2003
Final: Australia def. India by 125 runs
After cruising through the tournament unbeaten, Australia became only the second team to retain the World Cup when it beat India in a lopsided final at Johannesburg.
Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden shared an opening partnership of 105 from 14 overs after being put into bat. Captain Ricky Ponting then smashed 140 from 121 balls in a man-of-the-match performance to steer Australia to 359-2 -- a record for a World Cup final.
Glenn McGrath caught and bowled Sachin Tendulkar in the first over of India's reply. The rain offered India hope of respite, but conditions improved and McGrath finished with 3-52 as India was dismissed for 234.
"When World Cups come around, you've got to play your best when it counts, and we've done that," Ponting said.
The success was also notable for the absence of star spinner Shane Warne, who was sent home the day before Australia's opening match after testing positive for a banned diuretic.
The first World Cup in Africa was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Kenya provided the surprise of the tournament by beating Sri Lanka on the way to an appearance in the semifinals.
But the success of Kenya and Zimbabwe in an interminable tournament that required 42 games to narrow the field from 14 teams to six owed much to the refusal of England and New Zealand to play in those countries because of security concerns.
The African nations won the fixtures by walkovers. Zimbabwe also reached the second-round Super Six stage.
