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 Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, 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 Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana 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. Asanka Gurusinha
(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
Group B: England
v New Zealand at Ahmedabad - February 14, 1996
New Zealand won by 11 runs. New Zealand 239-6 (50 ov);
England 228-9 (50 ov).
Group A: West Indies v Zimbabwe
at Hyderabad - February 16, 1996
West Indies won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 151-9 (50 ov);
West Indies 155-4 (29.3 ov).
Group B: South Africa v United
Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi - February 16, 1996
South Africa won by 169 runs. South Africa 321-2 (50 ov);
United Arab Emirates 152-8 (50 ov).
Group A: Sri Lanka v Australia
at Colombo - February 17, 1996
Sri Lanka won by a walkover.
Group B: Netherlands v New
Zealand at Vadodara - February 17, 1996
New Zealand won by 119 runs. New Zealand 307-8 (50 ov);
Netherlands 188-7 (50 ov).
Group A: India v Kenya at
Cuttack - February 18, 1996
India won by 7 wickets. Kenya 199-6 (50 ov); India 203-3
(41.5 ov).
Group B: England v United Arab
Emirates at Peshawar - February 18, 1996
England won by 8 wickets. United Arab Emirates 136 (48.3
ov); England 140-2 (35 ov).
Group B: New Zealand v South
Africa at Faisalabad - February 20, 1996
South Africa won by 5 wickets. New Zealand 177-9 (50 ov);
South Africa 178-5 (37.3 ov).
Group A: India v West Indies at
Gwalior - February 21, 1996
India won by 5 wickets. West Indies 173 (50 ov); India
174-5 (39.4 ov).
Group A: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at
Colombo - February 21, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 228-6 (50 ov); Sri
Lanka 229-4 (37 ov).
Group B: England v Netherlands
at Peshawar - February 22,
1996
England won by 49 runs. England 279-4 (50 ov);
Netherlands 230-6 (50 ov).
Group A: Australia v Kenya at
Visakhapatnam - February 23, 1996
Australia won by 97 runs. Australia 304-7 (50 ov); Kenya
207-7 (50 ov).
Group B: Pakistan v United
Arab Emirates at Gujranwala - February 24, 1996
Pakistan won by 9 wickets. United Arab Emirates 109-9 (33
ov); Pakistan 112-1 (18 ov).
Group A: Sri Lanka v West Indies
at Colombo - February 25, 1996
Sri Lanka won by a walkover.
Group B: England v South Africa
at Rawalpindi - February 25, 1996
South Africa won by 78 runs. South Africa 230 (50 ov);
England 152 (44.3 ov).
Group A (replayed): Kenya v
Zimbabwe at Patna - February 26, 1996
No result. Zimbabwe 45-3 (15.5 ov).
Group B: Pakistan v Netherlands
at Lahore - February 26, 1996
Pakistan won by 8 wickets. Netherlands 145-7 (50 ov);
Pakistan 151-2 (30.4 ov).
Group A: India v Australia at
Mumbai - February 27, 1996
Australia won by 16 runs. Australia 258 (50 ov); India
242 (48 ov).
Group A: Kenya v Zimbabwe at
Patna - February 27, 1996
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets. Kenya 134 (49.4 ov); Zimbabwe
137-5 (42.2 ov).
Group B: New Zealand v United
Arab Emirates at Faisalabad - February 27, 1996
New Zealand won by 109 runs. New Zealand 276-8 (47 ov);
United Arab Emirates 167-9 (47 ov).
Group A: Kenya v West Indies at
Poona - February 29, 1996
Kenya won by 73 runs. Kenya 166 (49.3 ov); West Indies 93
(35.2 ov).
Group B: Pakistan v South Africa
at Karachi - February 29, 1996
South Africa won by 5 wickets. Pakistan 242-6 (50 ov);
South Africa 243-5 (44.2 ov).
Group A: Australia v Zimbabwe at
Nagpur - March 1, 1996
Australia won by 8 wickets. Zimbabwe 154 (45.3 ov);
Australia 158-2 (36 ov).
Group B: Netherlands v United
Arab Emirates at Lahore - March 1, 1996
United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets. Netherlands 216-9
(50 ov); United Arab Emirates 220-3 (44.2 ov).
Group A: India v Sri
Lanka at Delhi - March 2, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets. India 271-3 (50 ov); Sri
Lanka 272-4 (48.4 ov).
Group B: Pakistan v England at
Karachi - March 3, 1996
Pakistan won by 7 wickets. England 249-9 (50 ov);
Pakistan 250-3 (47.4 ov).
Group A: Australia v West Indies at Jaipur - March 4,
1996
West Indies won by 4 wickets. Australia 229-6 (50 ov);
West Indies 232-6 (48.5 ov).
Group B: Netherlands v South
Africa at Rawalpindi - March 5, 1996
South Africa won by 160 runs. South Africa 328-3 (50 ov);
Netherlands 168-8 (50 ov).
Group A: India v Zimbabwe at
Kanpur - March 6, 1996
India won by 40 runs. India 247-5 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 207
(49.4 ov).
Group A: Sri Lanka v Kenya at
Kandy - March 6, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 144 runs. Sri Lanka 398-5 (50 ov); Kenya
254-7 (50 ov).
Group B: Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore - March 6,
1996
Pakistan won by 46 runs. Pakistan 281-5 (50 ov); New
Zealand 235 (47.3 ov).
Quarter-Final: England v Sri
Lanka at Faisalabad - March 9, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets. England 235-8 (50 ov); Sri
Lanka 236-5 (40.4 ov).
Quarter-Final: India v Pakistan
at Bangalore - March 9, 1996
India won by 39 runs. India 287-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 248-9
(49 ov).
Quarter-Final: Australia v New
Zealand at Chennai - March 11, 1996
Australia won by 6 wickets. New Zealand 286-9 (50 ov);
Australia 289-4 (47.5 ov).
Quarter-Final: South Africa v
West Indies at Karachi - March 11, 1996
West Indies won by 19 runs. West Indies 264-8 (50 ov);
South Africa 245 (49.3 ov).
Semi-Final: India v Sri Lanka at
Calcutta (Kolkata) - March 13, 1996
Sri Lanka won (match conceded). Sri Lanka 251-8 (50 ov);
India 120-8 (34.1 ov).
Semi-Final: Australia v West
Indies at Mohali - March 14, 1996
Australia won by 5 runs. Australia 207-8 (50 ov); West
Indies 202 (49.3 ov).
Final: Australia v Sri Lanka at
Lahore - March 17, 1996
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets. Australia 241-7 (50 ov); Sri
Lanka 245-3 (46.2 ov). |
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