This Day, That Year: India Suffered Heartbreak Against Australia in 2003 World Cup Final
The 2003 World Cup Final loss still remains fresh in the memory of a lot of Indian fans as today marks the 17 years since that painful defeat. Australians were too good on the day and registered an emphatic 125-run win. But the demons were put to bed in 2011 when India fittingly lifted the World Cup for the second time in their history in Mumbai.
March 23, 2003, is one of the darkest days in Indian cricketing history as the Men in Blue were defeated in the finals of the ODI World Cup by Australia. India had a near-perfect campaign with their only loss in the group stage coming against the eventual winners and going into the finals, many fans had hopes that the Sourav Ganguly-led side could end the Aussie dominance. But it wasn’t meant to be as the Australians were too good on the day and registered an emphatic 125-run win. Ricky Ponting Shares Picture of Bats He Used During Australia vs India ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 Final.
After electing to field first, India were pegged back by the opening Australian duo of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden as they registered a 100-run stand with the former scoring a brilliant half-century. But Harbhajan Singh got India back into the game as he dismissed the duo but Hayden’s wicket was the last dismissal of the Aussie Innings.
Captain Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn took the Indian bowler’s to the cleaners as they stitched up 234 runs together. The Australian captain produced an innings of a lifetime, scoring unbeaten 140 off 121 deliveries taking his team to a total of 359/2 in 50 overs.
Ricky Ponting
17 Years Ago
While chasing a mammoth target, India suffered an early setback as Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the very first over by Glenn McGrath. Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Kaif soon followed as India struggled for 59/3. But Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid gave the Men in Blue a ray of hope but it crushed when the former was dismissed for 82. Australians bowled out the remaining players for less than 90 runs to win their second consecutive world title.
On This Day
This loss still remains fresh in the memory of a lot of Indian fans as today marks 17 years since that painful defeat. But the demons were put to bed in 2011 when India fittingly lifted the World Cup for the second time in their history in Mumbai.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2020 01:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).