WC Remembrances - 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup

The sixth edition of the ICC cricket world cup known as the Wills World Cup cricket tournament conducted in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was completely dominated by the Sri Lankans. The Lankans cruised to a 7-wicket victory with 3.4 overs remaining in the finals against the Aussies to win the world cup tournament. It was victory achieved by the dint of hard work and dedication. The Lankans remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and extended their winning streak to the finals at Lahore. In there way to the cup they felled the Zimbabweans, the Kenyans, the Indians and the Australians in the finals. In the finals chasing a target of 241 in 50 overs the Lankans finished the job in 46.2 overs, thanks to the glorious century by Arvinda de Silva.

This world cup was rather an eventful tournament. The world cup started on a rather rough note with Australia and West Indies adamantly refusing to play their group matches in Sri Lanka with an excuse of security reasons, as there had been a bomb blast in Colombo a fortnight ago. Also the opening ceremony was a big flop. The 1 lakh people who gathered for the ceremony were left wondering on what on earth they were watching as the mainstay of the ceremony, the laser show malfunctioned. Even the then BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya was accused for wasting public money and misappropriation of accounts. But what was waiting was even more humiliating. The semi-final at Calcutta between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned after bottle throwing and fire lighting in the terrace after a dismal batting show by India, which is a disgrace for the standards of sportsmanship.

The world cup was characterized by one good thing that the whole world cup was telecasted on TV. As against the last version of the world cup, when on only 9 teams participated, there were 12 teams with 3 non test-playing nations namely Kenya, Holland and UAE. The teams also tried to get more than 100 runs in the first 15 overs rather the trend of 60-70 runs with the trend being set by the Lankans. The Lankan master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya was judged as the most valuable player of the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar topped the most runs table with the most number of runs (523) while Anil Kumble with the most number of wickets (15).

The Indians showed so-so performance. They won 3 of their 5 group matches and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals they won against Pakistan but lost in the semifinals after the match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the match to Sri Lanka.

A summary of the 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).