Biggest game changer of the 2003 World Cup: The 2003 World Cup returned after the conventional gap of 4 years. It was the first and to date the only World Cup played on the African continent. South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya were the co-hosts with all three main knockout games played in South Africa. This World Cup set a new record in terms of the total number of teams participating (14). It followed the format of the previous World Cup in 1999 of the league stage and super sixes. This time around there were 2 groups of 7 teams each.
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A tournament of upsets:
As the team count widened it was expected that the minnows will have a difficult time in the edition. On the contrary, there were several upsets that became the theme of the World Cup. Teams like Pakistan, England, West Indies, and hosts South Africa failed to move to the next round.
Kenya became the first Non-Test playing nation to make it to the semifinals. Zimbabwe who didn’t have their strongest of days yet managed to move into the super sixes. Countries like England and New Zealand forfeited their games in Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.
Australia continued its dominance:
The 2003 World Cup in all fairness was a two-horse race. Once South Africa was eliminated it became evident that either India or Australia will lift the World Cup. None of the other sides in the super sixes gave the impression of being a force in the knockouts. India lost just two games in the entire World Cup and both those losses came against Australia the eventual champions.
The Australian team won the World Cup without dropping a single game. They were deserving winners of the World Cup. Australia became the first side to win the World Cup 3 times.
We look at the biggest game changer of the 2003 World Cup – Sachin Tendulkar
It was the fourth edition of the World Cup for the master blaster. The 1983 World Cup inspired Sachin Tendulkar to play the sport and aspire to win the title one day. India didn’t have the best preparation leading into the World Cup. On the most difficult of wickets in New Zealand, India lost the 7-match ODI series 2-5.
They posted just 204 in the first game against the Netherlands before losing to Australia in the second. Indian fans showed their frustration through stone pelting. Tendulkar even in these two games was leading the run-charts.
India’s turnaround and Tendulkar’s role:
Tendulkar fashioned India’s subsequent four wins in the league stage. Starting with the game against Zimbabwe, he got starts in every game. He scored his only century of the edition in the game against Namibia. But India’s main two games were the remaining ones against England and Pakistan.
Tendulkar went on the offensive in both games early on in his innings. He got out scoring a fifty against England but had set the stage for an Indian win. It was his knock against Pakistan though that remains the knock of the 2003 World Cup. Chasing a tough total of 274 against a world-class Pakistani attack, Tendulkar smashed 98 off 75 balls. India maintained their clean slate against Pakistan in the fourth consecutive ODI World Cup.
The hurtful loss in the finals:
Tendulkar made another decisive contribution in the game against Sri Lanka scoring 97. He made 83 in the semis against Kenya but his dazzling knocks took a backseat in the business end of the tournament. Tendulkar was dismissed for just 4 in the World Cup final which saw Australia hammer India to a big win. He finished the World Cup with a tally of 673 runs at an average of 61.18. It is a 20-year unbeaten record in the World Cups. Tendulkar was declared the player of the World Cup before the final even commenced!
