The
1996 ICC Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 after the Wills Navy Cut brand produced by tournament sponsor ITC, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World C ...
Final was the sixth installment of the ICC
Cricket World Cup
The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...
since its inception in 1975 in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The match was played on 17 March 1996 at
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
's 65,250 capacity
Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capacit ...
in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
for the first time.
The match was contested between former World Cup winners
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. It was Australia's 3rd World Cup final appearance after their win in the
1987 edition and the loss to
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
in the
1975 ICC Cricket World Cup
The 1975 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '75) was the inaugural men's Cricket World Cup, and the first major tournament in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket. Organised by the International Cricket Con ...
final.
Sri Lankan captain
Arjuna Ranatunga
Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga ( si, අර්ජුන රණතුංග; ta, அர்ஜூன ரணதுங்க; born 1 December 1963), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and politician, who was the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning captain ...
won the toss and sent Australia out to bat. After a blazing start from captain
Mark Taylor and young superstar and future captain
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
, Australia fell from being 1–137 to 5–170 after which Sri Lanka's 4 prong spin attack took its toll. After Australia limped to 7–241 in its quota of 50 overs, Sri Lanka overcame a nervous start where they lost both openers before the score was 30, to win in 45 overs. Sri Lankan batting sensation
Aravinda De Silva
Deshabandu Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva ( si, අරවින්ද ද සිල්වා; born 17 October 1965) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain, who has also played in English county cricket. de Silva helped Sri Lanka to win the ...
played a match-winning knock of 107 not out and was assisted ably by fellow veterans Asanka Gurusingha (65) and captain Ranatunga (47 not out). De Silva was named man of the match after he had taken 3–42 in his 10 overs earlier in the Australian innings as well
&
Sanath Jayasuriya
Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya ( si, සනත් ජයසූරිය, ta, சனத் ஜெயசூர்யா; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a captain. He is credited for having revolutionized one-day in ...
got
man of the series
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
award.
Background
Australia and Sri Lanka had never previously faced each other in a major tournament final. Australia were former winners of the World Cup in 1987 whilst Sri Lanka had never gotten past the group stages of the competition. The two teams however, had a fierce rivalry stemming from Sri Lanka's tour to Australia in the summer of 1995/1996. Their up-and-coming spin bowler
Muttiah Muralitharan
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...
was the subject of much scrutiny during the tour as he was called for 'chucking' during the Boxing Day Test of 1995 by field umpire Darrell Hair. After the test series resulting in a resounding 3–0 win to Australia, the triangular one-day series, known as the 'Benson and Hedges World Series' was a much closer contest. Along with other participants the West Indies, Sri Lanka proved a challenge for the all conquering Australian team, who were not able to win easily like their past fixtures. Sri Lanka brushed the West Indies aside to reach the
final of the tournament against Australia, sporting a full head of steam after defeating Australia in their previous match at the
MCG
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
. However, Australia ran out 2–0 winners and the tension between the teams was evident through the post-tournament celebrations. Mark Taylor, Australia's captain had offered to shake the hand of Ranatunga, who declined. Many thought that this was due to the Muralitharan affair. Many Sri Lankans cited the incident as an act of racism and discrimination towards the Sri Lankans and to Muralitharan himself. This was augmented by the chants from the fanatic Australian fans yelling ''No Ball!!'' every time Muralitharan bowled a ball. Tensions, further overboiled with Australia refusing to play a scheduled World Cup group match in Colombo, Sri Lanka due to safety issues. Thus, handing Sri Lanka the points.
Road To Lahore
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka had finished top of Group A ahead of Australia in who were in the same group.
Their first match of the tournament was scheduled to be against Australia themselves at the
R Premadasa Stadium
The R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPS) ( si, ආර්. ප්රේමදාස ක්රීඩාංගනය, ta, ஆர். பிரேமதாச அரங்கம்; also known as Khettarama Stadium, Ranasinghe Prem ...
in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. However, Australia citing safety concerns refused to play the game and forfeited, giving Sri Lanka a handy 2 points. Their next match against Zimbabwe also in Colombo proved to be an easy win for the Lankans with De Silva pounding 91 off 86 balls to lead the chase of 228 in 37 overs. The West Indies then also followed suit handing Sri Lanka a further 2 points for the same reason as the Australians. Sri Lanka then head to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, India to take on an in-form India. Tendulkar blitzed a century before
Sanath Jayasuriya
Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya ( si, සනත් ජයසූරිය, ta, சனத் ஜெயசூர்யா; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a captain. He is credited for having revolutionized one-day in ...
provided some fireworks of his own smashing 79 off 76 balls and leading Sri Lanka to a comfortable 6 wicket win chasing 272 for victory.
Sri Lanka's final group match was against the lowly Kenya who had upset the West Indies earlier in the tournament. However, Sri Lanka were far from complacent as a ruthless batting display lead them to the highest One Day International Team Score ever scoring 5–398 in their 50 overs. De Silva once again the star this time scoring 145.
Sri Lanka then faced England in the quarter-finals of the competition. But the Englishmen proved to be no contest for the Sri Lankan's as new star Sanath Jayasuriya revelled in his opening role scoring a merciless 82 off 44 balls leading Sri Lanka to reach the score of 237 in 40 overs.
The semi-finals saw Sri Lanka pitted against India yet again at the 120,000 seater stadium of
Eden Gardens
The Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata, India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 66,000.
Eden Gardens is often re ...
in Kolkata, India. India were hot favourites to win, despite Sri Lanka's hot form coming into the game. India's home advantage was expected to see them through to the final. Captain
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former international cricketer and former captain of India national cricket team. He is the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and was the Memb ...
won the toss and knowing Sri Lanka's ability to chase down totals whilst batting second, put them in to bat first, even though the pitch was predicted to play up under the floodlights. Sri Lanka's hopes seemed to be dashed as they lost both Jayasuriya and the equally destructive
Romesh Kaluwitharana
Deshabandu Romesh Shantha Kaluwitharana ( si, රොමේෂ් ශාන්ත කලුවිතාරණ; born 24 November 1969) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who represented the Sri Lanka national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He was ...
in the first over of the innings leaving Sri Lanka at 2–0. However, De Silva made a counterattacking 66 off just 47 balls shifting the momentum back to the Lankans. Sri Lanka eventually reached 8–251 from their 50 overs thanks to their long batting order. However, it again looked bleak for Sri Lanka as
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-scor ...
, India's own batting sensation lead India to 1–98 in around 20 overs. But his dismissal triggered an amazing collapse which left the favourites at 8–120. The Kolkata crowd began to throw bottles and other projectiles at the Sri Lankans who were awarded the match by default. On the day, 110,000 plus people attended the event at Eden Gardens
Complete Scorecard
References
External links
Cricket World Cup 1996 Scorecardsin CricketFundasc
Cricket World Cup 1996from ''
ESPNcricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
''
{{Cricket World Cup
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
Gaddafi Stadium
fr:Coupe du monde de cricket de 1996
it:Coppa del Mondo di cricket 1996
nl:Wereldkampioenschap cricket 1996
pt:Copa do Mundo de Críquete de 1996