Adam Gilchrist in the context of "Boundary (cricket)"

In cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batter. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batter is known as an all-rounder. Bowling the ball is distinguished from throwing the ball by a strictly specified biomechanical definition, which restricts the angle of extension of the elbow. A single act of bowling the ball towards the batter is called a ball or a delivery. Bowlers bowl deliveries in sets of six, called an over. Once a bowler has bowled an over, a teammate will bowl an over from the other end of the pitch. The Laws of Cricket govern how a ball must be bowled. If a ball is bowled illegally, an umpire will rule it a no-ball. If a ball is bowled too wide of the striker for the batter to be able to play at it with a proper cricket shot, the bowler's end umpire will rule it a wide.

There are different types of bowlers, from fast bowlers, whose primary weapon is pace, through swing and seam bowlers who try to make the ball deviate in its course through the air or when it bounces, to slow bowlers, who will attempt to deceive the batter with a variety of flight and spin. A spin bowler usually delivers the ball quite slowly and puts spin on the ball, causing it to turn at an angle while bouncing off the pitch.

The 2003 Cricket World Cup Final was a One Day International (ODI) match played on 23 March 2003 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. It marked the culmination of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the eighth edition of the tournament. It was the first time these two teams had met at this stage of a World Cup. For defending champions Australia it was their fifth World Cup final, while for India it was the second after their 1983 victory. Australia won the match by 125 runs to claim the title for the third time.

Both teams had progressed through three stages to reach the final. Australia was unbeaten thus far, while India had lost one game—against Australia in the first stage. Australia—led by Ricky Ponting—entered the game as firm favourites. After winning the toss, India captain Sourav Ganguly decided to field first. The Australian opening pair, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, added 105 runs in 14 overs. After their dismissals, Ponting (140 not out) and Damien Martyn (88 not out) were involved in a partnership of 234 runs, then an Australian record, and took the total to 359 runs for 2 at the end of the innings. Harbhajan Singh took two of the Australian wickets, conceding 49 runs.

A delivery or ball in cricket is the single action of bowling a cricket ball toward the batter. Once the ball has been delivered, batters may attempt to score runs, with the bowler and other fielders attempting to stop this by getting the batters out. When the ball becomes dead, the next delivery can begin.

During the play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler and bowls deliveries toward the batter. Six legal balls in a row constitutes an over, after which a different member of the fielding side takes over the role of bowler for the next over. The bowler delivers the ball from their end of the pitch toward the batter standing at the opposite wicket at the other end of the pitch. Bowlers can be either left-handed or right-handed. This approach to their delivery, in addition to their decision of bowling around the wicket (from the sides of the wicket on the bowler's end) or over the wicket, is knowledge of which the umpire and the batter are to be made aware.

Spin bowling is a bowling technique in cricket, in which the ball is delivered relatively slowly but with rapid rotation, giving it the potential to deviate sharply after bouncing. A bowler who uses this technique is called a spinner, a spin bowler, or a slow bowler.

It is one of the two main approaches to bowling, the other being fast bowling.

In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a catch, stump the batsman out, or run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-keeper is the only member of the fielding side permitted to wear gloves and external leg guards. The role of the keeper is governed by Law 27 of the Laws of Cricket.