Not all David and Goliath stories end in a fairytale underdog story. Australia and Namibia met in a group-stage clash in the 2003 World Cup. The Kangaroos crushed the minnows, Namibia, in what was a cakewalk for the defending champions. The ace fast-bowler Glenn McGrath annihilated the opposition batting unit to lead his team to a comfortable victory.
Aussies dominate with the bat
Ricky Ponting won the toss for Australia and it was an easy decision for him to make. The Kangaroos batted first and batted brilliantly to almost push Namibia out of the contest in the first innings itself. There were some early hiccups for Australia with Adam Gilchrist getting out for a low score but Namibia could not control the proceedings for too long. The giant left-hander Matthew Hayden took charge and his onslaught pushed back the opposition.
Hayden led the batting unit with his quickfire 88 runs off just 73 balls and he was assisted by the likes of Andrew Symonds and Darren Lehmann who also helped Australia cross the 300-run mark in the first innings. At the end of the first innings the Kangaroos had 301 runs in their account courtesy of multiple valuable contributions from the middle order.
McGrath creates mayhem
Australia had already earned a massive advantage by putting on more than 300 runs on the board in the first innings. This edge was widened by Glenn McGrath’s bowling masterclass in the second innings which forced Namibia to surrender in the run chase. The Australian veteran picked up 7 wickets to outclass the opposition batting order.
His wicket-taking streak did not let Namibia settle in the run chase and breakthroughs at regular intervals resulted in a dramatic Namibian collapse. With the help of McGrath’s lethal bowling spell, Australia restricted the opposition to a mere 45 runs in the second innings, winning the match by a massive margin of 256 runs. Glenn McGrath was adjudged the player of the match for his breathtaking bowling effort.
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