Sports

ICC World Cup 2003 : When Late Shane Warne Was Shown The Door

For the first time the ICC world cup was shifted to the African continent. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya together hosted the 2003 World Cup. A total of 14 teams took part in the tournament with Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and debutants Namibia being placed in Pool A while Pool B consisted of South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies,  New Zealand,  Canada, Kenya and Bangladesh.

The top three from each pool were to qualify for the super sixes with the rules and formats remaining the same as that of 1999 World Cup. The tournament were marred with controversies as England refusing to play in Zimbabwe and New Zealand were reluctant to play in Kenya due to security concerns. Last but not the least, Late Shane Warne was suspended from the world cup as he took a banned substance.

Also Read : ICC World Cup 1999 : Lance Klusenar Emerged As Tragic Hero

South Africa, Pakistan, England and West Indies played poor cricket and were eliminated in the group stages. The only shocker in the group stage was when Kenya outclassed Sri Lanka in their own backyard.  Kenya went on to beat Zimbabwe as well in the super sixes.

Australia were the team who actually dominated as the team recorded all win record. In the absense of late Shane Warne skipper Ricky Ponting reposed faith on late Andrew Symonds who duly respected Ponting’s faith.

Australia, India and Zimbabwe qualified in the super sixes from Pool A while Sri Lanka, Kenya and New Zealand qualified from Pool B. The Semi-final like up were as follows Australia vs Sri Lanka in the first semi finals while India took on Kenya in the other semi finals. Both Australia and India recorded easy wins and advanced to the Grand Finale.

Also Read :  Wills World Cup 1996 : Poetic Justice For Sri Lanka

In the finals Australia put up a mammoth 2/359 with a brisk 140 not out (121) from skipper Ricky Ponting and 88 not out (84) from Damien Martyn (playing with a broken thumb). Chasing 360 to win the World Cup India began disastrously with their star batsman with peak form Sachin Tendulkar skying an easy caught and bowled by Glenn McGrath. Virendra Sehwag 82(81) and Rahul Dravid 47(57) put up some resistance and after their dismissals India lost wickets at regular intervals to hand Australia their third world cup beating West Indies’ record.

Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the player of the world cup.

Debajit Kar

Recent Posts

‘In Kabul, A Cat Has More Freedom Than A Woman’: Revisiting Women’s Struggles Under The Taliban

The Taliban’s regime has since imposed over 100 laws restricting women's rights, stripping them of…

5 hours ago

PM Modi’s Gifts: A Glimpse Of India’s Cultural Heritage In Global Diplomacy

These gifts to world leaders reflect the diverse traditions, arts, and crafts of India, emphasizing…

8 hours ago

Dr Rajeshwar Singh Calls For Bold Goals To Make India A Global Power By 2047

Dr Singh stressed the importance of reaching a GDP of $15 trillion by 2047 to…

9 hours ago

Gautam Adani Faces Indictment In US: Legal Expert Vijay Aggarwal Dismisses Immediate Repercussions

Criminal lawyer Vijay Aggarwal weighed in on the charges against Adani. He believes the indictment…

9 hours ago

Adani Group Stocks Recover As Sensex nd Nifty Post Gains

After a major sell-off earlier in the week, Adani Group stocks, led by Ambuja Cements…

10 hours ago

Sensex Soars 1,961 Points, Nifty Gains 557 In Broad-Based Market Rally

A sharp rally in financial stocks and encouraging US labor market data fueled the uptrend.…

11 hours ago