Ricky Ponting vs India: 140 runs
In the World Cup 2003, India reached their first grand-finale since their World Cup 1983 triumph. Expectations were high from the Sourav Ganguly led side, but Ricky Ponting whitewashed all the dreams of Indian fans.
Choose to field first, Indian bowlers could not dominate the field in front of Pontings’ batting. Although India picked on the early wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, Ponting got on the nerves of India. He went on to smack boundaries and scored unbeaten 140 runs off 121 balls. His staggering knock comprised of eight sixes and four fours. At the loss of two wickets, Australia set up the mammoth target of 359 runs.
India’s hope ended when Sachin Tendulkar, who was the leading scorer for the team, was out for four. The Men in Blue was out for 234 runs, and Australia won by 125 runs.