World Cup 2007: Teams, summary, winner, most runs and wickets

Australia won their third World Cup in a row and fourth overall in the first World Cup played in West Indies. They beat Sri Lanka in the final by 53 runs in a match where the final moments were played in near-darkness following a fiasco by the match officials. And all their 11 wins were by more than convincing margins.

The 16 teams – the most for a single edition till date – were split into four groups. Unfortunately, this meant that India and Pakistan failed to reach the Super Eights following their shock defeats against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room, under mysterious circumstances, after the second of these matches.

Bangladesh later beat South Africa in the Super Eights but lost to Ireland. However, South Africa went through to the semi-finals, as did New Zealand, before losing their respective matches easily.

Semi-final 1, Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, April 24: Sri Lanka 289/5 in 50 overs (Jayawardene 115*, Tharanga 73, Dilshan 30; Franklin 2/46) beat New Zealand 208 in 41.4 overs (Fulton 46, Styris 37, Franklin 30*; Muralitharan 4/37, Dilshan 2/22, Jayasuriya 2/57). Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene.

Semi-final 2, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, April 25: South Africa 149 in 43.5 overs (Kemp 49*, Gibbs 39; Tait 4/39, McGrath 3/18) lost to Australia 153/3 in 31.3 overs (Clarke 60*, Hayden 41) by 7 wickets. Man of the Match: Glenn McGrath.

Final, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, April 28: Australia 281/4 in 38 overs (Gilchrist 149, Hayden 38, Ponting 37; Malinga 2/49) beat Sri Lanka 215/8 in 36 overs (Jayasuriya 63, Sangakkara 54; Clarke 2/33) by 53 runs (D/L Method). Man of the Match: Adam Gilchrist. Man of the Series: Glenn McGrath.

Most runs: Matthew Hayden (Australia) – 659 runs, 11 matches
Most wickets: Glenn McGrath (Australia) – 26 wickets, 11 matches