Harbhajan Singh

Full name: Harbhajan Singh
Nicknames: Bhajji, Turbanator
Born: July 3, 1980, Jullundur (now Jalandhar), Punjab
Major teams: India, Punjab, Reebok XI, Surrey

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Test debut: India v Australia at Bangalore - Mar 25-28, 1998

ODI debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah - Apr 17, 1998

Twenty20 debut: South Africa v India at Johannesburg - Dec 1, 2006

PROFILE
Harbhajan Singh is the only son of businessman Sardar Sardev Singh who owned a ball bearing and valve factory. Bhajji was to take up the family business but he showed interest in sports and specially in cricket. So his father encouraged him to take up cricket as career and reach the national team. Harbhajan was initially trained as a batsman by his first coach, but due to the coach's early demise he took up offspin bowling. Sheer hard work and sweating helped him master spin bowling and become India's most successful offspinner of all times.

Harbhajan made his first class debut in 1997 at the age of 17. Though his performances in the few first class matches he played was just a modest one, he was selected for the national team, ahead of many other better performers. He made his test debut against Australia where he recorded modest figures of 2/136. He was dropped for the ODI series that followed but was selected for ODI series in Sharjah, where he made his ODI debut against New Zealand.

After failing to make a mark in both the ODI and test arena, Harbhajan was regularly dropped from the team. Also Anil Kumble was back in form to head the spin attack. During the two year phase, from 1999 to 2001, Harbhajan Singh remained completely out of international cricket being overlooked as the selectors tried other spinners including Kartik, Sunil Joshi and Sarandeep Singh. The revival for this offspinner came in the Border-Gavaskar trophy held in March, 2001. It was Harbhajan who led the spin attack. He even recorded a hat-trick (Ponting, Gilcrist, Warne) to become the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Tests. He managed to take a whooping 32 wickets in the series claiming well deserved Man of the Series award and two Man of the Match award.

Harbhajan has not been able to maintain that top class form he showed against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Though he was included in the squad for the next series but was subsequently dropped owing to poor performances. After Greg Chappel took over as the coach he has been mainly out of form. His occasional good performances has helped him maintain his place in the squad. The year 2006-07 has seen a drought of wickets for Harbhajan as he failed to quantify on given opportunities. Even then he has been able to make it to the Indian squad for world cup 2007 at the expense of Ramesh Power owing to his previous form.

Hurbhajan has been in news all through his career for one or the other reason. He was reprimanded and fined by the ICC referee in his very first international series as his on-field behaviour was adjudged as breach of ICC code of Conduct. In 2000, when Harbhajan remained out of the team, was expelled on disciplinary grounds by director Hanumant Singh during a training Camp at the National Cricket Academy. In 2002 he sustained minor injuries after he broke into a scuffle with the police personels in Guwahati. Ironically he had been offered the post of an honorary Deputy Superintendent of Punjab Police by the Govt. of Punjab some weeks before. After that he again came into news when he commented on Greg Chappel's tactics. This time he was called by the Punjab Cricket Academy for giving explanations but was not punished after he gave a apology. The most recent case-Harbhajan's appearing in an Royal Stag commercial without a turban created a lot of anger among the orthodox Sikhs.

Bhajji is an aggressive player. He has the rare capability to ball the 'doosra' which is one of the deadliest ball to understand and play. Besides spinning the ball, he can put some quick runs on the board with some huge sixes and lofty fours. He also has to his name 2 fifties while in ODI, he has plenty of 30+ scores.
Veiw Harbhajan's stats athttp://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/29264.html

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Rahul Dravid

Full name: Rahul Sharad Dravid
Nickname: The Wall, Jammy, Mr. Dependable, The Great Wall of India
Born: January 11, 1973, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Major teams: India, Scotland, ACC Asian XI, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent
Education: St. Josephs High School

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position: Occasional wicketkeeper

Test debut: England v India at Lord's - Jun 20-24, 1996

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Singapore - Apr 3, 1996

Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
ICC Test Player of the Year 2004
ICC Player of the Year 2004
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy 2004
Padma Shri 2004

PROFILE

Rahul Dravid born in Indore, grew up in Bangalore as his father worked for Kissan, the company known for jams and pickles. This led his friends to call him Jammy. Rahul showed the interest and excelence in batting from a very early age. Dravid first came to prominence whilst attending a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where his talents were spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at the clinic [1]. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team and was selected for the U-15 Karnataka cricket team, scoring a double century against the U-15 Kerala cricket team. Along with batting he was keeping wickets but left that on the advice of former cricketers. He then showed his calibre in the Ranji Trophy and Dullep Trophy to be ready to represent India at international level.

The first few matches for him at the international level were not that good and soon he was dropped.He made a strong comeback to the team when he scored 95 against England on his test debut in 1996 and since then there has been no looking back. He became the backbone of the Indian batting line up batting at no.3 position. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. Of late, however, Rahul Dravid has defied early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up in ODIs as well as in Tests.

After taking up the captaincy from Saurav Ganguly in 2004, he took India onto a winning spree. Under his captaincy India won 8 matches in a row and 15 consequetive matches chasing total. Also Rahul Dravid has been appointed to lead India in the cricket world cup 2007. So lets see if he can win India their II World Cup!

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WC Remembrances - 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup

Indian captain Saurav Ganguly was quoted as saying "They played as real champions". Yes! The Aussies led from the front by Ricky Ponting, won 2003 ICC cricket world cup defeating India in the finals. The Aussies remained invincible through out the tournament. The final just like the 1999 world cup final came up as a one sided match with India facing a humiliating 125 runs defeat just like that of Pakistan in 1999. Australia, batting first, plundered a hefty 359 in the given 50 overs loosing just 2 wickets. Their captain, Ricky Ponting did the blunder for India. His blistering 140 and Damein Martyn's 88 took Australia well past the previous highest score in a final - the West Indies' 291 (off 60 overs) in 1975. In reply India made a shaky start as man of the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar, lasted for just 4 balls. Except Sehwag, no one could make a considerable contribution to the teams total.

This world cup saw 14 teams contesting with Namibia, Holland and Canada being new to the world cup cricket. Except a 10 group matches being played in Zimbabwe and Kenya, other were played in South Africa. The world cup had all the 14 teams being divided into two pools of 7 teams each and they had a match with each other's. 4 points were awarded for each win and 2 for NR/Tie. The top 3 teams of each pool went into the super-six stage. There each team played 3 matches against the teams who qualified for the super six stage from the other pool. And then the top four teams went to the knockout stage, semifinals, and then came the finals.

The world cup started with a somewhat a rough note as New Zealand and England refused to play their group matches against Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively due to security reasons. Thus these matches were awarded to Kenya and Zimbabwe by walkover. Also Shane Warne tested positive for a banned steroid. Beside this issue the world cup was a grand success. The world cup was full of interesting events. For the first time a non test playing nation(Kenya) reached the semifinals and looked it was ready to carry the trophy before it was defeated by India in the semifinals. Shoiab Akhtar touched the 100 mph mark and Bret Lee showed the vengeance of pace attack. Sachin showed that he is the real master blaster with his brilliant knocks. The innings of John Davis of Canada against West Indies is even more memorable. But unfortunately injury led to a premature retirement for Jonty Rhodes.

Powered by Sachin's batting India showed guts after a shaky start to world cup run. After performing poorly against Holland and loosing the second match against Australia, India came back strongly and remained invincible till the finals before loosing again to Aussies in the finals. In their world cup outing India also made two 300+ scores. Brilliant batting by Sachin also fetched him the man of the series and three man of the match awards.

Summary of results

Pool B: South Africa v West Indies at Cape Town - February 9, 2003
West Indies won by 3 runs. West Indies 278-5 (50 ov); South Africa 275-9 (49 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Namibia at Harare - February 10, 2003
Zimbabwe won by 86 runs. Zimbabwe 340-2 (50 ov); Namibia 104-5 (25.1 ov).

Pool B: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Bloemfontein - February 10, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 47 runs. Sri Lanka 272-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 225 (45.3 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Pakistan at Johannesburg - February 11, 2003
Australia won by 82 runs. Australia 310-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 228 (44.3 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Canada at Durban - February 11, 2003
Canada won by 60 runs. Canada 180 (49.1 ov); Bangladesh 120 (28 ov).

Pool A: India v Netherlands at Paarl - February 12, 2003
India won by 68 runs. India 204 (48.5 ov); Netherlands 136 (48.1 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Kenya at Potchefstroom - February 12, 2003
South Africa won by 10 wickets. Kenya 140 (38 ov); South Africa 142-0 (21.2 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v England at Harare - February 13, 2003
Zimbabwe won by a walkover.

Pool B: New Zealand v West Indies at Port Elizabeth - February 13, 2003
New Zealand won by 20 runs. New Zealand 241-7 (50 ov); West Indies 221 (49.4 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Pietermaritzburg - February 14, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets. Bangladesh 124 (31.1 ov); Sri Lanka 126-0 (21.1 ov).

Pool A: Australia v India at Centurion - February 15, 2003
Australia won by 9 wickets. India 125 (41.4 ov); Australia 128-1 (22.2 ov).

Pool B: Canada v Kenya at Cape Town - February 15, 2003
Kenya won by 4 wickets. Canada 197 (49 ov); Kenya 198-6 (48.3 ov).

Pool A: England v Netherlands at East London - February 16, 2003
England won by 6 wickets. Netherlands 142-9 (50 ov); England 144-4 (23.2 ov).

Pool A: Namibia v Pakistan at Kimberley - February 16, 2003
Pakistan won by 171 runs. Pakistan 255-9 (50 ov); Namibia 84 (17.4 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v New Zealand at Johannesburg - February 16, 2003
New Zealand won by 9 wickets. South Africa 306-6 (50 ov); New Zealand 229-1 (36.5 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v West Indies at Benoni - February 18, 2003
No result. West Indies 244-9 (50 ov); Bangladesh 32-2 (8.1 ov).

Pool A: England v Namibia at Port Elizabeth - February 19, 2003
England won by 55 runs. England 272 (50 ov); Namibia 217-9 (50 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v India at Harare - February 19, 2003
India won by 83 runs. India 255-7 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 172 (44.4 ov).

Pool B: Canada v Sri Lanka at Paarl - February 19, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets. Canada 36 (18.4 ov); Sri Lanka 37-1 (4.4 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Netherlands at Potchefstroom - February 20, 2003
Australia won by 75 runs. Australia 170-2 (36 ov); Netherlands 122 (30.2 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v New Zealand at Nairobi - February 21, 2003
Kenya won by a walkover.

Pool A: England v Pakistan at Cape Town - February 22, 2003
England won by 112 runs. England 246-8 (50 ov); Pakistan 134 (31 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Bangladesh at Bloemfontein - February 22, 2003
South Africa won by 10 wickets. Bangladesh 108 (35.1 ov); South Africa 109-0 (12 ov).

Pool A: India v Namibia at Pietermaritzburg - February 23, 2003
India won by 181 runs. India 311-2 (50 ov); Namibia 130 (42.3 ov).

Pool B: Canada v West Indies at Centurion - February 23, 2003
West Indies won by 7 wickets. Canada 202 (42.5 ov); West Indies 206-3 (20.3 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Australia at Bulawayo - February 24, 2003
Australia won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 246-9 (50 ov); Australia 248-3 (47.3 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v Sri Lanka at Nairobi - February 24, 2003
Kenya won by 53 runs. Kenya 210-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 157 (45 ov).

Pool A: Netherlands v Pakistan at Paarl - February 25, 2003
Pakistan won by 97 runs. Pakistan 253-9 (50 ov); Netherlands 156 (39.3 ov).

Pool A: England v India at Durban - February 26, 2003
India won by 82 runs. India 250-9 (50 ov); England 168 (45.3 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v New Zealand at Kimberley - February 26, 2003
New Zealand won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 198-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 199-3 (33.3 ov).

Pool A: Australia v Namibia at Potchefstroom - February 27, 2003
Australia won by 256 runs. Australia 301-6 (50 ov); Namibia 45 (14 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Canada at East London - February 27, 2003
South Africa won by 118 runs. South Africa 254-8 (50 ov); Canada 136-5 (50 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Netherlands at Bulawayo - February 28, 2003
Zimbabwe won by 99 runs. Zimbabwe 301-8 (50 ov); Netherlands 202-9 (50 ov).

Pool B: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Cape Town - February 28, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 6 runs. Sri Lanka 228-6 (50 ov); West Indies 222-9 (50 ov).

Pool A: India v Pakistan at Centurion - March 1, 2003
India won by 6 wickets. Pakistan 273-7 (50 ov); India 276-4 (45.4 ov).

Pool B: Bangladesh v Kenya at Johannesburg - March 1, 2003
Kenya won by 32 runs. Kenya 217-7 (50 ov); Bangladesh 185 (47.2 ov).

Pool A: Australia v England at Port Elizabeth - March 2, 2003
Australia won by 2 wickets. England 204-8 (50 ov); Australia 208-8 (49.4 ov).

Pool A: Namibia v Netherlands at Bloemfontein - March 3, 2003
Netherlands won by 64 runs. Netherlands 314-4 (50 ov); Namibia 250 (46.5 ov).

Pool B: Canada v New Zealand at Benoni - March 3, 2003
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. Canada 196 (47 ov); New Zealand 197-5 (23 ov).

Pool B: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Durban - March 3, 2003
Match tied. Sri Lanka 268-9 (50 ov); South Africa 229-6 (45 ov).

Pool A: Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Bulawayo - March 4, 2003
No result. Pakistan 73-3 (14 ov).

Pool B: Kenya v West Indies at Kimberley - March 4, 2003
West Indies won by 142 runs. West Indies 246-7 (50 ov); Kenya 104 (35.5 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Sri Lanka at Centurion - March 7, 2003
Australia won by 96 runs. Australia 319-5 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 223 (47.4 ov).

Super Six: India v Kenya at Cape Town - March 7, 2003
India won by 6 wickets. Kenya 225-6 (50 ov); India 226-4 (47.5 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein - March 8, 2003
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Zimbabwe 252-7 (50 ov); New Zealand 253-4 (47.2 ov).

Super Six: India v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - March 10, 2003
India won by 183 runs. India 292-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 109 (23 ov).

Super Six: Australia v New Zealand at Port Elizabeth - March 11, 2003
Australia won by 96 runs. Australia 208-9 (50 ov); New Zealand 112 (30.1 ov).

Super Six: Kenya v Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein - March 12, 2003
Kenya won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 133 (44.1 ov); Kenya 135-3 (26 ov).

Super Six: India v New Zealand at Centurion - March 14, 2003
India won by 7 wickets. New Zealand 146 (45.1 ov); India 150-3 (40.4 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Kenya at Durban - March 15, 2003
Australia won by 5 wickets. Kenya 174-8 (50 ov); Australia 178-5 (31.2 ov).

Super Six: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at East London - March 15, 2003
Sri Lanka won by 74 runs. Sri Lanka 256-5 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 182 (41.5 ov).

Semi-Final: Australia v Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth - March 18, 2003
Australia won by 48 runs. Australia 212-7 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 123-7 (38.1 ov).

Semi-Final: India v Kenya at Durban - March 20, 2003
India won by 91 runs. India 270-4 (50 ov); Kenya 179 (46.2 ov).

Final: Australia v India at Johannesburg - March 23, 2003
Australia won by 125 runs. Australia 359-2 (50 ov); India 234 (39.2 ov).

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WC Remembrances - 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup

In 7th version of the ICC cricket world cup, Australia emerged victorious, comprehensively beating Pakistan in the finals by a whooping 8 wickets. Pakistan, which throughout the world cup looked in great touch, lost it when they needed the most. While the Australians who just cleared every stage to enter next stage, produced a major setback in the finals when they bowled out the Paks for just 132 and chased it in just 20.1 overs loosing just 2 wickets.

Desperately needing a win to enter the super sixes, Australia won their last group stage game against the West Indies after they had score of just 12 runs in 10 overs, chasing 110. Similarly needing a win to enter the semi-finals, they won the last super six encounter against South Africa. In the semifinals the situation was die-hard when the match was tied because Lance Klusner, the last man left, was run-out with 1 run needing from 3 balls with only 1 wicket remaining, but given the advantage of winning their super sixes match against them. But whatever it is, the Aussies bid farewell to their captain in an ideal way.

The format this time was a bit confusing. The 12 entrants were split into two groups, and the top three in each group went into the Super Six, carrying with them the points they had earned against the two teams who had also qualified from their group. They then played the qualifying teams from the other group, creating a final all-played-all league table, with the top four going into the semi-finals. Confused? Most people were.

Also there were some matches/statistics, which can't be forgotten. The first one is the team in form, Pakistan, loosing to minnows Bangladesh in the group stage. Also at the end of the group stage they had won all except match against Bangladesh. Quite debatable! Also once again the Proteas lost a berth in the finals when they deserved it, because of their semi-final match tied with a Australia. And another, Zimbabwe firstly got a place in the super sixes leaving behind the Lankans and the British and after that was placed at the top among the teams which qualified for the super sixes before its start.

The players who bid farewell to world cup cricket include many high profile names. It includes the duo of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose (who topped the list of most economical bowlers), Arjun Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva (last world cup heroes) and not to mention the Waugh brothers. But there were three people besides them, Shane Warne (after failing drugs test during 2003 world cup), Mohammad Azharuddin and Hansie Cronje (due the match fixing scandal).

As for India, they were somewhat unfortunate. They entered the super six matches with empty pockets as both the countries against whom they had lost the group matches also qualified for the super sixes. In the super sixes they were ruled out even after securing a comprehensive victory over the then world cup favorites, Pakistan. But the present India captain, Rahul Dravid got his name enshrined in the world cup history when he topped the most runs table with 461 runs.

A summary of results

Group A: England v Sri Lanka at Lord's - May 14, 1999
England won by 8 wickets. Sri Lanka 204 (48.4 ov); England 207-2 (46.5 ov).

Group A: India v South Africa at Hove - May 15, 1999
South Africa won by 4 wickets. India 253-5 (50 ov); South Africa 254-6 (47.2 ov).

Group A: Kenya v Zimbabwe at Taunton - May 15, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets. Kenya 229-7 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 231-5 (41 ov).

Group B: Australia v Scotland at Worcester - May 16, 1999
Australia won by 6 wickets. Scotland 181-7 (50 ov); Australia 182-4 (44.5 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v West Indies at Bristol - May 16, 1999
Pakistan won by 27 runs. Pakistan 229-8 (50 ov); West Indies 202 (48.5 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v New Zealand at Chelmsford - May 17, 1999
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Bangladesh 116 (37.4 ov); New Zealand 117-4 (33 ov).

Group A: England v Kenya at Canterbury - May 18, 1999
England won by 9 wickets. Kenya 203 (49.4 ov); England 204-1 (39 ov).

Group A: India v Zimbabwe at Leicester - May 19, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 3 runs. Zimbabwe 252-9 (50 ov); India 249 (45 ov).

Group A: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Northampton - May 19, 1999
South Africa won by 89 runs. South Africa 199-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 110 (35.2 ov).

Group B: Australia v New Zealand at Cardiff - May 20, 1999
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. Australia 213-8 (50 ov); New Zealand 214-5 (45.2 ov).

Group B: Pakistan v Scotland at Chester-le-Street - May 20, 1999
Pakistan won by 94 runs. Pakistan 261-6 (50 ov); Scotland 167 (38.5 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v West Indies at Dublin - May 21, 1999
West Indies won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 182 (49.2 ov); West Indies 183-3 (46.3 ov).

Group A: England v South Africa at The Oval - May 22, 1999
South Africa won by 122 runs. South Africa 225-7 (50 ov); England 103 (41 ov).

Group A: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Worcester - May 22, 1999
Sri Lanka won by 4 wickets. Zimbabwe 197-9 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 198-6 (46 ov).

Group A: India v Kenya at Bristol - May 23, 1999
India won by 94 runs. India 329-2 (50 ov); Kenya 235-7 (50 ov).

Group B: Australia v Pakistan at Leeds - May 23, 1999
Pakistan won by 10 runs. Pakistan 275-8 (50 ov); Australia 265 (49.5 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v West Indies at Southampton - May 24, 1999
West Indies won by 7 wickets. New Zealand 156 (48.1 ov); West Indies 158-3 (44.2 ov).

Group B: Scotland v Bangladesh at Edinburgh - May 24, 1999
Bangladesh won by 22 runs. Bangladesh 185-9 (50 ov); Scotland 163 (46.2 ov).

Group A: England v Zimbabwe at Nottingham - May 25, 1999
England won by 7 wickets. Zimbabwe 167-8 (50 ov); England 168-3 (38.3 ov).

Group A: India v Sri Lanka at Taunton - May 26, 1999
India won by 157 runs. India 373-6 (50 ov); Sri Lanka 216 (42.3 ov).

Group A: Kenya v South Africa at Amstelveen - May 26, 1999
South Africa won by 7 wickets. Kenya 152 (44.3 ov); South Africa 153-3 (41 ov).

Group B: Australia v Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street - May 27, 1999
Australia won by 7 wickets. Bangladesh 178-7 (50 ov); Australia 181-3 (19.5 ov).

Group B: Scotland v West Indies at Leicester - May 27, 1999
West Indies won by 8 wickets. Scotland 68 (31.3 ov); West Indies 70-2 (10.1 ov).

Group B: New Zealand v Pakistan at Derby - May 28, 1999
Pakistan won by 62 runs. Pakistan 269-8 (50 ov); New Zealand 207-8 (50 ov).

Group A: England v India at Birmingham - May 29, 1999
India won by 63 runs. India 232-8 (50 ov); England 169 (45.2 ov).

Group A: South Africa v Zimbabwe at Chelmsford - May 29, 1999
Zimbabwe won by 48 runs. Zimbabwe 233-6 (50 ov); South Africa 185 (47.2 ov).

Group A: Kenya v Sri Lanka at Southampton - May 30, 1999
Sri Lanka won by 45 runs. Sri Lanka 275-8 (50 ov); Kenya 230-6 (50 ov).

Group B: Australia v West Indies at Manchester - May 30, 1999
Australia won by 6 wickets. West Indies 110 (46.4 ov); Australia 111-4 (40.4 ov).

Group B: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Northampton - May 31, 1999
Bangladesh won by 62 runs. Bangladesh 223-9 (50 ov); Pakistan 161 (44.3 ov).

Group B: Scotland v New Zealand at Edinburgh - May 31, 1999
New Zealand won by 6 wickets. Scotland 121 (42.1 ov); New Zealand 123-4 (17.5 ov).

Super Six: Australia v India at The Oval - June 4, 1999
Australia won by 77 runs. Australia 282-6 (50 ov); India 205 (48.2 ov).

Super Six: Pakistan v South Africa at Nottingham - June 5, 1999
South Africa won by 3 wickets. Pakistan 220-7 (50 ov); South Africa 221-7 (49 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Leeds - June 6, 1999
No result. Zimbabwe 175 (49.3 ov); New Zealand 70-3 (15 ov).

Super Six: India v Pakistan at Manchester - June 8, 1999
India won by 47 runs. India 227-6 (50 ov); Pakistan 180 (45.3 ov).

Super Six: Australia v Zimbabwe at Lord's - June 9, 1999
Australia won by 44 runs. Australia 303-4 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 259-6 (50 ov).

Super Six: New Zealand v South Africa at Birmingham - June 10, 1999
South Africa won by 74 runs. South Africa 287-5 (50 ov); New Zealand 213-8 (50 ov).

Super Six: Pakistan v Zimbabwe at The Oval - June 11, 1999
Pakistan won by 148 runs. Pakistan 271-9 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 123 (40.3 ov).

Super Six: India v New Zealand at Nottingham - June 12, 1999
New Zealand won by 5 wickets. India 251-6 (50 ov); New Zealand 253-5 (48.2 ov).

Super Six: Australia v South Africa at Leeds - June 13, 1999
Australia won by 5 wickets. South Africa 271-7 (50 ov); Australia 272-5 (49.4 ov).

Semi-Final: New Zealand v Pakistan at Manchester - June 16, 1999
Pakistan won by 9 wickets. New Zealand 241-7 (50 ov); Pakistan 242-1 (47.3 ov).

Semi-Final: Australia v South Africa at Birmingham - June 17, 1999
Match tied. Australia 213 (49.2 ov); South Africa 213 (49.4 ov).

Final: Australia v Pakistan at Lord's - June 20, 1999
Australia won by 8 wickets. Pakistan 132 (39 ov); Australia 133-2 (20.1 ov).

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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).

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