The 2003 World Cup was one of the most heartbreaking moments for the Indian cricket fan. Every fan believed that India would win the 2003 World Cup and they would have won if it was not for one man who Shattered the dreams of an entire nation. India had played some of their best cricket in the 2003 World Cup and they had reached the final where they were playing against Australia. It was supposed to be a close match but it was one sided.
Ricky Ponting performance in 2003 World Cup Final
It was the final of the 2003 World Cup and it was being played at Johannesburg. The 2 best teams in the world had reached the final and it was a battle between 2 Great captains in Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly. India won the toss and they took the wrong decision as they sent Australia to bat. That one decision cost India the World Cup. Australia were batting first and Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden gave Australia the perfect start as they put India on 105 runs and put India on the backfoot. Then at number 3, Ricky Ponting came to bat and here is the moment the World Cup slipped from India. The Innings that he played was the best of his career.
He hit 140 not out and it was a faultless innings by the Australian captain. He played for 121 balls In this innings and he hit 4 fours and 8 Sixes meaning 64 runs in boundaries. He ran 76 runs in non boundaries and he still had a strike rate of 115. This was an innings that was fit for one of the best captains in the world and one of the best Batters in the world. Damian Martyn gave the perfect support to Ricky Ponting as he made a brilliant 88 from 84 balls and they had a partnership of 234 Runs. Australia reached a score of 359 and India were out of the final even before the second innings started. During those times chasing 360 runs was impossible.
Only 1 batter from the Indian team showed any fight and that was Virender Sehwag. The other batters were not able to get into any form at all. Virender Sehwag hit 82 runs from 81 balls and he smashed 10 fours and 3 sixes meaning 58 Runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 101 and no other batter was able to reach 50 runs. 6 out of the 11 Batters got out in single digits including Sachin Tendulkar. India were all out for 234 runs and Australia won the match by 125 runs. If India had managed to get Ricky Ponting out cheaply then anything could have happened. The 2023 World Cup Final was also one-sided as this time it was Travis Head who took the match away from India. Australia knows how to win ICC tournaments. And Ricky Ponting became one of the biggest superstars of world cricket.
Also Read: Best innings of Ricky Ponting
