After 20 years, India and Australia will face off once again in a World Cup final – but that’s not the only similarity between the two 2003 and 2023 tournaments.
Similarities in the results
In 2003, Australia was unbeatable, winning 10 games in a row, including the semi-finals where they reached the final. India, their rivals at the time, won their first match against the Netherlands, but lost to Australia in the first round. After that, they won eight straight games and reached the finals without missing a single game from him.
Twenty years later, India remained unbeaten with 10 consecutive wins and reached the final. They will face Australia, who have won eight straight games after losing their first two games. Australia initially lost the match against India, the other finalist, as in 2003 when India lost to her last opponent in the first round.
Similarities in the records broken
In 2003, Sachin Tendulkar surpassed his own record for most runs in a single World Cup, surpassing his 1996 record of 523 runs before the final. He scored 673 runs, the highest ever in a single World Cup. This record will be broken by Virat Kohli in 2023 and so far he has scored 711 runs, which is his highest in a single World Cup.
Only three Indian captains have scored 100 points in the Men’s ODI World Cup: Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly (3 goals) and Rohit Sharma. The last time an Indian captain reached triple figures in this tournament was in 2003 when Ganguly scored 111* against Kenya. It took him 20 years before the captain was included in the list. Rohit scored his 131 runs against Afghanistan.
In just two Men’s World Cup semi-finals, Indian batsmen have scored hundreds. In 2003, Ganguly became the first batsman to reach triple figures with his penultimate knock when he scored 111* against Kenya. Twenty years later, Kohli joined Shreyas in his Iyer and repeated the feat in the semi-final against New Zealand, scoring a hundred.
Ashish Nehra in 2003 and Mohammed Shami in 2023 broke records in their respective World Cups. Nehra recorded the best bowling performance by an Indian quick in the tournament after taking 23 for 6 against England. These were also the best performances by an Indian bowler in the Men’s World Cup. This record lasted for 20 years until Shami broke this feat with his 7-57 against New Zealand in the semi-finals in Mumbai. This was also his ODI figure, the best by an Indian bowler in this format.
Similarities in the line-ups
Rahul Dravid, the current head coach of India, was the designated wicketkeeper and vice-captain of the Indian team in the 2003 World Cup, and this time KL Rahul took over the role.
Dravid’s record of 145 runs was against Sri Lanka in 1999, but the two are also the only designated wicket-keepers to score 100 runs for India in a World Cup. Rahul scored his 102 points in his 2023 match against Netherlands.
In 2003 Australia’s batsmen were two left-handed players, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, who faced the new ball. In 2023, his two southpaws, David Warner and Travis Head, will be starting pitchers again.
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