ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Points Table

The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was held in the West Indies. It featured 16 teams divided into four groups (A, B, C and D), followed by the Super Eight stage.

Below are the points tables in a tabular format.

India's Tournament Lasted Only Three Matches:

India's first game was the one they would have wanted to forget. They made 191 against Bangladesh, but Bangladesh chased the target with five wickets still available.

There was no shortage of runs in India's second game. Bermuda were crushed by 257 runs, with India making 413/5. At the time, it was a record World Cup team total.

Then came Sri Lanka. India were bowled out for 185 while chasing 255. Sri Lanka won by 69 runs, and India's World Cup was over.

That is probably the strangest thing about India's campaign. They had just scored more than 400 runs, yet they did not even make it through the opening stage.

Pakistan's Exit Was Even More Dramatic:

Pakistan had started the tournament with a defeat against the hosts, West Indies. The next match changed everything.

Ireland bowled Pakistan out for 132. Niall O'Brien then played the innings that helped make him one of the unexpected names of the tournament, scoring 72 as Ireland chased the target. Pakistan lost by three wickets.

Ireland's win was not just a famous upset. It knocked Pakistan out of the World Cup. ICC still describes the match as one of the tournament's great upsets.

Pakistan later beat Zimbabwe, but by then it was too late.

Ireland Had No Reason to Be Nervous:

Ireland were World Cup debutants. They were not expected to make much noise. Instead, they beat Pakistan and then played out a tied match against Zimbabwe, both sides finishing on 221/9.

That was enough to keep their campaign alive. They reached the Super Eight and went on to beat Bangladesh there as well. For a first-time World Cup team, it was a memorable run.

The ICC lists Ireland and Bermuda as the two teams making their World Cup debuts in 2007.

Australia Were Doing Australia Things:

While all of this was happening, Australia were not really getting involved in the drama. They beat Scotland by 203 runs. Then they beat the Netherlands by 229 runs. Against South Africa, they made 377/6.

That last game was particularly interesting because South Africa did not make it easy at first. They reached 220/1 during the chase and looked capable of making a match of it. Australia still won by 83 runs.

Matthew Hayden scored 101 from 68 balls, Ricky Ponting made 91 and Michael Clarke scored 92. Hayden's century came from just 66 balls, which was a World Cup record at the time. Australia's score of 377/6 also became one of the tournament's standout totals.

Super Eight: The Tournament Settles Down:

The Super Eight stage removed some of the early chaos. Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand eventually made the semi-finals.

Some matches were close. Others were not. Australia beat England by seven wickets after chasing 247. Sri Lanka edged England by only two runs. Bangladesh produced a surprise by beating South Africa by 67 runs.

Australia also destroyed New Zealand. They scored 348/6 and then bowled New Zealand out for only 133. That was a 215-run win.

By this point, the difference between Australia and most of the field was becoming difficult to ignore. The ICC's retrospective on the tournament notes that Australia went through the competition undefeated.

The Two Semi-finals:

Sri Lanka faced New Zealand in the first semi-final. Mahela Jayawardene made 115 from 109 balls, Upul Tharanga scored 73 and Sri Lanka finished on 289/5. New Zealand were then bowled out for 208. Muttiah Muralitharan took 4/31, and Sri Lanka won by 81 runs.

The other semi-final was much shorter as a contest. South Africa made only 149. Shaun Tait took 4/39 and Glenn McGrath added 3/18. Australia reached 153/3, with Michael Clarke unbeaten on 60. Australia won by seven wickets.

And so came the final everyone had been waiting for.

Australia vs Sri Lanka: The Final

Rain had already interfered with the final before the first ball was bowled. Australia's innings was reduced to 38 overs, which did not seem to bother Adam Gilchrist. He went after the Sri Lankan bowling from the start.

Gilchrist made 149 from 104 balls, with 13 fours and eight sixes. Australia ended their shortened innings on 281/4. The innings remains the highest individual score in a World Cup final.

Sri Lanka still had a chance. Sanath Jayasuriya made 63 and Kumar Sangakkara scored 54. The pair put together a 116-run partnership and briefly gave Sri Lanka something to work with. Then the rain came back.

Sri Lanka were set a revised target of 269 runs from 36 overs after rain interrupted their innings. They finished on 215/8, giving Australia a 53-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method. Australia secured their third consecutive Cricket World Cup title.

The Numbers Behind Australia's Campaign:

Record	Player/Team
Tournament winner	Australia
Runner-up	Sri Lanka
Matches	51
Teams	16
Australia	11 wins, 0 losses
Most runs	Matthew Hayden ? 659
Most wickets	Glenn McGrath ? 26
Player of the Series	Glenn McGrath
Highest team score	Australia ? 377/6
Highest score in a World Cup final	Adam Gilchrist ? 149

McGrath's 26 wickets were enough to make him both the leading wicket-taker and Player of the Series. It was also his final World Cup.

Why People Still Talk About the 2007 World Cup?

If you only look at the final, the tournament seems fairly straightforward: Australia won again. The first round tells a different story.

India were gone. Pakistan were gone. Ireland had beaten Pakistan and moved into the Super Eight. There was also a tied match between Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Then, almost separately from all of that, Australia kept winning. They finished with 11 wins from 11 matches. Their batsmen scored 300 or more every time they batted first, and the team hit 67 sixes during the tournament.

So the 2007 World Cup had two sides to it. There was the unpredictable tournament where big teams could suddenly lose. And there was Australia, who seemed almost impossible to stop.

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