Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting whose unbeaten 140 on March 23, 2003, shattered the dreams of Sourav Ganguly's squad from lifting the World Cup trophy in Johannesburg, is coaching the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 and is all set to meet (Mumbai) Indians all over again in the finals.
Delhi Capitals on Sunday managed to do away an unwanted record by advancing to the IPL finals for the first-ever time since the inception of the tournament. The team worked as a unit and kept their nerves in the tense moments as Marcus Stoinis' all-round show and Shikhar Dhawan's experience helped DC beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in the second Qualifier despite a brilliant counter-attack by the latter franchise.
With DC reaching the finals where they will take on Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, Indian cricket fans were reminded of the 2003 Cricket World Cup where Ponting-led XI locked horns with the Men in Blue.
I never liked ponting before 2003 world cup final.hated him after that. DC made me let go of that hateactually made me like him
— Somy (@somy_bored) November 8, 2020
So it's gonna be Ponting's team vs Indians in the finals. Just like 2003.
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) November 8, 2020
2003 VibesMumbai Indians (Best Team Throughout the tournament) vs Delhi CapitalsIndia (Best Team Throughout the tournament) vs AustraliaTendulkar vs Ponting
— Bharat (@savageclown45) November 8, 2020
Ponting vs Zaheer, is it 2003?#Dream11IPLMIvDC
— Aditya (@StarkAditya_) November 8, 2020
Ponting vs Indians.Repeat 2003 history bois @DelhiCapitals
— Su. (@SuCRICraj) November 8, 2020
So 2003 ODI recap is back 🔙 PONTING'S TEAM vs INDIANS in @IPL @DelhiCapitals vs @mipaltanCan @RickyPonting do same thing as coach which he did as player that time #DelhiCapitals enters first time into FINALS after 13yrsWhat a feeling !!!WELL Fought @SunRisers
— Dhruvin Panchamia (@Dhruvin_04) November 8, 2020
Earlier this year during the coronavirus lockdown, Punter took to social media to share the iconic cricket memorabilia.
Given we've all got a bit of time on our hands as we stay at home, thought I'd go through what I've kept from my career and share some of it with everyone on a regular basis - this is the bat I used in the 2003 World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/meoBP6NJvg
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) March 23, 2020
"Given we've all got a bit of time on our hands as we stay at home, thought I'd go through what I've kept from my career and share some of it with everyone on a regular basis - this is the bat I used in the 2003 World Cup final," the former skipper wrote.