Venue: South Africa
Teams: 14, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, West Indies, Netherlands, Namibia, Kenya, Canada.
Format: The 14 teams were divided into two groups of seven sides each. The seven teams had to play in a round-robin in each of the groups and the top three out of each groups would qualify for the next round that was the Super Six stage. In the Super Six, each team from the first group would play the remaining three teams from the other group and the points from the results of their games against the sides in their own group were to be carried over as well.
The top four teams out of six would then make it to the semi-finals, which would be followed by the final.
Controversies:
It was one of the better organised tournaments but Shane Warne had to be sent back at the start of the tournament after testing positive for a banned drug. During the tournament itself, there were teams that refused to go to Zimbabwe and Kenya because of the security situation and the duo of Andy Flower and Henry Olonga tied black arm-bands to mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe. They retired after the World Cup and have been in exile ever since. 
Upsets:
South Africa were stunned by West Indies in the first game and needed a win in their last group match to qualify for the Super Sixes. However, inclement weather meant that Duckworth-Lewis had to be called upon and the team mistook the total required to tie the game for the runs required to win it. 
The game ended in a tie and the side was knocked out. West Indies were sent out themselves after their game against Bangladesh was abandoned while Kenya and Zimbabwe made it through from their respective groups. Kenya’s situation was such that they carried forward a lot of points too and then beat Zimbabwe to make it to the semi-final – the best result ever for a minnow nation.
*Most Runs’: Sachin TendulkarMost Wickets: Chaminda VaasPlayer of the series: Sachin TendulkarWinner: Australia*Runner-up’: India