Due to these 4 reasons, 2003 World Cup became the best Cricket World Cup in the world till date

The 8th ODI World Cup was held in 2003 in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. At that time, 14 teams participated in the World Cup for the first time. Australia would play in this World Cup as the defending champions under the leadership of Ricky Ponting. 54 matches were played during this World Cup. This World Cup was won by the Ricky Ponting-led Australia team by defeating India exactly 20 years ago.

14 teams were divided into 2 groups for this World Cup. The top 3 teams from each of these two groups played in the Super Six round. There were many shocking results in this World Cup. Hosts South Africa lost by 1 run against Sri Lanka due to the Duckworth-Lewis rule and crashed out of the playoffs. The challenge of big teams like England, Pakistan, West Indies also ended in the league round itself.

India and Australia reached the final in this World Cup. Australia won their third World Cup by defeating India in the final on 23 March 2003. The quality of the players was seen in this World Cup and entertainment was also provided. So it turned out to be one of the best World Cups ever.

4 reasons why 2003 World Cup was the best ever –
1. Sachin Tendulkar’s Absurd Form –
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was in incredible form during this World Cup. Due to his form, he turned the attention of many towards this World Cup. In this World Cup, Sachin scored more than 50 runs 4 times in a row. In this he also scored his highest individual knock of 151 in the World Cup. He did this knock while playing against Namibia.

He scored an innings of 81 runs against Zimbabwe, a half-century against England, an important knock of 98 runs against Pakistan in this World Cup. He also scored 97 runs against Sri Lanka in the Super Six round. In the semi-final against Kenya, he scored 83 runs and played an important role in helping India reach the final. He also won the Man of the Series award for scoring the highest 673 runs in this World Cup. At that time he also held the record for most runs in a World Cup.

2. India vs Pakistan Match –
India and Pakistan, who have been bitter rivals for many years, also faced each other in the 2003 World Cup. Whenever this match takes place, the fans are eager to watch the match along with the spectators at the ground and also on the TV at home. In the 2003 World Cup, India and Pakistan team met in the league round. In this match, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. At this time, Pakistan’s opening batsman Saeed Anwar played an important role in making Pakistan score 273 runs by scoring a century of 101 runs.

After that, India’s pair of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar entered the field to chase the challenge of 274 runs. Both of them started aggressively. Both hit sixes while hitting fine uppercuts. India scored 50 runs in 5 overs. But Sehwag and then India captain Sourav Ganguly were dismissed in quick succession. However, Sachin was playing from one side. But he was dismissed for 98 with just 2 runs to go for his century. But then Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid successfully completed the target of remaining runs to win the match for India.

3. Entry of the two best teams into the final –
In this World Cup, India and Australia had performed well each time and entered the final match. Australia reached the final without losing a single match in this World Cup. India had lost only against Australia before that. In the final match, Ganguly won the toss and accepted to bowl first.

But in this match, it was seen that Australia’s batsmen were in top form. In this match, Australian captain Ricky Ponting hit 8 sixes while scoring 140 runs off 121 balls. Due to his aggressive century and the addition of good innings from other batsmen, Australia posted a mountain of 359 runs and challenged India to 360 runs.

Chasing this challenge, India lost Sachin’s wicket early. Glenn McGrath was dismissed in the first over. After that, India started losing wickets at regular intervals. One side was managed by Sehwag. But he too was run out after scoring 82 runs. Finally, India’s innings ended on 324 runs and Australia won the match by 125 runs to win the World Cup for the third time.

4. Unexpected results –
On the one hand, teams like South Africa, Pakistan, England, West Indies were eliminated in the league stage, on the other hand, teams like Kenya and Zimbabwe made it to the Super Six. Kenya had defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the league round. Also, Kenya defeated Zimbabwe in the Super Six round to enter the semi-finals.

At the time, Kenya became the first team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup despite not having Test status. They had to lose by 91 runs against India in the semi-final match. Indian captain Ganguly scored a century in that match. But Kenya’s performance in that World Cup won the hearts of fans.

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