SACHIN TENDULKAR - CEAT CRICKETER OF THE 2003 WORLD CUP

The Man of the 2003 World Cup topped the CEAT World Cup Rating with a tally of 27 points, that he gained through a succession of tall scores.

He began the tournament on a sober note with a subdued 52 in the first match against Holland and 36 in his team’s disastrous outing against Australia.

If the Indians needed to stage a comeback after the fiasco against the Aussies, it was imperative that Tendulkar, who had asked for and regained the opening slot for the World Cup, lead the way with the bat. Sachin did just that. Innings of 81 against Zimbabwe and 152 againt minnows Namibia were followed by a brilliant 50 against England that gave his team the initiative very early in a key match. India’s next game featured Sachin’s best innings of the tournament, an outstanding 98 that tamed the old enemy Pakistan.

Knocks of 97 in the Super Six game against Sri Lanka and 83 in the semi-final against Kenya only added credence to the theory that Sachin had taken it upon himself to lead his team’s march to their first World Cup title since 1983. But it was not to be after the Aussies amassed a total of 359 in the final, and Sachin had no choice but to live by the sword, and perished doing exactly that.

However, he had already left his imprint on the history of the World Cup. In the 2003 World Cup, he excelled himself, literally and figuratively, by scoring 673 runs from eleven matches at an average of 61.17, the highest-ever by any batsman in a single World Cup. The previous highest was 523 in the 1996 World Cup, scored by who else, but Sachin Tendulkar.