When Sehwag and Ganguly was hitting out in the 03 WC final

[Jumno]

No. The writing was on the wall as people have already said here. There is a huge difference between Ganguly and Sehwag hitting out against average bowlers in Natwest final and against world class bowlers in a World Cup final.

Ganguly and Sehwag was taking on McGrath and Lee in the WC final.

India were 58/1 after 9

147/3 23.4 overs

Surely in these situations a ray of hope, optimism

 

[srbhkshk]

Ganguly and Sehwag was taking on McGrath and Lee in the WC final.

India were 58/1 after 9

147/3 23.4 overs

Surely in these situations a ray of hope, optimism

They were chasing 350, not 280.

 

[Yeoman]

As I recall, there was a small amount of rain about and at one point India were either close to the D/L target before falling away or there was a threat of rain and Australia hurried through a few overs to get to the cut off mark (I think 25 overs) to make it a game.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

Great thread. It reminded me to indulge in some Ponting love again. Man, he destroyed India in that final! The game was over as soon as McGrath showed Tendulkar cant handle the biggest stage.

Its not McGrath, its the situation.. No one succeeded in such a situation.
Sachin tried, he never believed in face saving runs.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

You must have got excited when Ganguly, Sehwag was hitting about and Sehwag teeing off after.

No, everyone was aware that only Sachin is capable to counter attack against such a great bowling unit. Later, Sehwag and Yuvi established themselves as match winners by mid 00s until then it was Sachin or none.

My prediction for the tournament was, India will win all the matches except the ones against Australia, and Australia will be undefeated Champions.. But then i was hoping against the hope ( I knew we are short of Dhoni and Bumra. ( or Gilly and McGrath ).

 

[TheJediBrah]

Aus made more runs for 2 wickets than India did with 10

Same as the group game between them in the same tournament

 

[Burgey]

I remember Sehwag and Ganguly hitting and taking on the Aussie bowlers in the first 10 overs, stepping out of the crease.

It was very adventurous and absolute pleasure to watch.

It gave Indian fans some optimism and pure joy.

With the score at 58-1 at 9 overs.

I could only think back to the NatWest series final when these two were smashing England bowlers about in the first 15 overs. I was hoping it was a repeat. Maybe all Indiana fans were.

But boy oh boy, it was a joy to watch these two batsman hitting out in a WC final. Real audacity.

Did you feel that their would be some chance maybe it would be repeat of the NatWest series 2002 final with the score 58-1 after 9 overs? How did you feel at this situation.

I'm not gonna lie, as an Australian supporter watching in the middle of the night at home, with all the nervous energy which comes from your team being involved in such a win-at-all-costs, massive game on the biggest stage of all, on neutral ground and up against a team like India with such a batting line up; I never felt the least bit worried and knew from about 2 overs into the first innings of the game that we would win and hand out the mother of all pizzlings against a side which didn't belong on the same park.

I just wanted that partnership to end so we could get on with the inevitable post-match celebrations. India were never in that game from the moment Zaheer Khan stupidly decided to gob off at Gilchrist and Hayden, and nothing Sehwag, Ganguly or anyone else could do was going to change that.

It was fantastic not just because Australia flexed so hard, but because it brutally exposed how fragile and unworthy India's hubris was. Much like 2023 really.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

No, everyone was aware that only Sachin is capable to counter attack against such a great bowling unit. Later, Sehwag and Yuvi established themselves as match winners by mid 00s until then it was Sachin or none.

My prediction for the tournament was, India will win all the matches except the ones against Australia, and Australia will be undefeated Champions.. But then i was hoping against the hope ( I knew we are short of Dhoni and Bumra. ( or Gilly and McGrath ).

If we are being honest Shane Bond was the only player in the world capable of stopping Australia from winning that tournament. Furthermore Ponting was his bunny. Unfortunately the rest of the team choked when we played Australia and we also (a) didn't go to Kenya and (b) our batting underperformed in big games.

 

[TheJediBrah]

If we are being honest Shane Bond was the only player in the world capable of stopping Australia from winning that tournament. Furthermore Ponting was his bunny. Unfortunately the rest of the team choked when we played Australia and we also (a) didn't go to Kenya and (b) our batting underperformed in big games.

England came closer to beating Australia than NZ

 

[Victor Ian]

If we are being honest NZ is not beating Australia in a final.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

If we are being honest NZ is not beating Australia in a final.

That's fair especially as the team would probably choke, but Shane Bond dominated the Australian ODI side of the 2000s.

44 wickets in 17 matches @ 15.79 with an e/r of 4.41

The 99, 07, and 11 NZ teams made the semifinals and that 03 didn't, but they were perhaps the most talented of the 4 teams.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

England came closer to beating Australia than NZ

I don't disagree, but England were a terrible ODI side who played well in one game. We were much better side.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I don't disagree, but England were a terrible ODI side who played well in one game. We were much better side.

Marginally maybe. NZ side wasn't anything special. Sri Lanka were a bigger threat to Aus. They were a very good shout in the Semi-final on a slow PE wicket.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

I'm not gonna lie, as an Australian supporter watching in the middle of the night at home, with all the nervous energy which comes from your team being involved in such a win-at-all-costs, massive game on the biggest stage of all, on neutral ground and up against a team like India with such a batting line up; I never felt the least bit worried and knew from about 2 overs into the first innings of the game that we would win and hand out the mother of all pizzlings against a side which didn't belong on the same park.

I just wanted that partnership to end so we could get on with the inevitable post-match celebrations. India were never in that game from the moment Zaheer Khan stupidly decided to gob off at Gilchrist and Hayden, and nothing Sehwag, Ganguly or anyone else could do was going to change that.

It was fantastic not just because Australia flexed so hard, but because it brutally exposed how fragile and unworthy India's hubris was. Much like 2023 really.

India was just an avg team + Sachin.

Actually, If Azhar and Jadeja were there instead of Ganguly and Dravid, there would have been a tiny ray of hope, because they had the ability of counter attacking ( once in 100 matches though ) which Ganguly and Dravid lacked. Still that total was unchasable at that time or you would need at least 4 fast scorers ( Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Kapil.. )

 

[Socerer 01]

i dont remember there being any unwarranted hubris in 2003 for the Indian side

 

[Burgey]

Have you not seen Zaheer Khan’s opening spell?

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think they were told to come out hard and aggressive against the Aussie bats . . . bit embarrassing in hindsight . . . and it was at the time too tbh

To give the benefit of the doubt they had a good series as a bowling unit from memory. Ashish Nehra in particular came out of nowhere and was bowling some really good stuff. So maybe semi-justified overconfidence

 

[Starfighter]

So combined with your other threads I can conclude that you're either posting to get a rise out of people, or you're just dumb. Take your pick.

Applies here

 

[ImpatientLime]

zaheers performance was one of the ATG dunce performances. siraj would have blushed at that ****.