1996 cricket World Cup
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The 1996 Cricket World Cup was won by Sri Lanka, who beat Australia by 7 wickets at the final in Lahore.
The 1996 World Cup was played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Controversy dogged the tournament before any games were played, however, when Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka following the terrorist Central Bank Bombing in January that killed 90 people and injured thousands. The Sri Lankan team were awarded four points from both games, which effectively qualified them for the quarter-finals of the tournament without playing a single game.
The 1996 installment of the Cup featured three brand new teams - the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Kenya. Kenya proved the best of the new teams, acquitting themselves proudly against their more experienced opponents, and actually defeating the West Indies in their league game. Defending a respectable total of 166, they skittled the once-mighty West Indians for a meagre 93.
The Sri Lankan team, tipped as favourites to win the cup, revolutionized the one-day approach to the game by taking the attack to the bowling team within the first 15 overs. Led by Sanath Jayasuria and Romesh Kaluwitharna, billed at the time as the most dangerous opening pair in the world, the Sri Lankan batting lineup for the tournament seemed unassailable. It was their dynamics that helped Sri Lanka amass the highest team score in limited-overs cricket, 398 for 5 against Kenya. Sachin Tendulkar proved to be one of the tournament's most prolific run-scorers, and Australia's Mark Waugh scored the first ever back-to-back centuries in a World Cup.
The first semi-final saw India take on Sri Lanka in Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The two teams had met before in a league match, when Jayasuria and Kaluwitharna destroyed the Indian bowling attack to win a high-scoring match. The semi-final, though, saw a different story; India struck early to remove the openers and have Sri Lanka on the back foot. A solid middle-order recovery, led by Aravinda De Silva's brilliant 66 off 47 balls, led the Sri Lankans to 251 for 8, a strong total. Sachin Tendulkar led the Indian fightback with a 66 of his own, but after his dismissal, the Indian wickets tumbled. From 99 for 2, India crashed to 120 for 8. The Indian crowd, incensed by what they saw, rioted, forcing match referee Clive Lloyd to award the match to Sri Lanka by default, an unprecendented move.
In the other semi-final, the West Indies, lucky to have made it that far, faced Australia. The two had met before, with the West Indies barely triumphing. Australia, put in to bat first, were rocked by the bowling assault from Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, who reduced the Aussies to 17 for 4. The middle-order stabilized the collapse, though, with contributions from Michael Bevan and Ian Healy, to bring the Australian total to 207 for 9. The West Indians started strong, but Shane Warne, who got a wicket from his first ball of the match, tore through the West Indian batting lineup, as did Glenn McGrath. In the end, the West Indians were dismissed for 202, an incredible upset given how strongly they started the match.
The final was played between Sri Lanka and Australia in Lahore, Pakistan. It was ironic, seeing how Australia refused to play Sri Lanka in the preliminary stages, that they now faced them with the World Cup at stake. Built on captain Mark Taylor's 74, Australia put up 241 for 7, then removed Jayasuria and Kaluwitharna in quick succession to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 23 for 2. Askanka Gurusingha (66) and Aravinda De Silva (107 not out) took command, de Silva becoming only the third batsman to score a century in a World Cup final. In the end, Sri Lanka won the match with ease (seven wickets to spare) to be crowned world champions. It was the first, and thus far, only time a host nation has won a World Cup (Sri Lanka were part hosts, although the final itself was not played in Sri Lanka).
De Silva was named Man of the Match for the final, and Jayasuria was named Man of the Series.
Results
- 1 14th Feb 1996 England v New Zealand, Ahmedabad, New Zealand 11 runs
- 2 16th Feb 1996 West Indies v Zimbabwe, Hyderabad (I), West Indies 6 wickets
- 3 16th Feb 1996 South Africa v United Arab Emirates, Rawalpindi, South Africa 169 runs
- 4 17th Feb 1996 the Netherlands v New Zealand, Baroda (IPCL), New Zealand 119 runs
- 5 18th Feb 1996 India v Kenya, Cuttack, India 7 wickets
- 6 18th Feb 1996 England v United Arab Emirates, Peshawar, England 8 wickets
- 7 20th Feb 1996 New Zealand v South Africa, Faisalabad, South Africa 5 wickets
- 8 21st Feb 1996 Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Colombo (SSC), Sri Lanka 6 wickets
- 9 21st Feb 1996 India v West Indies, Gwalior, India 5 wickets
- 10 22nd Feb 1996 England v the Netherlands, Peshawar, England 49 runs
- 11 23rd Feb 1996 Australia v Kenya, Visakhapatnam, Australia 97 runs
- 12 24th Feb 1996 Pakistan v United Arab Emirates, Gujranwala, Pakistan 9 wickets
- 13 25th Feb 1996 England v South Africa, Rawalpindi, South Africa 78 runs
- 14 26th Feb 1996 Kenya v Zimbabwe, Patna, no result
- 15 26th Feb 1996 Pakistan v the Netherlands, Lahore, Pakistan 8 wickets
- 16 27th Feb 1996 India v Australia, Mumbai, Australia 16 runs
- 17 27th Feb 1996 Kenya v Zimbabwe, Patna, Zimbabwe 5 wickets
- 18 27th Feb 1996 New Zealand v United Arab Emirates, Faisalabad, New Zealand 109 runs
- 19 29th Feb 1996 Kenya v West Indies, Pune, Kenya 73 runs
- 20 29th Feb 1996 Pakistan v South Africa, Karachi, South Africa 5 wickets
- 21 1st Mar 1996 Australia v Zimbabwe, Nagpur, Australia 8 wickets
- 22 1st Mar 1996 the Netherlands v United Arab Emirates, Lahore, United Arab Emirates 7 wickets
- 23 2nd Mar 1996 India v Sri Lanka, Delhi, Sri Lanka 6 wickets
- 24 3rd Mar 1996 Pakistan v England, Karachi, Pakistan 7 wickets
- 25 4th Mar 1996 Australia v West Indies, Jaipur, West Indies 4 wickets
- 26 5th Mar 1996 the Netherlands v South Africa, Rawalpindi, South Africa 160 runs
- 27 6th Mar 1996 Sri Lanka v Kenya, Kandy, Sri Lanka 144 runs
- 28 6th Mar 1996 India v Zimbabwe, Kanpur, India 40 runs
- 29 6th Mar 1996 Pakistan v New Zealand, Lahore, Pakistan 46 runs
Quarter Finals
- 30 9th Mar 1996 England v Sri Lanka, Faisalabad, Sri Lanka 5 wickets
- 31 9th Mar 1996 India v Pakistan, Bangalore, India 39 runs
- 32 11th Mar 1996 South Africa v West Indies, Karachi, West Indies 19 runs
- 33 11th Mar 1996 Australia v New Zealand, Chennai, Australia 6 wickets
Semi Finals
- 34 13th Mar 1996 India v Sri Lanka, Calcutta, Sri Lanka awarded victory by default after crowd trouble
- 35 14th Mar 1996 Australia v West Indies, Mohali, Australia 5 runs
Final
- 36 17th Mar 1996 Australia v Sri Lanka, Lahore, Sri Lanka 7 wickets