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2003 Cricket World Cup

Take your Cricket Seriously?
Dates	9 February 2003 – 23 March 2003
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	One Day International
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)	South Africa  Zimbabwe  Kenya
Champions	Australia (3rd title)
Runners-up	India
Participants	14
Matches	54
Attendance	626,845 (11,608 per match)
Player of the series	Sachin Tendulkar
Most runs	Sachin Tendulkar (673)
Most wickets	Chaminda Vaas (23)
← 19992007 →

The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the first to be played in Africa. Take your Cricket Seriously? was the motto of this edition world cup.

The tournament featured 14 teams, the largest number in the World Cup's history at the time, playing a total of 54 matches. It followed the format introduced in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, with the teams divided into two groups, and the top three in each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage.

The tournament saw numerous upsets, with South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England all being eliminated at the group stage (South Africa missed by 1 run after misreading the Duckworth-Lewis method rules). England forfeited their match with Zimbabwe, due to the political unrest in the country, which ultimately enabled that team to reach the Super Sixes. Similarly, New Zealand forfeited their match with Kenya, due to security reasons which enabled the latter to reach the semi-finals, the only non-Test playing nation to do so. Another shock wave came two days after the tournament had started, when Shane Warne, at the time one of the game's leading spinners, was sent home in disgrace after testing positive for a banned substance.

The tournament was eventually won by Australia who won all 11 of their matches, beating India in the final played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. This was Australia's third World Cup win, the only team to do so. Pakistani player Shoaib Akhtar also set a world record, becoming the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England.

Teams and squads

Fourteen teams played in the 2003 World Cup, the largest number of teams to play in a Cricket World Cup at the time. The 10 Test playing nations automatically qualified for the tournament including the recently appointed member Bangladesh, while Kenya also qualified automatically due to their full One Day International status. The other three spots were filled by the top three teams in the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada, which served as a qualifying tournament. These teams were, respectively, the Netherlands who won the ICC Trophy, Canada and Namibia. This was Namibia's World Cup debut, while the Netherlands and Canada were both appearing in the tournament for the second time, having previously appeared in 1996 and 1979 respectively.

The format used in the 1999 World Cup was retained, with the 14 teams divided into two groups of seven, and the top three from each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage, carrying forward the results they had achieved against other qualifiers from their group. The top four teams in the Super Sixes qualified for the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches contested the final.

Full Members
Bangladesh	Australia
England	India
New Zealand	Pakistan
South Africa	Sri Lanka
West Indies	Zimbabwe
Associate Members
Kenya	Canada
Namibia	Netherlands

Host cities and venues

JohannesburgDurbanCape TownCenturionBloemfonteinBenoniPort ElizabethPotchefstroomEast LondonPietermaritzburgKimberleyPaarlclass=notpageimage| Venues in South Africa

HarareBulawayoclass=notpageimage| Venues in Zimbabwe

Nairobiclass=notpageimage| Venues in Kenya

Pool stage

The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	T	NRR	Pts	PCF
1	Australia	6	6	0	0	0	2.05	24	12
2	India	6	5	1	0	0	1.11	20	8
3	Zimbabwe	6	3	2	1	0	0.50	14	3.5
4	England	6	3	3	0	0	0.82	12	–
5	Pakistan	6	2	3	1	0	0.23	10	–
6	Netherlands	6	1	5	0	0	−1.45	4	–
7	Namibia	6	0	6	0	0	−2.96	0	–

Source: Points Table

Zimbabwe  340/2 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 104/5 (25.1 overs)
Craig Wishart 172* (151) Lennie Louw 1/60 (10 overs)		Danie Keulder 27 (46) Guy Whittall 2/20 (5 overs)

• Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
• Rain interrupted the innings of Namibia and eventually the match was called off with Zimbabwe winning by 86 runs via D/L method
• Points: Zimbabwe 4, Namibia 0

Australia  310/8 (50 overs)	v	Pakistan 228 (44.3 overs)
Andrew Symonds 143* (125) Wasim Akram 3/64 (10 overs)		Rashid Latif 33 (23) Ian Harvey 4/58 (9.3 overs)

• Pakistan won the toss elected to field.
• Points: Australia 4, Pakistan 0
• Pakistan were fined 1 over for a slow over rate.

India  204 (48.5 overs)	v	Netherlands 136 (48.1 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 52 (72) Tim de Leede 4/35 (9.5 overs)		Daan van Bunge 62 (116) Anil Kumble 4/32 (10 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: India 4, Netherlands 0.

Zimbabwe	v	England

• No toss
• Points: Zimbabwe 4, England 0
• England forfeited the match due to safety concerns

India  125 (41.4 overs)	v	Australia 128/1 (22.2 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 36 (59) Jason Gillespie 3/13 (10 overs)		Adam Gilchrist 48 (61) Anil Kumble 1/24 (7 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Australia 4, India 0.

Netherlands  142/9 (50 overs)	v	England 144/4 (23.2 overs)
Tim de Leede 58* (96) James Anderson 4/25 (10 overs)		Michael Vaughan 51 (47) Daan van Bunge 3/16 (3 overs)

• England won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: England 4, Netherlands 0
• Nick Statham (Netherlands) made his ODI debut

Pakistan  255/9 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 84 (17.4 overs)
Saleem Elahi 63 (100) Bjorn Kotze 2/51 (10 overs)		Bjorn Kotze 24* (29) Wasim Akram 5/28 (9 overs)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Pakistan 4, Namibia 0

India  255/7 (50 overs)	v	Zimbabwe 172 (44.4 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 81 (91) Grant Flower 2/14 (6 overs)		Tatenda Taibu 29* (44) Sourav Ganguly 3/22 (5 overs)

• Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: India 4, Zimbabwe 0.

England  272 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 217/9 (50 overs)
Alec Stewart 60 (77) Rudi van Vuuren 5/43 (10 overs)		Jan-Berrie Burger 85 (86) Ronnie Irani 3/30 (8 overs)

• Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: England 4, Namibia 0

Australia  170/2 (36 overs)	v	Netherlands 122 (30.2 overs)
Damien Martyn 67* (76) Tim de Leede 2/34 (7 overs)		Tim de Leede 24 (38) Andy Bichel 3/13 (3 overs)

• Netherlands won the toss elected to field.
• Match reduced to 36 overs per side due to rain
• Points: Australia 4, Netherlands 0

England  246/8 (50 overs)	v	Pakistan 134 (31 overs)
Paul Collingwood 66* (73) Saqlain Mushtaq 2/44 (10 overs)		Shoaib Akhtar 43 (16) James Anderson 4/29 (10 overs)

• England won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: England 4, Pakistan 0

India  311/2 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 130 (42.3 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 152 (151) Rudi van Vuuren 2/53 (10 overs)		Jan-Berrie Burger 29 (30) Yuvraj Singh 4/6 (4.3 overs)

• Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: India 4, Namibia 0

Zimbabwe  246/9 (50 overs)	v	Australia 248/3 (47.3 overs)
Andy Flower 62 (91) Brad Hogg 3/46 (8 overs)		Adam Gilchrist 61 (64) Dougie Marillier 1/32 (10 overs)

• Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Australia 4, Zimbabwe 0

Pakistan  253/9 (50 overs)	v	Netherlands 156 (39.3 overs)
Mohammad Yousuf 58 (59) Tim de Leede 2/53 (10 overs)		Daan van Bunge 31 (60) Wasim Akram 3/24 (8.3 overs)

• Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Pakistan 4, Netherlands 0

India  250/9 (50 overs)	v	England 168 (45.3 overs)
Rahul Dravid 62 (72) Andy Caddick 3/69 (10 overs)		Andrew Flintoff 64 (73) Ashish Nehra 6/23 (10 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: India 4, England 0

Australia  301/6 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 45 (14 overs)
Matthew Hayden 88 (73) Louis Burger 3/39 (10 overs)		Deon Kotze 10 (14) Glenn McGrath 7/15 (7 overs)

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Australia 4, Namibia 0

Zimbabwe  301/8 (50 overs)	v	Netherlands 202/9 (50 overs)
Andy Flower 71 (72) Feiko Kloppenburg 2/40 (10 overs)		Roland Lefebvre 30 (23) Brian Murphy 3/44 (10 overs)

• Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Zimbabwe 4, Netherlands 0

Pakistan  273/7 (50 overs)	v	India 276/4 (45.4 overs)
Saeed Anwar 101 (126) Zaheer Khan 2/46 (10 overs)		Sachin Tendulkar 98 (75) Waqar Younis 2/71 (8.4 overs)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: India 4, Pakistan 0

England  204/8 (50 overs)	v	Australia 208/8 (49.4 overs)
Alec Stewart 46 (92) Andy Bichel 7/20 (10 overs)		Michael Bevan 74* (126) Andy Caddick 4/35 (9 overs)

• England won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Australia 4, England 0

Netherlands  314/4 (50 overs)	v	Namibia 250 (46.5 overs)
Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk 134* (129) Louis Burger 2/49 (10 overs)		Gavin Murgatroyd 52 (62) Adeel Raja 4/42 (8.5 overs)

• Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Netherlands 4, Namibia 0

Pakistan  73/3 (14 overs)	v	Zimbabwe
Saeed Anwar 40* (45) Heath Streak 1/25 (7 overs)

• Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• The match started after a delay due to rain and was suspended twice. It was eventually called off due to rain after the 14th over of the Pakistani innings
• Match shortened to 38 overs per side
• Points: Pakistan 2, Zimbabwe 2

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	T	NRR	Pts	PCF
1	Sri Lanka	6	4	1	0	1	1.20	18	7.5
2	Kenya	6	4	2	0	0	−0.69	16	10
3	New Zealand	6	4	2	0	0	0.99	16	4
4	West Indies	6	3	2	1	0	1.10	14	—
5	South Africa	6	3	2	0	1	1.73	14	—
6	Canada	6	1	5	0	0	−1.99	4	—
7	Bangladesh	6	0	5	1	0	−2.05	2	—

Source: Points Table

West Indies  278/5 (50 overs)	v	South Africa 275/9 (49 overs)
Brian Lara 116 (134) Makhaya Ntini 2/37 (10 overs)		Gary Kirsten 69 (92) Mervyn Dillon 2/47 (10 overs)

• West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: West Indies 4, South Africa 0
• South Africa were fined 1 over for a slow over rate

Sri Lanka  272/7 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 225 (45.3 overs)
Sanath Jayasuriya 120 (125) Nathan Astle 3/34 (7 overs)		Scott Styris 141 (125) Russel Arnold 3/47 (8.5 overs)

• New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Sri Lanka 4, New Zealand 0

Canada  180 (49.1 overs)	v	Bangladesh 120 (28 overs)
Ian Billcliff 42 (63) Sanwar Hossain 2/26 (10 overs)		Sanwar Hossain 25 (24) Austin Codrington 5/27 (9 overs)

• Canada won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Canada 4, Bangladesh 0

Kenya  140 (38 overs)	v	South Africa 142/0 (21.2 overs)
Ravi Shah 60 (87) Lance Klusener 4/16 (8 overs)		Herschelle Gibbs 87* (66)

• Kenya won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: South Africa 4, Kenya 0

New Zealand  241/7 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 221 (49.4 overs)
Nathan Astle 46 (70) Wavell Hinds 3/35 (10 overs)		Ramnaresh Sarwan 75 (99) Andre Adams 4/44 (9.4 overs)

• West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: New Zealand 4, West Indies 0

Bangladesh  124 (31.1 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 126/0 (21.1 overs)
Alok Kapali 32 (38) Chaminda Vaas 6/25 (9.1 overs)		Marvan Atapattu 69* (71)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Sri Lanka 4, Bangladesh 0
• Chaminda Vaas took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match and became the third bowler to claim a World Cup hat-trick.
• Marvan Atapattu scored his 6,000th ODI run.

Canada  197 (49 overs)	v	Kenya 198/6 (48.3 overs)
Ian Billcliff 71 (100) Thomas Odoyo 4/28 (10 overs)		Ravi Shah 61 (95) John Davison 3/15 (10 overs)

• Canada won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Kenya 4, Canada 0

South Africa  306/6 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 229/1 (36.5 overs)
Herschelle Gibbs 143 (141) Jacob Oram 2/52 (8 overs)		Stephen Fleming 134* (132) Allan Donald 1/52 (5.5 overs)

• South Africa won the toss elected to bat.
• The New Zealand innings was reduced to 39 overs due to three stoppages for rain, and the target was revised to 226.
• Points: New Zealand 4, South Africa 0

West Indies  244/9 (50 overs)	v	Bangladesh 32/2 (8.1 overs)
Ricardo Powell 50 (31) Manjurul Islam 2/37 (10 overs)		Ehsanul Haque 12 (24) Mervyn Dillon 1/13 (4.1 overs)

• Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field.
• Rain interrupted during the innings of West Indies and the match was eventually called off
• Points: West Indies 2, Bangladesh 2

Canada  36 (18.4 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 37/1 (4.4 overs)
Joe Harris 9 (13) Prabath Nissanka 4/12 (7 overs)		Marvan Atapattu 24* (14) Sanjayan Thuraisingam 1/22 (2.4 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Sri Lanka 4, Canada 0
• Prabath Nissanka recorded his best bowling figures in ODIs.
• Canada posted the lowest ever score in a One Day International.
• Marvan Atapattu (SL) scored his 6,000th ODI run.

Kenya	v	New Zealand

• No toss
• Points: Kenya 4, New Zealand 0
• New Zealand forfeited the match due to safety concerns

Bangladesh  108 (35.1 overs)	v	South Africa 109/0 (12 overs)
Khaled Mashud 29 (67) Makhaya Ntini 4/24 (7.1 overs)		Gary Kirsten 52* (32)

• South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: South Africa 4, Bangladesh 0

Canada  202 (42.5 overs)	v	West Indies 206/3 (20.3 overs)
John Davison 111 (76) Vasbert Drakes 4/55(9.5 overs)		Brian Lara 73 (40) John Davison 1/36 (5 overs)

• West Indies won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: West Indies 4, Canada 0

Kenya  210/9 (50 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 157 (45 overs)
Kennedy Otieno 60 (88) Muttiah Muralitharan 4/28 (10 overs)		Aravinda de Silva 41 (53) Collins Obuya 5/24 (10 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Kenya 4, Sri Lanka 0
• This was Kenya's first victory over Sri Lanka in ODIs.

Bangladesh  198/7 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 199/3 (33.3 overs)
Mohammad Ashraful 56 (82) Jacob Oram 3/32 (10 overs)		Craig McMillan 75 (83) Khaled Mahmud 3/46 (10 overs)

• Bangladesh won the toss elected to bat.
• Points: New Zealand 4, Bangladesh 0

South Africa  254/8 (50 overs)	v	Canada 136/5 (50 overs)
Boeta Dippenaar 80 (118) Ashish Patel 3/41 (7 overs)		Ishwar Maraj 53* (155) Makhaya Ntini 2/19 (10 overs)

• Canada won the toss elected to field.
• Points: South Africa 4, Canada 0

Sri Lanka  228/6 (50 overs)	v	West Indies 222/9 (50 overs)
Sanath Jayasuriya 66 (99) Vasbert Drakes 1/32 (10 overs)		Shivnarine Chanderpaul 65 (90) Chaminda Vaas 4/22 (10 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Sri Lanka 4, West Indies 0

Kenya  217/7 (50 overs)	v	Bangladesh 185 (47.2 overs)
Maurice Odumbe 52* (46) Sanwar Hossain 3/49 (10 overs)		Tushar Imran 48 (81) Maurice Odumbe 4/38 (10 overs)

• Kenya won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Kenya 4, Bangladesh 0

Canada  196 (47 overs)	v	New Zealand 197/5 (23 overs)
John Davison 75 (62) Jacob Oram 4/52 (10 overs)		Scott Styris 54* (38) John Davison 3/61 (10 overs)

• New Zealand won the toss elected to field.
• Points: New Zealand 4, Canada 0

Sri Lanka  268/9 (50 overs)	v	South Africa 229/6 (45 overs)
Marvan Atapattu 124 (129) Jacques Kallis 3/41 (10 overs)		Herschelle Gibbs 73 (88) Aravinda de Silva 2/36 (8 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Sri Lanka 2, South Africa 2

West Indies  246/7 (50 overs)	v	Kenya 104 (35.5 overs)
Chris Gayle 119 (151) Maurice Odumbe 2/62 (10 overs)		Peter Ongondo 24 (43) Vasbert Drakes 5/33 (10 overs)

• West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: West Indies 4, Kenya 0

Super Sixes

Teams who qualified for the Super Six stage only played against the teams from the other group; results against the other teams from the same group were carried forward to this stage.

Teams that advanced to the semi-finals are highlighted in green.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	T	NRR	Pts	PCF
1	Australia	5	5	0	0	0	1.85	24	12
2	India	5	4	1	0	0	0.89	20	8
3	Kenya	5	3	2	0	0	0.35	14	10
4	Sri Lanka	5	2	3	0	0	−0.84	11.5	7.5
5	New Zealand	5	1	4	0	0	−0.90	8	4
6	Zimbabwe	5	0	5	0	0	−1.25	3.5	3.5

Source: Points Table

Australia  319/5 (50 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 223 (47.4 overs)
Ricky Ponting 114 (109) Dilhara Fernando 3/47 (9 overs)		Aravinda de Silva 92 (94) Brett Lee 3/52 (10 overs)

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Australia 4, Sri Lanka 0

Kenya  225/6 (50 overs)	v	India 226/4 (47.5 overs)
Kennedy Otieno 79 (134) Harbhajan Singh 2/41 (10 overs)		Sourav Ganguly 107* (120) Thomas Odoyo 2/27 (7 overs)

• Kenya won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: India 4, Kenya 0

Zimbabwe  252/7 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 253/4 (47.2 overs)
Heath Streak 72* (84) Chris Cairns 2/16 (4 overs)		Nathan Astle 102* (122) Andy Blignaut 2/41 (10 overs)

• Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: New Zealand 4, Zimbabwe 0

India  292/6 (50 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 109 (23 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 97 (120) Muttiah Muralitharan 3/46 (10 overs)		Kumar Sangakkara 30 (33) Javagal Srinath 4/35 (9 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: India 4, Sri Lanka 0

Australia  208/9 (50 overs)	v	New Zealand 112 (30.1 overs)
Andy Bichel 64 (83) Shane Bond 6/23 (10 overs)		Stephen Fleming 48 (70) Brett Lee 5/42 (9.1 overs)

• New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Australia 4, New Zealand 0

Zimbabwe  133 (44.1 overs)	v	Kenya 135/3 (26 overs)
Andy Flower 63 (101) Martin Suji 3/19 (8 overs)		Thomas Odoyo 43* (60) Andy Blignaut 1/36 (9 overs)

• Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Kenya 4, Zimbabwe 0

New Zealand  146 (45.1 overs)	v	India 150/3 (40.4 overs)
Stephen Fleming 30 (59) Zaheer Khan 4/42 (8 overs)		Mohammad Kaif 68* (129) Shane Bond 2/23 (8 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: India 4, New Zealand 0

Sri Lanka  256/5 (50 overs)	v	Zimbabwe 182 (41.5 overs)
Marvan Atapattu 103 (127) Heath Streak 2/40 (10 overs)		Craig Wishart 43 (71) Sanath Jayasuriya 3/30 (6 overs)

• Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Sri Lanka 4, Zimbabwe 0

Kenya  174/8 (50 overs)	v	Australia 178/5 (31.2 overs)
Steve Tikolo 51 (100) Brett Lee 3/14 (8 overs)		Adam Gilchrist 67 (43) Aasif Karim 3/7 (8.2 overs)

• Australia won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Australia 4, Kenya 0

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semi-finals					Final
	1	Australia	212/7 (50 overs)
	4	Sri Lanka	123/7 (38.1 overs)
						1	Australia	359/2 (50 overs)
						2	India	234 (39.1 overs)
	2	India	270/4 (50 overs)
	3	Kenya	179 (46.2 overs)

Semi-finals

Semi-final 1

Australia  212/7 (50 overs)	v	Sri Lanka 123/7 (38.1 overs)
Andrew Symonds 91* (118) Chaminda Vaas 3/34 (10 overs)		Kumar Sangakkara 39* (70) Brett Lee 3/35 (8 overs)

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
• Rain interrupted the innings of Sri Lanka at 38.1 overs.
• Sri Lanka were 48 runs behind the DLS par score of 172 from 38.1 overs.
• Australia qualified for the final for fifth time after 1975, 1987, 1996 and 1999.

On a difficult, slow pitch at Port Elizabeth, Australia struggled their way to 212/7 against tight Sri Lankan bowling, thanks mainly to a great innings from Andrew Symonds (91* from 118 balls, 7 fours, 1 six), demonstrating again captain Ricky Ponting's faith in him. Chaminda Vaas, continuing his excellent tournament, took three wickets. Australia's pace attack then ripped through the Sri Lankan top order, with Brett Lee (3/35 in 8 overs) taking three early wickets and Glenn McGrath (1/20 in 7 overs) taking one. By the time rain arrived in the 39th over, continued tight bowling had squeezed Sri Lanka to 123/7, well behind the target given by the Duckworth–Lewis method. This is the match in which Adam Gilchrist famously "walked" despite being given not out.

Semi-final 2

India  270/4 (50 overs)	v	Kenya 179 (46.2 overs)
Sourav Ganguly 111* (114) Thomas Odoyo 2/27 (7 overs)		Steve Tikolo 56 (83) Zaheer Khan 3/14 (9.2 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to bat.
• India qualified for the final for second time after 1983.

The fairytale ended for the Kenyan team, the only non-Test-playing nation to ever make a World Cup semi-final. Sachin Tendulkar (83 from 101 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) and Sourav Ganguly (111 from 114 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes), batted the Kenyans out of the game as India reached a total of 270/4. Under the Durban lights, the potent Indian seam attack of Zaheer Khan (3/14 in 9.2 overs), the experienced Javagal Srinath (1/11 in 7 overs) and Ashish Nehra (2/11 in 5 overs) ripped through the Kenyan top order. Kenya were bowled out for 179, with only Steve Tikolo (56 from 83 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) putting up any significant resistance.

Final

Australia  359/2 (50 overs)	v	India 234 (39.2 overs)
Ricky Ponting 140* (121) Harbhajan Singh 2/49 (8 overs)		Virender Sehwag 82 (81) Glenn McGrath 3/52 (8.2 overs)

• India won the toss and elected to field.

India won the toss, and Ganguly, elected to field, hoping to take advantage of a pitch left damp by dew and rain. On a lively Wanderers Stadium pitch, the Australian openers took advantage of very wayward Indian opening bowlers to get off to a flying start. Adam Gilchrist (57 from 48 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) and Matthew Hayden (37 from 54 balls, 5 fours) shared an opening partnership of 105 runs in 14 overs, forcing Ganguly to bring on the spinners unusually early. The change of pace brought wickets with Adam Gilchrist, who had been swinging at everything, holing out off a sweep shot from the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Matthew Hayden, looking somewhat better than he had throughout the tournament, soon followed for 37, leaving Australia at 2/125 Captain Ricky Ponting (140 from 121 balls, 4 fours, 8 sixes) and Damien Martyn (88 from 84 balls, 7 fours, 1 six), playing with a broken thumb, completing a partnership of 234 runs in 30.1 overs, an Australian record for one-day cricket. Ponting and Martyn started efficiently, putting away bad balls but mostly keeping the scoring going with good running, then letting loose in the last ten overs, taking 109 from them. Ponting in particular dispatched the bowling over the fence with fearsome regularity in scoring 8 sixes, the most from one batsman in any World Cup match at the time. The final Australian total of 359 (2 wickets, 50 overs), at a run rate of 7.18 runs an over, was their then highest ever in ODI history.

India's run chase was made even more difficult after their best batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, was out in the first over after skying a pull shot, Glenn McGrath completing the caught and bowled. Nevertheless, Virender Sehwag's (82 from 81 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) run-a-ball half century gave India respectability as they maintained a high scoring rate. Their only realistic hope—a washout—looked a possibility as the game was interrupted by rain with India at 3/103 after 17 overs. However, this rain passed by, and India's hopes were dashed when Sehwag was run out by Darren Lehmann, and again when Rahul Dravid (47 from 57 balls, 2 fours) was bowled by Andy Bichel, ending their partnership of 88 runs in 13.2 overs. India's batsmen continued to throw wickets away in the chase as the run rate crept up past 7 an over, and they were finally bowled out for 234 (all out, 39.2 overs) at a run rate of 5.97 runs an over giving Australia an emphatic victory by a record margin (in World Cup finals thus far) of 125 runs, underlining their dominance of the tournament. Ponting was named "Man of the Match", and Sachin Tendulkar was named "Player of the Series."

Statistics

Leading run scorers

Player	Team	Mat	Inns	Runs	Ave	SR	HS	100	50	4s	6s
Sachin Tendulkar	India	11	11	673	61.18	89.25	152	1	6	75	4
Sourav Ganguly	India	11	11	465	58.12	82.30	112*	3	0	30	15
Ricky Ponting	Australia	11	10	415	51.87	87.92	140*	2	1	29	13
Adam Gilchrist	Australia	10	10	408	40.79	105.42	99	0	4	56	7
Herschelle Gibbs	South Africa	6	6	384	96.00	100.78	143	1	2	52	10

Leading wicket takers

Player	Team	Mat	Inns	Wkts	Ave	Econ	BBI	SR
Chaminda Vaas	Sri Lanka	10	10	23	14.39	3.76	6/25	22.95
Brett Lee	Australia	10	10	22	17.89	4.73	5/42	22.68
Glenn McGrath	Australia	11	11	21	14.76	3.56	7/15	24.85
Zaheer Khan	India	11	11	18	20.77	4.23	4/42	29.44
Shane Bond	New Zealand	8	8	17	17.94	3.91	6/23	27.52

Controversies

Security issues in Zimbabwe and Kenya

The security and political situation in Zimbabwe, and the appropriateness of playing there given the misdeeds of the regime of Robert Mugabe was a point of concern before the tournament. Two Zimbabwean players, Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands in their opening game protesting against the nondemocratic rule in Zimbabwe. Both men subsequently retired from Zimbabwean cricket, and began playing overseas. England faced a great deal of domestic pressure to boycott their match in Zimbabwe on political grounds and did not play, citing fears for the players' safety. The boycott proved costly, as Zimbabwe advanced to the Super Sixes, just 2 points ahead of England, from the 4 points they achieved from the walkover. Similarly, New Zealand decided against playing in Kenya because of security fears which would ultimately cost New Zealand a semifinal spot.

Shane Warne's drug test

Australian star player Shane Warne was sent home from the cup in embarrassing circumstances, only the day before their opening game, after a positive drug test in a lead-up competition in Australia revealed that he had taken a banned diuretic. The leg spinner claimed that he had taken a 'fluid pill' on the advice of his mother.

References

1. "South Africa v Sri Lanka". Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
2. "Shane Warne's World Cup shame". ESPNcricinfo.
3. "Australia rout India to win third World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
4. "Fastest delivery of a cricket ball (male)". guinnessworldrecords.com.
5. "Shoaib Akhtar – the legend, the sensation, the enigma". Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
6. "10 Most feared fast bowlers in Cricket history – Purbat.com". 1 October 2016.
7. "Cricinfo". static.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
8. "The Aussie who walked". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
9. "Ruthless Aussies lift World Cup". London: BBC. 23 March 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
10. "ICC World Cup, 2002/03, Final". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 June 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
11. "ICC World Cup, 2002/03 batting most runs career Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
12. "ICC World Cup, 2002/03 bowling most wickets career Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
13. "Standing up for their principles". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
14. "The black band of courage". ESPN Cricinfo. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
15. Engel, Matthew, ed. (13 February 2003). "Pool A – 2003 World Cup – England v Zimbabwe". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2004. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. London: John Wisden & Co. ISBN 978-0-947766-83-2. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

External links

• Cricket World Cup 2003 at BBC Sport
• Cricket World Cup 2003 at ESPN Cricinfo
• Cricket World Cup 2003 at Guardian.co.uk Sport

• 2003 Cricket World Cup
• 2003 in South African cricket
• 2003 in Zimbabwean cricket
• 2003 in Kenyan cricket
• International cricket competitions in 2003
• International cricket competitions in Kenya
• International cricket competitions in South Africa
• International cricket competitions in Zimbabwe
• February 2003 sports events in Africa
• March 2003 sports events in Africa