Did Ricky Ponting really use a Spring bat in the 2003 WC Final vs India ? How did this rumour start ? 

The 90's kid will be very much familiar with this rumour of Australian captain Ricky Ponting using spring bat vs India in the final of the 2003 ODI World cup.

Let's take the thing back to 2003 When Jo’burg was all set to host India and Australia for the final of the world cup. Australia batting first started off very well with Adam Gilchrist Firing from the very 1st over.

Australian Captain Ricky Ponting played a fantastic knock of 140*(121b 4x4s 8x6s). Australia went to score 359 and in reply India just managed to score 234, handing a comfortable win of 125 runs to Australia. Australia lifted their 3rd world cup and 2nd in succession.

Indian fans were finding it tough to digest this loss and Just after the week, a rumour from nowhere begin to spread. The rumour was "Ricky Ponting used Spring bat" and what made fans believe the fact was on that particular day Ponting was timing the ball superbly on the given day and his flawless batting also led to believe this theory of Spring bat. 

The rumour spread faster than communicable diseases and Indian fans behind demanding India should be the winner of the world cup.

In March 2020, During the COVID-19 pandemic when the world was set on lockdown. Ponting shares the pictures of bats on his social media that he used in the 2003 WC final and Indian fans flooded his timeline with comments of him using spring in his bat.

The truth behind this rumour, how was this rumour started?

If you are a 90's kid, you have a soft corner for the Indian team as you grow up watching them play. So as a kid, most of us believed in this rumour at that time. But what is the truth, and how did it start?

This was nothing but just a hoax, The widespread rumour was actually a part of the April Fool’s prank by the media released on April 1. 

And Indian fans connected with this hoax just because they were finding it hard to digest the defeat they suffered in the final of the world cup.

If you are a 90s kid, share your experience how did this rumour go with you? Did you believe in this rumour?