Winning the 2003 WC final could have been feather in my career, reckons Javagal Srinath

When Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to field against Australia in the 2003 World Cup finals, the curtain was drawn, shutting down the ray of hope for the Indian team. Batting first, Australia, on the back of Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn put up a beyond par score, scoring 359. India’s response never arrived on the day, who could only put up 234 runs in reply, eventually losing the encounter by 125 runs. 

While the batsmen did have a poor day, there was also the Indian bowlers who were on the same boat. Experienced pacer, Javagal Srinath on the day conceded 87 runs in his ten overs as the bowlers were left stunned by the Aussie pair. Srinath, recalling the 2003 final, reckoned that winning the tournament could have been a feather in his career. 

“We could have won the 2003 World Cup final but we were up against the best side in the world. They were on a roll and nobody could even get closer to them. We lost the final and I couldn’t do much in that match either. Winning that final could have been a real feather in my career but you can’t expect everything to happen in life,” Srinath told SportsKeeda in a chat.

However, he also addressed the debate on whether India should have batted or fielded by admitting that Australia just were the better side. On top of that, he complimented the Ponting-led side for their victory, stating that the Indian players had to play twice their potential if they stood a chance. 

“We had a chat about it – should we have batted first? But those are all hindsight expertise of what we bring post the match. I just think they were the better side. The same team had won the previous World Cup as well. I think all of us needed to play twice our potential. Probably that could have been the best way.”