Australia retained the World Cup by pulverizing India into submission in a final which was lost by India in the first hour itself. Many might take the Indian captain to task for choosing to field first, but it was an option that was forced on him by the manner in which India had capitulated to the same opposition earlier in the tournament batting first. With there being some possibility of moisture with overnight rain and there being a cloud cover just before the start as well as the possibility of rain later in the day, it was a decision that could well have been logical if his bowlers had bowled half as well as they had throughout the tournament. That didn’t happen simply because the big game does get the most experienced of players nervous and this being the first World Cup final for all of the team, they were all more than nervous.
Zaheer’s first over set the tone as there were wides and runs off the bat as well and that was the pattern right throughout the innings. The Australians are aggressive most times and here they were clearly bent on making India chase a big total. Gilchrist needs no invitation to start banging the ball away and he was helped by some insipid bowling by all three seamers. The disappointing aspect was the wides and no-balls that were bowled by the Indians that amounted to almost 4 extra overs apart from the runs scored as well. Only Harbhajan got some respect till Ponting, having perhaps heard that he was considered vulnerable to the offie, decided to set the record straight by an assault of raw power that had the Indian skipper remove him in a hurry.
Damien Martyn has been an important member of the Australian side and he proved that again as he first outscored the captain and then, let him have more of the strike, sacrificing a century. The Australian captain played an innings to remember as he favored the on-side and peppered the boundary boards four times and twice as many times went over it to give the crowd some catching practice. There were not too many Australians at the ground, certainly they were outnumbered and outshouted by the Indian supporters, though with the manner in which the Australians batted, there was not too much for the Indians to cheer about. They would no doubt have considered themselves fortunate that they were able to see one of the great one-day innings even though it was at the expense of their favorite bowlers. The bowlers simply lost the plot and were not even able to bowl a line that could contain the boundaries as the Aussie pair hit them pretty much where they pleased.
The massive partnership and the total completely demoralized India and they knew that to make a match of it they needed a great start and more importantly for Tendulkar to stay there. He went in the first over playing an ambitious pull shot when perhaps he could have taken a little time to settle down and then take a bit of risk. Sehwag had little idea how to score off the quicker bowers to begin with but as he began to get a bit of width he started to play the shots outside the off-stump, which are so thrilling to watch. Around this time there were black clouds with rain threatening and that made Ponting take a chance of getting at least 25 overs in by bringing his spinners on. That was all that Sehwag needed as he took advantage of the restriction on fielders outside the circle to clout some fours and sixes and regain his confidence.
Once play began after the rain interruption there was a chance that they might still be able to win if they kept wickets in hand and the Duckworth-Lewis method came into operation but the sun was out bright and in spite of a gallant effort from Dravid India just had too many to get. India had chased a 300-plus target in the tri-series finals in England last year but this Australian team and it’s attack are tougher than the English bowlers and sadly the dream had to end.
Australia are the undisputed champions. They did not lose a single game and were not really in danger in any of their games excepting against England. Though their batting was inconsistent there was enough depth in it to get them out of trouble. India lost only to Australia in this tournament so they have nothing to be ashamed of. They were beaten by the better side. Still the way they picked themselves up after that debacle against Australia in the first round and reached the finals in style, makes them worthy of admiration. They may have lost the finals but they are still heroes.
Arab News Sports 26 March 2003
