurion. The match ended in India’s favour as Sachin Tendulkar took Pakistan's fierce bowling unit to the cleaners and helped the Men in Blue chase down a competitive total of 274. For Pakistan, it’s one of the unforgettable defeats to date as they had started the game confidently after winning the toss. Their opener Saeed Anwar smashed a remarkable ton as well to help the team post a fine total on the board.

Key performers

Australia won the title for the third time and the credit for the unprecedented win goes to Ricky Ponting as he led the side from the front. The Aussie showcased his mettle with his leadership and batting. Leading the team, he won all 11 games for his team. As a batter, he chalked up 415 runs in 10 innings. In the grand final, he scored an unbeaten 140 and guided his team to an enormous 125-run win.

Sachin Tendulkar concluded his journey in the World Cup as the leading run-getter with 673 runs in 11 innings. In the crucial victories against the quality teams England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the Master Blaster contributed half-centuries from his bat. 

Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas also grabbed the headlines for his disciplined bowling. The Sri Lanka pacer bagged 23 wickets in 10 games and ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Following Vaas, Australia’s paceman Brett Lee ended up in the second spot on the leading wicket-taker chart, scalping 22 heads in 10 contests.

Glenn McGrath, who spearheaded Australia’s pace attack, grabbed 21 wickets in 11 games and became the third-most wicket-taker in the World Cup edition. In the final against the Sourav Ganguly-led side, he picked up a three-wicket haul which included the huge wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Kaif.

Innovations and Changes

The 2003 edition of the World Cup was the first time that 14 teams featured in the marquee ODI event. For associate teams such as Namibia, Canada, and The Netherlands, it was a perfect chance to compete with quality teams and develop their standard of cricket. 

Kenya, one of the associate members, took this opportunity with both hands. Under the captaincy of Steve Tikolo, Kenya reached the semi-final beating Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe who were superior to them in terms of experience. In the group round, New Zealand refused to play Kenya in Nairobi due to safety concerns and it resulted in the hosts’ win by a walkover. The walkover also made Kenya’s road to the next round easy.

Legacy 

The 2003 World Cup strengthened Australia’s image as a formidable side in ODI cricket. Under Ponting’s leadership, the Aussies played a fierce brand of cricket and remained unbeatable. During the competition, they outclassed quality sides such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, and New Zealand comfortably. 

For India, the future looked bright as young talents such as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh made a fine contribution to India’s decent World Cup campaign. In 2011, when India clinched their second World Cup trophy under MS Dhoni, these five names performed efficiently along with their senior and illustrious colleague Sachin Tendulkar.