Cricket World Cup 2007

The ninth world championship, Cricket World Cup 2007, was held in the West Indies. The event was played from March 13 to April 28, 2007. Format of this tournament was the same as the 1999 and 2003 Cricket World Cup. Contested by 16 teams divided into four groups of four each, the event was the first World Cup to use Powerplays.

Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia were the semifinalists of 2007 Cricket World Cup. The final match was played between Australia and Sri Lanka. Aussies scored 281 for 4 in a rain-marred 38-over match and defeated Sri Lanka claiming their third consecutive World Cup.

Cricket World Cup 2007 will be remembered for all the bad things that happened on and off the field. Pakistan were defeated by West Indies in the opening match and eliminated in the second match after losing by three wickets at the hands of Ireland. The loss of Pakistan was overshadowed by the sudden death of Coach Bob Woolmer and claims of Jamaica police that he had been killed. Later, it turned out that he had not been murdered. Meanwhile, India’s loss at the hands of Kenya and Sri Lanka witnessed its early exit from the tournament.

Glenn McGrath retired from the ODIs with the man-of-the-tournament award. Inzamam-ul-Haq couldn’t take the pressure of captaincy and Woolmer’s death. He was in tears after his dismissal against Zimbabwe. Brian Lara, too, was almost in tears in front of full house in Barbados after some argument with Marlon Samuels.