• Source:JND
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IND vs AUS, World Cup 2023 Final: India and Australia are set to be up against each other in the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad.

India, who are still the only undefeated side in the tournament, got the better of New Zealand in the semi-final as they picked up a victory by 70 runs to qualify for their fourth final.

On the other hand, Australia defeated South Africa by three wickets in the second semi-final in Kolkata by three wickets to make it to their eighth World Cup final.

As India and Australia prepare to meet in a World Cup final for the second time in their history, here's what happened in the final of the 2003 World Cup final.

 

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IND vs AUS, 2003 WC Final, Johannesburg

Both India and Australia were clinical in the 2003 World Cup as they were the two most consistent sides in the tournament.

Sourav Ganguly-led side kicked off their campaign with a 68-run win over the Netherlands in their first match at the Boland Park in Paarl.

Their second match was a disappointing one as they were outplayed by Australia by nine wickets at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

However, the defeat turned out to be a wake-up call for the Men in Blue as they went on to win all the remaining eight matches in the tournament.

They defeated Zimbabwe, Namibia, and England and followed them with wins over the arch-rivals Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Kenya to qualify for the final of the tournament in style.

On the other hand, the Ricky Ponting-led Australia were having a dream run in the tournament as they proved to be invincible and went on to win all of their matches before making it to the summit clash.

Talking about the final, the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg witnessed the masterclass from the Aussies in all departments.

While batting first against India in the final, Australia put up a show with the bat as they posted a mammoth total of 359/2 in their 50 overs.

Skipper Ponting scored a marvelous century and played a magnificent knock of 140 runs in just 121 balls on the back of four boundaries and eight sixes.

Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden stitched a promising opening stand, adding 105 runs in the first 14 overs with the former scoring a half-century.

Gilchrist was dismissed for 57 runs, followed by Hayden's dismissal a few overs later for 37 runs.

Ponting kept things going as he was joined by Damien Martyn in the middle and the duo went on to stitch a spectacular partnership for the third wicket.

They added 234 runs with Martyn also scoring a half-century and scoring 88 runs in 84 balls with the help of seven fours and a six to help Australia reach a massive total.

Chasing the target, India were never on track as they lost the in-form batter Sachin Tendulkar cheaply in the very first over of the innings.

Skipper Ganguly joined Virender Sehwag as the duo added 54 runs for the second wicket to give hope which was shattered soon with back-to-back wickets.

Other than Sehwag, who scored 82 runs, no other batter managed to reach the 50-run mark as India fell short by 125 runs.

Rahul Dravid scored 47 runs whereas Ganguly and Yuvraj scored 24 runs each before the Men in Blue were bowled out for 234 runs in 39.2 overs.

 

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Australia remained the undefeated side in the tournament and went on to lift their third World Cup title, defeating it successfully, having also won the tournament in 1999 under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.

Australia went on to rule the world cricket for a long while and successfully defended their title by clinching the cup in 2007.

They also won the World Cup in 2015 at home under the leadership of Michael Clarke, adding their tally to five, which is the most by any team in the history of the tournament.