Pakistan emerged as the winner of the 5th edition of the Cricket World Cup, which increased the popularity of cricket in the sub-continent and the grand event of the sport returned to the sub-continent after 9 years. The three biggest giants of Asian cricket are ready to host the 6th edition of the ODI World Cup. The edition is remembered as the founder of the biggest sporting rivalry across the globe, the mother of all battles (India vs. Pakistan) changed its template in this sixth edition. The two Asian teams were facing each other for the 2nd time, but this time a heated argument between Saeed Anwar and Venkatesh Prasad, gave birth to a new rivalry. 

In continuation to our series ‘A Countdown to World Cup’  today we are sharing the stories of the 1996 World Cup with you. 

World Cup of 1996

The 1996 Cricket World Cup was also called the Wills World Cup 1996, because of sponsorship. All Test-playing nations took part in the competition, including Zimbabwe, who became the ICC’s ninth Test status member since the last World Cup. Three fellow teams (previously one) that qualified through the 1994 ICC Trophy were the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and the Netherlands, which made their World Cup debuts in 1996. The Netherlands lost all five matches, including the loss to the United Arab Emirates, while Kenya pulled off a surprise win over West Indies in Pune. 

Format

The format of the edition was, 12 teams were divided into two groups, where each team played once against the others in a 50-over game. The top four teams in each group advanced to the quarter-finals, where the four winners advanced to the final, followed by the finals. Matches were played during both the day and evening, teams appeared in coloured attire and used the traditional ODI white ball.

Quarter Finals 

Semi-finals 

Sri Lanka unceremoniously defeated India in the first semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in front of a crowd of 110,000. India won the toss and elected to field, having lost both their openers cheaply, Sri Lanka counter-attacked under Aravinda de Silva and overcame a heavy defeat. India started the chase promisingly but after the loss of Sachin Tendulkar, India’s batting order collapsed. After India was reduced to 120 for 8 in the 35th over, a section of the crowd started throwing fruits and plastic bottles on the pitch. The players left the field for 20 minutes to try to silence the crowd. When the players returned to play, more bottles were thrown onto the field and fires were lit in the stands. The match referee, Clive Lloyd, awarded the match to Sri Lanka, which is by default the first Test or One Day International. 

The second semi-final was played between Australia and West Indies at Mohali, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia recovered from 15/4 to post 207/8 in 50 overs. In reply, West Indians reached 165/2 in the 42nd over before losing their last eight wickets for 37 runs in 50 balls and ended up losing the game by 5 runs. 

Finals

Sri Lanka won the toss in the final and sent Australia to bat despite the team winning all five previous World Cup finals batting first. Mark Taylor (74 off 83 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) and Ricky Ponting (45 off 73 balls, 2 fours) shared 101 runs. However, after the dismissal of Ponting and Taylor, Australia slumped from 137/1 to 170/5 as Sri Lanka’s famous four-pronged spin attack took its toll. Despite the slump, Australia struggled to 241/7 from their 50 overs. Sri Lanka won the match in the 47th over with Aravinda de Silva behind his 3/42 to score an unbeaten 107 to win the man of the match award. It was the first time that the host or hosts of the tournament won the Cricket World Cup.

Statistics 

Top Run Scorer

Top Wicket Taker