Australia lifted their fourth World Cup trophy in 2007, their second title under captain Ricky Ponting, as Glenn McGrath- the Man of the Tournament- signed off from international cricket.
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Australia lifted their fourth World Cup trophy in 2007, their second title under captain Ricky Ponting, as Glenn McGrath- the Man of the Tournament- signed off from international cricket.
The Kensington Oval in Barbados was witness to the might Australian side claiming a hat trick of Cricket World Cup titles as Ricky Ponting’s side beat Sri Lanka in the final on April 28, 2007.
Australia lifted their fourth World Cup trophy in 2007, their second title under captain Ricky Ponting, as Glenn McGrath- the Man of the Tournament- signed off from international cricket.
The final started with Ricky Ponting winning the toss and opting to bat first. Australia had won their 1999 World Cup, under the captaincy of Steve Waugh, chasing against Pakistan. But chasing in ODIs wasn’t the go-to option back then, as it has become now.
Mahela Jayawardene’s team had to chase against the Australian supremacy, it wasn’t going to get easy at any stage. India captain Sourav Ganguly had opted to bowl first against Ponting’s Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, and we all know how it went down.
Wicketkeeping opener Adam Gilchrist produced one of the best World Cup knocks in history as he produced a brilliant 104-ball 149, which later turned out to be match-winning. As Gilchrist produced a masterclass knock under the dark clouds in Bridgetown, the innings got reduced to 38 overs.
Australia had already put up 281/4 on the board with the rest of the batting lineup not showing much spark. But Gilchrist’s 149 had already put Australia way ahead of their opponents. Lasith Malinga bagged two wickets in his 8 overs while the rest of the bowlers were rather unsuccessful with Dilhara Fernando claiming Gilchrist’s wicket but conceding over 9 runs per over.
With the passing away of Bob Woolmer in the most mysterious of circumstances, the essence of the 2007 World Cup was already dark enough when darkness descended on Barbados in the final.
Chasing 269 in 36 overs, Sri Lanka didn’t show much promise apart from the 116-run partnership for the second wicket between Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya. Both batsmen scored fifties but the rest of the batters failed to produce a match-winning effort.
With just three overs remaining in the chase (reduced to 36 overs D/L method), play was suspended due to bad light as dark clouds loomed over the skies. As Sri Lanka were way behind the required runs at that moment, and they had already batted the minimum number of required overs, Australia had started celebrating their World Cup win.
But in a bizarre turn of events, umpires Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar that the play was only suspended and not completed. The two captains reached to a mutual decision of playing the last three overs with Australia only bowling spinners under the low light.
Australia finally got their chance to celebrate after they won the final by 53 runs (D/L method). But it was a bittersweet moment for the team as it bid goodbye to one of its greats- Glenn McGrath. The celebrated pacer, who bagged a solitary wicket in the final and orchestrated the run out of Dilshan, ended the tournament with the Man of the Tournament award for his 26 wickets- a record at that time. As an aftermath of the bizarre decision taken by the officials, the on-field umpire and TV Rudi Koertzen and match referee Jeff Crowe were suspended by the ICC from officiating in the inaugural World T20 tournament in 2007.
