• Burton van Rooi was making his international debut . He became the 15th player to represent Namibia in ODIs.
• Rahul Dravid was playing his 200th match since making his debut against Sri Lanka at Singapore in 1996. He became seventh Indian after Mohammad Azharuddin (334),Sachin Tendulkar (307), Anil Kumble (240), Kapil Dev (225), Javagal Srinath (222) and Saurav Ganguly (222) and the 31st player overall to reach this landmark.
• The second wicket partnership of 244 runs between Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly was the second highest for any wicket in the World Cup after the 318-run partnership also for the second wicket by Indians Ganguly and Rahul Dravid against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999.
• The partnership was the fifth highest for the second wicket in ODIs and eighth highest for any wicket in ODIs. Interestingly,the top eight partnerships in ODIs now involve Indians on as many as six occasions.
• Tendulkar (152) scored his fourth hundred in World Cup matches. He has now equalled Australian Mark Waugh’s record of most hundreds in World Cup.
• This was Tendulkar's highest score in the World Cup obliterating his previous best of 140 (not out ) against Kenya at Bristol in 1999.
• This was the second time that Tendulkar made a score of 150 plus. The earlier occasion being 186 (not out) against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999. He has now joined fellow teammate Saurav Ganguly, West Indian Brian Lara and Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya in scoring 150 plus runs in an innings on two occasions. However, West Indian Viv Richards, with three such instances, tops the table.
• Tendulkar’s innings of 151 balls is second longest of his career in teams of balls faced. He had faced 153 balls (and made 146) against Zimbabwe in Jodhpur in 2001.
• The 18 fours that Tendulkar hit is maximum by an Indian batsman in a World Cup match. Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had hit 17 fours apiece in the match against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999.
• Saurav Ganguly, on 80, completed his 500 runs in World Cup. At the end of this match he has 532 runs from 11 matches to his credit. Only Sachin Tendulkar (1380), Mohammad Azharuddin (826), Kapil Dev (669) and Sunil Gavaskar (561) have scored more runs for India.
• Ganguly recorded his 20th hundred in 222 matches. Now only Tendulkar (34) has more hundreds in ODIs than Ganguly. He went past the tally of 19 hundreds by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar.
• Tendulkar and Ganguly have now scored hundreds against ten different countries. Australian Mark Waugh and South African Hershelle Gibbs have scored hundreds against nine teams.
• This was the third time that two batsmen scored hundreds in the same match for India in World Cup. The other two instances being - against Kenya at Bristol and Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999.
• Yuvraj Singh's 4-6 in 4.3 overs was his best bowling performance of his career in 63 matches bettering his previous best of 3-39 against England at Lord's in 2002.
• Yuvraj’s figures were the third best for a bowler capturing four wickets in a match and conceding minimum runs. West Indians Courtney Walsh (5-1 in 4.3 overs against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1986) and Phil Simmons (4-3 in 10 overs against Pakistan at Sydney in 1992) had the better figures than Yuvraj.
• However Yuvraj's figures of 4-6 now represents the most wickets taken by a bowler while conceding the least runs in the World Cup match. England pace bowler Chris Old had figures of 4-8 against Canada at Manchester in 1979.
• Yuvraj's 4-6 was the best bowling performance by an Indian spinner in the World Cup. Anil Kumble's 4-32 against Holland at Paarl had the previous best figures by an Indian spinner in the World Cup .
• The 181 run victory was India's second biggest margin in terms of runs in ODIs after the 186 run win against Kenya at Paarl in 2001. However this win was India best in a World Cup match. The Indians had beaten the Sri Lankans by 157 runs at Taunton in 1999.
• Dinesh Mongia became second Indian (after Virender Sehwag) and 15th player overall to take three catches in a World Cup match.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)