Australia 281-4 beat Sri Lanka 215-8 by 53 runs

Opener Adam Gilchrist's century was overshadowed as Australia won a fourth World Cup amid scenes of high farce.

The 35-year-old hit a brilliant 149 for the highest score made in a World Cup final, and the fastest century, in an overall score of 281-4 off 38 overs.

Sri Lanka lost their way after Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara briefly raised hopes with a stand of 116.

But the match ended in total darkness and no little confusion, with Australia eventually winning by 53 runs.

They had embraced in premature celebration three overs before the finish, believing the match to be over after the umpires offered the light to the Sri Lanka batsmen.   Sri Lanka lost a crucial toss. By batting first, Australia knew how many overs they would face, and had the best of the conditions.

Their opponents, on the other hand, faced a swinging ball when they began their chase.   And for most of the conclusion, the light was technically unplayable and they had to try to keep on top of the Duckworth-Lewis rate while bearing in mind their final target.

Over the closing overs, the match had long ceased to be an even contest, but the umpires were reluctant to take the players off.   By then, the target had come down to 269 off 36 overs and with three to go, Sri Lanka's tail-enders were offered the light and came off.

Naturally, the Australians thought they had won a third World Cup in succession at that point.

But for some reason, the stumps were put back in, more - largely invisible - cricket was played and the score was 215-8 when Andrew Symonds sent down the last ball.   Rain had delayed the toss by an hour and there was a frustrating hold-up of two hours and 20 minutes before a ball was bowled.

When play finally did begin, all eyes were on Chaminda Vaas, who bowled the first over.   It became quickly apparent that one of the finest exponents of swing could not find a shade of movement, and a high-scoring match looked on the cards. The fun started in the third over as Vaas paid for bowling too close to Gilchrist's pads. He was flicked for four and driven imperiously for six.

Dilhara Fernando did have a chance to end Gilchrist's innings on 31 but could not take an awkward return catch off his own bowling.

The batsman made him consider the cost of that miss with two fours, and a six, monstered over long on, from the same over.   Gilchrist continued to connect with a series of leg-side hits, mostly struck as cleanly as he could have wished.

Even Muttiah Muralitharan suffered, and Gilchrist reached his century with a ferocious drive over mid-off for four off Lasith Malinga.   By taking just 72 balls to get there, he had equalled the third fastest in World Cups, and it was also the 11th highest individual score in the 22-year history of the tournament.   Moments later, he was almost caught by wicket-keeper Sangakkara, at full stretch.

Sixes number seven and eight - an aggregate that equalled the record for a World Cup innings - came off the left-arm darts of Jayasuriya.   Finally, attempting a ninth with a pull off Fernando, he skied a catch to mid-wicket to bring to an end a tremendous innings.   Gilchrist's was the second wicket to fall. His partner Matthew Hayden had been subdued - and surprisingly out-of-touch - by hitting just 38 in an opening stand of 172 before finally driving a catch to extra cover.   And with both openers out, Ricky Ponting and the rest had an important role to play to first maintain a run rate of seven an over, and then attempt to build it.

Luck was on Australia's side, as any number of edged or mis-directed drives just eluded diving fielders. They could not emulate the panache and skill of Gilchrist.

In the final dash for runs, Ponting was run out, Shane Watson was bowled to give Malinga his second wicket and nine runs came off the final over, bowled by Fernando.   After a 10-minute turnaround, Nathan Bracken bowled the first ball of the Sri Lankan innings.   Strangely, the new ball he was provided with did swing long enough to attract Upul Tharanga's outside edge.   And when Sangakkara and Jayasuriya first started their partnership, they were extremely cautious.   The last segment of powerplay overs provided an avenue for more aggression, however, and Sri Lanka responded well.

Watson was hit by Jayasuriya for three fours in an over, and Sangakkara went one better, with two fours and a six crunched over midwicket in the space of six balls from Glenn McGrath.    Brad Hogg's introduction slowed the tempo again, and the chinaman bowler struck when Ponting accepted an easy chance at midwicket off an attempted Sangakkara pull.   As the required run rate climbed, Ponting produced his final trick - the slow left-armers of Michael Clarke.

It was not a great first over from him, but produced the wicket of Jayasuriya, who trotted down the wicket and was bowled.  Two overs later, with rain falling steadily, the umpires reluctantly brought the players off the field.   When play resumed after a brief interlude, Sri Lanka's target remained the same, but their target had been adjusted to 269 off 36 overs.

It took a long time for anyone inside or outside the ground to realize what was going on, however, as the farce developed.   Almost immediately, further bad luck hit Sri Lanka when skipper Mahela Jayawardene got a bad lbw decision.   The light closed in even more, and some cheap wickets came Australia's way.  Gilchrist took a sprawling catch at one point to give McGrath a wicket in his last match.

But the final stages of the match were the opposite of what the organizers would have wished for, with batsmen groping about blindly, and even the fielders and commentators struggling.