Sourav Ganguly had been India's captain for the last three years and with John Wright as the coach, the Indian team had pulled off some memorable wins including a 326-run chase in England. So when this team reached South Africa for the World Cup, expectations were naturally high.

But the campaign seemed doomed with a loss in the warm up game to a provincial side. And when the opening match of the main event against Holland proved to be tougher than necessary, India was facing the wrath of a cricket-crazy nation back home. India had hobbled to 204 all out against a team that ranked almost 10 places below them and the only real contributions were from Yuvraj Singh (37), Dinesh Mongia (42) and Sachin Tendulkar (52) who would begin his rule of the tournament from the first match itself. India did eventually win comfortably by 68 runs dismissing the Dutch for just 138, but the state of the batting was not encouraging.

Having barely recovered from their struggles against Holland, India was faced with Australia as their next opponent. Australia themselves had won a tough game against Pakistan thanks to the exploits of Andrew Symonds and were looking hungry for more. They got India on pretty much a platter! Batting first, the Indian batsmen saw the ball moving a bit and surrendered. Only Tendulkar (36) and a wildly swinging Harbhajan Singh (28) saw India past the 100-run mark. India was dismissed for their lowest-ever World Cup score of 125 and the result was inevitable. Adam Gilchrist (48) and Matthew Hayden (45*) ensured there was no trouble in achieving the win. India's campaign looked in complete disarray and a lot of rebuilding was required.

The poor start India had suffered meant there was much burning back home of fans' hearts and players' effigies! For all of it to stop, India had to win their next match against Zimbabwe. Once again, India was put in to bat, but this time, there was no collapse. The batting wasn't spectacular barring the 81 (91b) from Tendulkar. Rahul Dravid contributed a controlled 43 (55b) as India put on a respectable 255 for 7. Zimbabwe, though, was suffering problems of their own and these had nothing to do with on-ground events. Andy Flower and Henry Olonga were protesting the events back home with a black armband and Zimbabwe never looked like a team that could beat India as they had done in 1999. Tatenda Taibu's 29 was the only shining light with a few more scores in the 20s but Zimbabwe just about managed 172 and India had won an important match.

The captain Sourav Ganguly was coming into form by now and he had already tasted success with the ball picking up 3/22 against Zimbabwe. After the brief period of success, India was to face minnows Namibia and they used the opportunity well to get some match practice under their belt. Virender Sehwag opened with Sachin Tendulkar and the two put on 45 for the opening partnership at almost six runs per over. And Namibia would have hoped for that to continue, for once Sehwag fell, Ganguly walked in to join Tendulkar and together, the two set about resurrecting India's batting prowess. Tendulkar fell for a sublime 152 (151b) while Ganguly was not out on 112 and India had piled on 311. The Namibian reply was snuffed out easily and Yuvraj Singh got among the wickets as well picking up 4/6 as the Namibians folded up for 130.

In these two successive wins, India had managed to bring back as many players as possible back into form. Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Sehwag had all scored some runs while part-time bowlers like Ganguly and Yuvraj in addition to Sehwag had also picked up wickets. The next two matches were going to be critical for India as they played England and Pakistan.

England lost the toss and India chose to bat. Tendulkar continued his carnage of opposition bowlers with another quick 50 but England managed to keep things on a leash picking up wickets every once in a way. Andrew Flintoff came on for his spell and gave away just 9 runs in his first 8 overs. His final tally of 2/15 from 10 overs shows the extent of his influence on India's innings. It was a gutsy 62 from Rahul Dravid and a fiery 42 from Yuvraj Singh that bailed India out and put them at 250. This wasn't without drama, though! India was at 250/6 after 49.2 overs and most expected India to add at least another 8-10 runs in the final 4 balls. Instead, India lost four wickets and didn't add a single run! Not quite the momentum they were expecting to end the innings with.

England's reply got off to a poor start with Nick Knight running himself out after he underestimated the speed and accuracy of Mohammed Kaif. Zaheer Khan, the best of the Indian opening bowlers, was in sublime form and he removed Trescothick to reduce England to 2/18 in the seventh over. But the real star for India was Ashish Nehra. He was a doubtful starter with ankle problems, but as soon as he got the ball in his hand, he seemed to have forgotten any pain. In seaming conditions under lights, Nehra made the English batsmen dance to his tunes! He picked up six English wickets for just 23 runs with the only resistance coming from Andrew Flintoff as England collapsed to 168 all out. India had sounded the war cry and was definitely back in contention. But one final test loomed…

Centurion was the venue where India had been routed by Australia in their second match. Now they were to play Pakistan in their final group match. The hype was incredible as India was to play Pakistan for the first time in three years. And for once, the cricket matched the hype!

Batting first on a batsman's pitch, Saeed Anwar scored yet another hundred against India and it was a nasty Yorker from Ashish Nehra that finally removed him. By then, though, he had scored 101 and been part of some key partnerships to put the Pakistan total at a very challenging 273. That India bowled an extra 18 deliveries thanks to no-balls and wides didn't help either and the ball was now in India's court.

There had been much pre-match talk from the Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar about how good he was and how much better he was than some of his peers. But when the time came to deliver on the promise, he fell woefully short. He was also not helped by the fact that he ran into an in-form rampaging Tendulkar who smacked him for two fours and a cut six over thirdman in his first over! India had taken up the challenge and by the 12th over, brought up their hundred. India's fiery start was halted in its track briefly by captain Waqar Younis who picked up two wickets in two balls but Tendulkar and Kaif put on 102 before Kaif fell. Tendulkar finally fell victim to cramps and a rising Akhtar delivery but the match was in India's hands by now. And Rahul Dravid (44*) paired with Yuvraj Singh (50*) as the two batted in a calm and composed manner to take India home.

Many believed this was the best match of the tournament and that Tendulkar's 98 was his best innings ever. Debatable, for there have been so many, but this would be right at the top!

India had resurrected a seemingly hopeless campaign and was now favourites to make the final. Events of a non-cricketing nature had played a great part in this tournament and as a result, Zimbabwe and Kenya had managed to make the Super Six stage with some of the bigger teams being left out.

By the time the Super Six matches started, India was in such rampaging form that they blew away the Kenyans despite having been reduced to 3/24. Sourav Ganguly played a captain's knock of 107* chasing Kenya's modest total of 225. Yuvraj Singh once again underlined his value as a 'finisher' with a well composed 58*. For Kenya, Kennedy Otieno led the charge with a well structured 79 and was ably supported by opening partner Hitesh Mod (34) as the two put on 75 for the first wicket. However, they did not have the bowling resources to contain India's long batting line-up and India continued its charge towards the final.

India's next two matches in the Super Six were against slightly tougher opponents in Sri Lanka and New Zealand but such was the extent of their confidence now, that neither could put up a fight good enough to put India in trouble.

Sri Lanka had an especially torrid time and they found Tendulkar hard to contain as he raced to 97 and found good support from Sehwag (66) and Ganguly (48). While the result wasn't as bad as the 373 in 1999, Sri Lanka was still left with the daunting task of having to chase 293 for a win. But the match was so one-sided that Sri Lanka could not even last half their overs. Srinath (4/35), Nehra (4/35) and Zaheer Khan (2/33) ripped through their batting line-up with the only resistance coming from Kumar Sangakkara (30). Sri Lanka had been shot out for 109 and India had won by a massive 183 runs! Incidentally, this was a bigger margin of victory than the 1999 triumph!

India was certainly in the semi-final but they did not let their intensity drop in the last Super Six match against New Zealand. If Nehra and Srinath had made their mark in the previous match, this was Zaheer Khan's match all the way. Stephen Fleming was the only New Zealand batsman to make any impression as he struggled to make 30. The rest simply surrendered to Zaheer (4/42). New Zealand's 146 was never going to test India and despite some early hiccups (3/21 after 4.5 overs), Rahul Dravid (53*) and Mohammed Kaif (68*) saw India home to a seven-wicket win. No trouble at all!

Forfeited matches in the first round against Kenya had meant that Kenya, despite winning only one of their Super Six matches, was in the semi-final. And if ever there was a farcical match that was played, it was this. India batted first, Ganguly scored another hundred (111*) and Tendulkar blasted his way to a well-made 83 as India posted 270. Not quite par for the course, but enough for the opposition. To their credit, Kenya did play well with Steve Tikolo scoring 56 but the others found the going tough and Zaheer Khan shone once again picking up 3/14 as Kenya was restricted to 179. India was in their second World Cup final 20 years after the last appearance.

India had won eight of their nine matches in the World Cup with the only loss coming against Australia. And now, they were face to face with the same opposition in the final of the World Cup. Ganguly won the toss and invited Australia to bat. Perhaps a mistake considering the nerves on the occasion. Zaheer Khan's first over cost 15 runs and there was no stopping Australia after that. The opening partnership yielded 105 runs in just 14 overs and although the scoring rate dropped a bit after the initial onslaught, it was just a smokescreen! Once set, Ricky Ponting launched such a savage assault that India had no reply. Batting with an equally aggressive Damien Martyn, the two put on an unbeaten partnership of 234 for the third wicket to take Australia's total to a mammoth 359. Ponting's 140 came off just 121 balls while Martyn contributed 88 in 84 balls. The result was unfortunately a foregone conclusion when India came in to bat.

Tendulkar fell in the first over but Sehwag played on scoring 82 in 81 balls and Dravid contributed 47 but the rest of the batting caved in under the huge ask. India was going at almost six an over but was bowled out for 234. There were questions raised as to whether better planning would have allowed them to chase the Australian total successfully, but given the occasion, it was always too much to ask.

Despite the humiliating loss in the final, India had done well and lost only to the eventual champions. Sourav Ganguly had led well and himself performed admirably. Sachin Tendulkar had lived up to all he had promised over the years while some of the younger crop came of age. It wasn't India's crowning moment, but they had been very close.

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