The 2007 World Cup, also known as ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, was the ninth edition of the World Cup Cricket organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The Cricket World Cup 2007 was hosted solely by West Indies, which began on March 13 and ended on April 28. The length of the tourney, i.e. 6 weeks, drew criticism from several quarters. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Schedule in PDF: Ticket Prices, Dates, Venue Details & Timetable Available for Download Online.

The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was played at eight different venues across as many cities. The final of the tournament was played at the Kensington Oval, in Barbados. The multi-nation tournament saw 16 teams participating in the tournament – a record figure at that time. The tournament followed the round-robin and knockout format in its proceedings. Cricket World Cup History: Winners, Host Nations, Participating Teams and Timeline of All the CWC From 1975 to 2015.

Participating Teams & Formats: The 16 participating nations were divided into 4 equal groups, i.e. A, B, C, and D. Group A had Australia, South Africa, Scotland, and the Netherlands. Group B had Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Bermuda. Group C had New Zealand, England, Kenya, and Canada. Group D had Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland.

The top teams of every group qualified for the ‘Super Eight’ stage in the tournament, which would see teams competing in the round-robin format again. Both India and Pakistan – both tournament favourites – failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage and the controversies that followed it, is another story altogether. History of Cricket World Cup Trophy: Facts and Evolution of Cricket’s Prestigious Title From Prudential to ICC (View Pics & Video).

The eight teams that qualified in the Super 8 stage were Australia and South Africa (Group A), and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (Group B), New Zealand and England (Group C), and West Indies and Ireland (Group D).

Semi-Finalists: After a marvellous Super 8 round, it was Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa that qualified for the 2007 WC semi-finals. In the first semi-final match, it was Sri Lanka that beat New Zealand and won the match by 81 runs. Mahela Jayawardene won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his unbeaten century, 115* runs.

In the second semi-final match, it was Australia that beat South Africa – who choked at the crucial stage again – comprehensively by 7 wickets and around 18 overs to spare. Australia’s Glenn McGrath won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning figures, i.e. 8-1-18-3.

Watch Video of 2007 Cricket World Cup Between Australia and Sri Lanka

Winner: The final had its own set of controversies, which took place in the second innings during the culmination of the match. Due to poor light, the umpires signalled for the match to be suspended, which the organisers and Australians mistook it for their victory. However, the match ensued later, but in dire light conditions – a move which even angered the ICC.

It was Sri Lanka vs Australia in the 2007 World Cup final, where the latter won the toss and elected to bat first. Adam Gilchrist was the highlight of Aussies’ innings as he scored whirlwind 149-run inning in only 104 balls. Australia, then, went on to score 281/4 in their quota of 38 overs.

In their reply, Sri Lanka looked clueless to the Australian bowling lineup and hapless against the umpires and the playing conditions at the venue. Only Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara scored half-centuries each; however, it didn’t help SL reach anywhere near the target.

Australia won the controversy-marred ICC World Cup 2007 match by 53 runs (D/L) method. Adam Gilchrist of Australia was adjudged with the ‘Player of the Match’ award. It was Australia’s third-straight World Cup victory (and fourth overall) in the tournament’s history.

Australian opener, Matthew Hayden, turned out to be the highest run-scoring batsman in the tournament, when amassed 659 runs. In the bowling department too, it was an Aussie, Glenn Mcgrath, who picked the number of most wickets, i.e. 26, in 2007 World Cup.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2019 05:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).