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 were the Invincibles, winning 10 games on the trot, including the semi-final, which propelled them into the final. Their rivals back then, India, had won their first game, against the Netherlands before going down to Australia in the first round. They did not drop a game thereafter, winning eight on the bounce to make the final.

20 years later, India, with ten successive wins, are undefeated and have made the final. They will face Australia, who have won eight games in a row after losing their first two matches. Just like in 2003, when India lost to their final opponents in the first round, Australia dropped a game against the other finalist, India, initially.

Similarities in the records broken

Back in 2003, Sachin Tendulkar went past his own record of most runs in a single World Cup, overtaking his 1996 tally of 523 runs before the final. He ended with 673 runs, the highest ever in a single World Cup – until now. The record has now been broken by Virat Kohli in 2023, who has made 711 runs thus far, the most in a single World Cup.

Only three India captains have scored a men’s ODI World Cup hundred – Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly (three) and Rohit Sharma. The last time an India skipper reached three figures in the event was in 2003 when Ganguly made 111* against Kenya. It took 20 years for a captain to join the list, which Rohit did when he made 131 against Afghanistan

Only two men’s World Cup semi-final has seen hundreds scored by India batters. In 2003, Ganguly became the first batter to reach triple digits in the penultimate knockout when he made 111* against Kenya. Twent years later, Kohli was joined by Shreyas Iyer as they replicated the feat, making their hundreds in the semi-final against New Zealand.

Ashish Nehra, in 2003, and Mohammed Shami, in 2023, broke records in the respective World Cups. Nehra registered the best bowling figures by an India quick during the competition after he picked up 6-23 against England. Those were also the best figures by an India bowler in a men’s World Cup. The record stayed for 20 years, before Shami surpassed the feat, picking up 7-57 against New Zealand in the semi-final at Mumbai, also the best ODI figures by any India bowler in the format.

Similarities in the line-ups

Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach currently, was the designated wicketkeeper for the 2003 World Cup. He was also the vice-captain of the Indian team, with KL Rahul donning that role this time.

The two are also the only designated wicketkeepers to score a World Cup hundred for India, although Dravid’s 145 came in 1999, against Sri Lanka. Rahul made 102 against the Netherlands in 2023.

For Australia, two lefties opened the batting in 2003, with Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden facing the new ball. In 2023, two southpaws will again open the innings in David Warner and Travis Head.

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