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Back in 2003, on March 23, Australia made history and won their second consecutive World Cup. Twenty years ago, the ODI World Cup final saw India take on Australia at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in the summit clash of the tournament.

Batting first, Australia got off to a brilliant start batting first thanks to an impressive knock by Adam Gilchrist, who scored 57 runs before he was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. The Indian spinner struck again as he sent Matthew Hayden back to the pavilion after he aggregated 37 runs himself.

After the first wicket, disaster struck for team India as Australian skipper Ricky Ponting came in to bat. The legendary batter played an unbeaten knock of 140 runs. He was accompanied by Damien Martyn, who also notched up 88 runs.

After the first innings, the Men in Gold and Green scored 359 runs in the World Cup final, and after a subpar performance by the Indian bowling attack, the Men in Blue looked for an improved performance with the bat.

However, India got off to the worst possible start in the second innings after ace batter Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed early by Glenn McGrath. Virender Sehwag played a resilient innings, scoring 82 runs to give India some hope in the match. Rahul Dravid scored 47 runs as well, but it was not enough to propel the side to a win in the crucial game.

Following a subpar batting performance, India were bundled out for 234 as they faced heartbreak in the World Cup final. The Aussie bowlers put in a fabulous performance, bundling India out in the 40th over and registering a win by 125 runs.

It was Australia’s third World Cup triumph, and skipper Ricky Ponting was named Player of the Match for his inspirational knock as India returned home with a broken heart.