Such consistently explosive batting at the top of the order was unseen till that time. In those days when 50-60 runs in first 15 overs was considered a good score, Sri Lanka was scoring above 100 runs, which laid a solid platform for the middle order to come in and capitalise on. Sri Lanka won the match easily by 5 wickets with more than 9 overs to spare, thus ending the embarrassing run of English team in the tournament.
If the scoreboard pressure in a knock-out game against India at their soil was not enough, Pakistan had more trouble having fined 1 over for slow over rate. But stand in skipper Aamer Sohail was not going to bow down to the pressure. Along with Saeed Anwar, he got Pakistan off to a flying start, scoring boundaries at will. The Chinnaswamy crowd stunned into silence for some time before Srinath dismissed Anwar. But Sohail was not perturbed. If anything, he started playing more aggressively, which created a moment which he would surely want to erase from his memory. After hitting the local boy Venkatesh Prasad through covers for a boundary, he pointed his bat in that direction and gestured to Prasad that he would hit him again through that region. The emotions were flaring, the crowd booing and tension rising. Pakistan still had an upper hand with 9 wickets remaining and scoring above the required rate. But what happened on next ball was truly unexpected and has since been a part of folklore of Indian cricket. Trying to smash Prasad again through covers, Sohail missed the ball and it rattled his stumps. Prasad ran towards him, hurling expletives and gesturing to go back to the pavilion! The noise in the ground was unbelievable. I got goose bumps right now while remembering that incident which I saw ‘live’ as a 9-year-old. It was a moment which demonstrated that Indians will not take aggressive behaviour lying down and will give it back to the opposition, an attitude which was mastered by Sourav Ganguly while at the helm of Indian cricket few years later. But its foundation was laid on that night in Bangalore by a seemingly quiet and lanky bowler.
The fourth quarterfinal was between the trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand in Chennai. It proved to be a high scoring affair. Batting first, the Kiwis scored 286/9, largely due to a 168-run partnership between Chris Harris and captain Lee Germon, who scored 130 and 89 runs respectively. The Kiwis were in with a very good chance to seal their second consecutive world cup semi-final spot. But the Aussies had other plans. Buoyed by yet another majestic century by the classy Mark Waugh (his 3rd in the tournament, equalling the record for most centuries across world cups) and useful contributions by his twin Steve, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne (sent in as a pinch hitter) and Stuart Law, the Aussies reached the target with 2 overs to spare.
Semi-Finals
The two semi-finals were contrasting in nature of how they played out. While one proved to be a one-sided affair, the other was a nail biter. The first one was between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. By now, the whole nation was in a craze, and an Indian win was both being anticipated and prayed for. Indian team was wary of the Lankan attacking batting, especially the openers as India’s bowlers had been at the receiving end of their onslaught in Delhi. That is why it surprised one and all when Indian captain Azharuddin chose to field first after winning the toss. The intention was to not let Lankans do what they are best at doing – chasing totals. His gamble paid off, when Javagal Srinath got rid of both the openers in the 1st over with just 1 run on the board. This was a dream start, which one could not possibly even imagine! Aravinda de Silva, the experienced campaigner for the Lankans, though played one of the finest counter-attacking innings of his life. He scored a quickfire 66 runs off 47 balls, putting the pressure back on Indians. Although he got out when the score had reached just 85, it gave enough confidence to the players like Mahanama, Ranatunga, Tillakaratne and even Chaminda Vaas, to provide valuable contributions and make the team reach a total of 251/7. It was a very good recovery given the terrible start suffered by the innings.
There were allegations of this match being fixed by Azharuddin when his name came up in the match fixing scandal in 2000, but he has stated again and again that decision to field first upon winning the toss was taken in the team meeting, to negate the threat of Lankans chasing ability. However, seeing the dusty state of the pitch in the first innings itself, one can easily say that it was not a wise decision.
The second semi-final also panned out very unexpectedly. Electing to bat first on one of the fastest pitches in India, Australia suffered one of their worst starts to an innings. They were reduced to 15/4 with 2 wickets apiece for Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop. Their prolific opener Mark Waugh was out for a duck, and Aussies were in all sorts of trouble. Stuart Law and Michael Bevan came together for a 138-run partnership and steered the innings to some sort of respectable score. Some good hitting in the end by Ian Healy took the score to 207/8. In reply, the West Indies innings was off to a good start, courtesy Shivnarine Chanderpaul and contributions from Lara and Richardson. At 165/2 at the end of 42nd over, the match was as good as over. But that is when the unbelievable collapse happened. Once Chanderpaul got out, Roger Harper and Ottis Gibson, the lower middle order batsmen were mysteriously promoted above the batsmen Jimmy Adams and Keith Arthurton. A magical spell by Shane Warne, in which he picked up 3 wickets and the wickets taken by other bowlers restricted the Windies and they needed 10 off last over, with 2 wickets in hand.
Final
The final of the world cup was held in Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium on 17th March. Since Sri Lanka was the Asian neighbour of Pakistan (and who had defeated Pakistan’s arch rival India in the semi-final, thus kind of avenging Pakistan’s loss against India in quarter-final), all the support was for Sri Lanka. After winning the toss, Arjuna Ranatunga opted to bowl first. It was a strange decision, seeing what had happened with India in the semi-final on fielding first. Also, history suggested otherwise because all five previous world cup finals had been won by teams batting first. But Arjuna had full faith in his team. The match started well for the Lankans and they removed the dangerous Mark Waugh early. Captain Mark Taylor looked in good touch and scored a fine 74. Apart from 45 from Ricky Ponting and 36 not out by Michael Bevan, there was no major contribution from any other batsman. Australia scored 241/7, with the pick of the bowlers being Aravinda de Silva, who snarled 3 wickets. The total was very good given the pressure of a world cup final.
This world cup is very special for me, as it made me understand the game and made me interested in following it. I still have vivid memories of the first match I watched completely (India vs Australia) and how that innings of Sachin mesmerised me. I followed all the matches of the tournament and felt a newfound joy and excitement with every game I watched. The fact that my uncle was doing cricket commentary for Sky Sports helped too and seeing his name on the TV screen made me realise that I have a close connection with the game. The joy of watching Sachin batting in his element, the explosive hitting of Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana, the ecstasy of India’s win over Pakistan, followed by the utter sorrow of the manner of defeat against the Lankans, the see-saw nature of the semi-final match between Australia and West Indies, and seeing the Lankans win the final made me the Diehardcricketfan that I am today. World Cup 1996 is surely the reason why my love for this great game started, and it only has only grown more and more.
DHCF Nishant Raizaday for diehardcricketfans
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