Had the World Cup 2003 final been replayed today, India would have got closer to the target, says Sachin Tendulkar

What’s the Story?

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has said that had the 2003 World Cup final between India and Australia been replayed in this day-and-age, then the Men In Blue would have gotten a lot closer than they did that day.

"(Players would have approached) differently only because of the introduction of T20, in those days 358 (359) looked (a) herculean task, it will be today as well but it will be closer than 2003.

"We have also on a number of occasions got 325-340 runs and that is because the format has changed, the rules have changed a little bit. The conditions have also changed (than) what we got there, I just feel the mindset has changed because of the introduction of T20 and the calculations are different," Tendulkar said.

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Chasing a massive score of 360 runs in 50 overs, India were bowled out for 234 runs, thereby handing Australia their second consecutive World Cup crown. Ricky Ponting was the star of the day, making an unbeaten 140.

India's fortunes were heavily reliant on Tendulkar, but when he went early, caught and bowled off Glenn McGrath, the Men In Blue's chances of winning their second title went away along with him.

Extra Cover: Sachin Tendulkar gets extremely emotional about his late father, Ramesh Tendulkar

The heart of the matter

Tendulkar further went on to add that on that day, the team was extremely charged up right from the first over and admitted that had the game been played today, then they would have approached it differently.

Despite that blip in the final, the batting maestro took home the Player of the Series award for making 673 runs in the competition, including a 152 against Namibia and an unforgettable 98 against Pakistan.

Here are the highlights from that game:

Author’s take

When you look at how teams have now begun chasing tall scores post the advent of T20 cricket, then one can certainly relate to what Tendulkar is referring. However, the one difference from then to now is the boundaries sizes. Johannesburg, in those days, as also is the case now has always had bigger sized boundaries and so even if the players then had the influence of T20 cricket, then maybe clearing the ropes might have been the only problem while tracking down the big score.