1996 Cricket World Cup

Sri Lankan players celebrating after their victory over Australia in the final Sri Lankan players celebrating after their victory over Australia in the final

The 1996 Cricket World Cup (aka Wills World Cup) was won by Sri Lanka who beat Australia by 7 wickets at the final in Lahore.

The 1996 World Cup was played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Controversy dogged the tournament before any games were played, however, when Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka following the Central Bank Bombing by the Tamil Tigers in January, citing security concerns. Sri Lanka, in addition to offering maximum security to the teams, questioned the validity of citing security concerns when the International Cricket Council had determined it was safe. After extensive negotiations ICC ruled that Sri Lanka would be awarded both games on forfeit.

Three teams made their World Cup debuts in 1996: the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Kenya. The Netherlands lost each of their five matches while the U.A.E. only beat the Dutch. Kenya, however, recorded a surprise victory over the West Indies in Pune.

The Sri Lankans, coached by Dav Whatmore and captained by Arjuna Ranatunga, used Man of the Series Sanath Jayasuriya^[1] and Romesh Kaluwitharana as opening batsmen to take advantage of the fielding restrictions during the first 15 overs of each innings. At a time when 50 or 60 runs in the first 15 overs was considered adequate, Sri Lanka scored 117 runs in those overs against India, 123 against Kenya, 121 against England in the quarter-final and 86 against India in the semi-final. Against Kenya, Sri Lanka made 398 for 5, a new record for the highest team score in a one-day international that stood until April 2006.

Sri Lanka won the first semi-final over India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in front of a crowd unofficially estimated at 110 000. Chasing Sri Lanka's innings of 251 for 8, India had slumped to 120 for 8 in the 35th over when sections of crowd began to throw fruit and plastic bottles onto the field. The players left the field for 20 minutes in an attempt to quieten the crowd. When the players returned for play, more bottles were thrown onto the field and fires were lit in the stand. Match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the match to Sri Lanka, the first default ever in a Test or One-day international.

In the second semi-final in Mohali, Australia recovered from 15 for 4 to reach 207 for 8 from their 50 overs. The West Indians had reached 165 for 2 in the 42nd over before losing their last 8 wickets for 37 runs in 50 balls.

Sri Lanka won the toss in the final and sent Australia in to bat despite the team batting first having won all five previous World Cup finals. Mark Taylor top scored with 74 in Australia's total of 241 for 7. After Australia had put down no fewer than five catches, Sri Lanka won the match in the 47th over with Aravinda de Silva following his 3 for 42 with an unbeaten 107 to win the Player of the Match award. It was the first time a tournament host or co-host had won the cricket World Cup.

Group Stage Results

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	NR	T	NRR
	10	5	5	0	0	0	1.60
	6	5	3	2	0	0	0.90
	6	5	3	2	0	0	0.45
West Indies	4	5	2	3	0	0	−0.13
	2	5	1	4	0	0	−0.93
	2	5	1	4	0	0	−1.00

• West Indies v Zimbabwe at Hyderabad, India - 16 February 1996
• Zimbabwe 151-9 (Curtley Ambrose 3-28) (50 ov); West Indies 155-4 (Paul Strang 4-40) (29.3 ov). West Indies won by 6 wickets.
• Sri Lanka v Australia at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo - 17 February 1996
• Sri Lanka won on forfeit.
• India v Kenya at Cuttack - 18 February 1996
• Kenya 199-6 (Steve Tikolo 65, Anil Kumble 3-28) (50 ov); India 203-3 (Sachin Tendulkar 127*, Ajay Jadeja 53) (41.5 ov). India won by 7 wickets.
• Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo - 21 February 1996
• Zimbabwe 228-6 (Alistair Campbell 75) (50 ov); Sri Lanka 229-4 (Aravinda de Silva 91, Asanka Gurusinha 87, Heath Streak 3-60) (37 ov). Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets.
• India v West Indies at Gwalior - 21 February 1996
• West Indies 173 (Anil Kumble 3-35, Manoj Prabhakar 3-39) (50 ov); India 174-5 (Sachin Tendulkar 70) (39.4 ov). India won by 5 wickets.
• Australia v Kenya at Visakhapatnam - 23 February 1996
• Australia 304-7 (Mark Waugh 130, Steve Waugh 82, R. Ali 3-45) (50 ov); Kenya 207-7 (Kennedy Otieno 85, Maurice Odumbe 50) (50 ov). Australia won by 97 runs.
• Sri Lanka v West Indies at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo - 26 February 1996
• Sri Lanka won on forfeit.
• Kenya v Zimbabwe at Patna - 27 February 1996
• Kenya 134 (Paul Strang 5-21) (49.4 ov); Zimbabwe 137-5 (Rajab Ali 3-22) (42.2 ov). Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets.
• India v Australia at Mumbai - 27 February 1996
• Australia 258 (Mark Waugh 126, Mark Taylor 59) (50 ov); India 242 (Sachin Tendulkar 90, Sanjay Manjrekar 62, Damien Fleming 5-36) (48 ov). Australia won by 16 runs.
• Kenya v West Indies at Pune - 29 February 1996
• Kenya 166 (Roger Harper 3-15, Courtney Walsh 3-46) (49.3 ov); West Indies 93 (Maurice Odumbe 3-15; Rajab Ali 3-17) (35.2 ov). Kenya won by 73 runs.
• Australia v Zimbabwe at Nagpur - 1 March 1996
• Zimbabwe 154 (Andrew Waller 67, Shane Warne 4-34) (45.3 ov); Australia 158-2 (Mark Waugh 76*) (36 ov). Australia won by 8 wickets.
• India v Sri Lanka at New Delhi - 2 March 1996
• India 271-3 (Sachin Tendulkar 137, Mohammad Azharuddin 72*) (50 ov); Sri Lanka 272-4 (Sanath Jayasuriya 79, Hashan Tillakaratne 70*) (48.4 ov). Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets.
• Australia v West Indies at Jaipur - 4 March 1996
• Australia 229-6 (Ricky Ponting 102, Steve Waugh 57) (50 ov); West Indies 232-6 (Richie Richardson 93*, Brian Lara 60, Mark Waugh 3-38) (48.5 ov). West Indies won by 4 wickets.
• India v Zimbabwe at Kanpur - 6 March 1996
• India 247-5 (Vinod Kambli 106, Navjot Singh Sidhu 80) (50 ov); Zimbabwe 207 (Venkatapathy Raju 3-30) (49.4 ov). India won by 40 runs.
• Sri Lanka v Kenya at Kandy - 6 March 1996
• Sri Lanka 398-5 (Aravinda de Silva 145, Asanka Gurusinha 84, Arjuna Ranatunga 75*) (50 ov); Kenya 254-7 (Steve Tikolo 96) (50 ov). Sri Lanka won by 144 runs.

The Sri Lanka v Australia and Sri Lanka v West Indies matches were both awarded to Sri Lanka on forfeit after Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	NR	T	NRR
	10	5	5	0	0	0	2.04
	8	5	4	1	0	0	0.96
	6	5	3	2	0	0	0.55
	4	5	2	3	0	0	0.08
	2	5	1	4	0	0	−1.83
	0	5	0	5	0	0	−1.92

• England v New Zealand in Ahmedabad - 14 February 1996
• New Zealand 239-6 (Nathan Astle 101) (50 ov); England 228-9 (Graeme Hick 85, Dion Nash 3-26) (50 ov). New Zealand won by 11 runs.
• South Africa v United Arab Emirates in Rawalpindi - 16 February 1996
• South Africa 321-2 (Gary Kirsten 188*, Hansie Cronje 57*) (50 ov); U.A.E. 152-8 (Brian McMillan 3-11, Allan Donald 3-21) (50 ov). South Africa won by 169 runs.
• Netherlands v New Zealand at Baroda - 17 February 1996
• New Zealand 307-8 (Craig Spearman 68, Stephen Fleming 66, Adam Parore 55, Chris Cairns 52, Steven Lubbers 3-48) (50 ov); Netherlands 188-7 (Chris Harris 3-24) (50 ov). New Zealand won by 119 runs.
• England v United Arab Emirates at Peshawar - 18 February 1996
• U.A.E. 136 (Neil Smith 3-29) (48.3 ov); England 140-2 (35 ov). England won by 8 wickets.
• New Zealand v South Africa at Faisalabad - 20 February 1996
• New Zealand 177-9 (Allan Donald 3-34) (50 ov); South Africa 178-5 (Hansie Cronje 78) (37.3 ov). South Africa won by 5 wickets.
• England v Netherlands at Peshawar - 22 February 1996
• England 279-4 (Graeme Hick 104*, Graham Thorpe 89) (50 ov); Netherlands 230-6 (Klaas van Noortwijk 64, Bas Zuiderent 54, Phillip DeFreitas 3-31) (50 ov). England won by 49 runs.
• Pakistan v United Arab Emirates at Gujranwala - 24 February 1996
• U.A.E. 109-9 (Mushtaq Ahmed 3-16) (33 ov); Pakistan 112-1 (Ijaz Ahmed 50*) (18 ov). Pakistan won by 9 wickets.
• England v South Africa at Rawalpindi - 25 February 1996
• South Africa 230 (Peter Martin 3-33) (50 ov); England 152 (44.3 ov). South Africa won by 78 runs.
• Pakistan v Netherlands at Lahore - 26 February 1996
• Netherlands 145-7 (Flavian Aponso 58, Waqar Younis 4-26) (50 ov); Pakistan 151-2 (Saeed Anwar 83*) (30.4 ov). Pakistan won by 8 wickets.
• New Zealand v United Arab Emirates at Faisalabad - 27 February 1996
• New Zealand 276-8 (Roger Twose 92, Craig Spearman 78, Azhar Saeed 3-45) (47 ov); U.A.E. 167-9 (Shane Thomson 3-20) (47 ov). New Zealand won by 109 runs.
• Pakistan v South Africa at Karachi - 29 February 1996
• Pakistan 242-6 (Aamir Sohail 111) (50 ov); South Africa 243-5 (Daryll Cullinan 65, Waqar Younis 3-50) (44.2 ov). South Africa won by 5 wickets.
• Netherlands v United Arab Emirates at Lahore - 1 March 1996
• Netherlands 216-9 (Shaukat Dukanwala 5-29) (50 ov); U.A.E. 220-3 (Saleem Raza 84, Mohammad Ishaq 51*) (44.2 ov). United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets.
• Pakistan v England at Karachi - 3 March 1996
• England 249-9 (Robin Smith 75, Mike Atherton 66, Graham Thorpe 52*, Mushtaq Ahmed 3-53) (50 ov); Pakistan 250-3 (Saeed Anwar 71, Ijaz Ahmed 70, Inzamam-ul-haq 53*) (47.4 ov). Pakistan won by 7 wickets.
• Netherlands v South Africa at Rawalpindi - 5 March 1996
• South Africa 328-3 (Andrew Hudson 161, Gary Kirsten 83) (50 ov); Netherlands 168-8 (50 ov). South Africa won by 160 runs.
• Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore - 6 March 1996
• Pakistan 281-5 (Saeed Anwar 62, Saleem Malik 55*, Aamir Sohail 50) (50 ov); New Zealand 235 (47.3 ov). Pakistan won by 46 runs.

Knockout Stage

Quarter Finals

• England v Sri Lanka at Faisalabad - 9 March 1996
• England 235-8 (Phillip DeFreitas 67) (50 ov)
• Sri Lanka 236-5 (Sanath Jayasuriya 82) (40.4 ov).
• Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets.
• India v Pakistan at Bangalore - 9 March 1996
• India 287-8 (Navjot Singh Sidhu 93) (50 ov)
• Pakistan 248-9 (Aamir Sohail 55, Venkatesh Prasad 3-45, Anil Kumble 3-48) (49 ov)
• India won by 39 runs.
• South Africa v West Indies at Karachi - 11 March 1996
• West Indies 264-8 (Brian Lara 111, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 56) (50 ov)
• South Africa 245 (Daryll Cullinan 69, Andrew Hudson 54, Roger Harper 4-47, Jimmy Adams 3-53) (49.3 ov)
• West Indies won by 19 runs.
• Australia v New Zealand at Chennai - 11 March 1996
• New Zealand 286-9 (Chris Harris 130, Lee Germon 89) (50 ov)
• Australia 289-4 (Mark Waugh 110, Steve Waugh 59*) (47.5 ov).
• Australia won by 6 wickets.

Semi Finals

13 March, 1996
		vs		was awarded the match Eden Gardens, Calcutta, India Umpires: Steve Dunne and Cyril Mitchley Man of the Match: Aravinda de Silva
	Aravinda de Silva 66 (47) Javagal Srinath 3/34 (7 overs)	scorecard	Sachin Tendulkar 65 (88) Sanath Jayasuriya 3/12 (7 overs)
*The match was awarded to Sri Lanka by match referee Clive Lloyd when play could not continue due to the rioting crowd.

---

14 March, 1996
		vs	West Indies 202 all out (49.3 overs)	won by 5 runs Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, India Umpires: B.C. Cooray and S Venkataraghavan Man of the Match: Shane Warne
	Stuart Law 72 (105) Curtly Ambrose 2/26 (10 overs)	scorecard	Shivnarine Chanderpaul 80 (126) Shane Warne 4/36 (9 overs)

Final

17 March, 1996
		vs		won by 7 wickets Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd Man of the Match: Aravinda de Silva
	Mark Taylor 74 (83) Aravinda de Silva 3/42 (9 overs)	scorecard	Aravinda de Silva 107 (124) Damien Fleming 1/43 (6 overs)

Statistics

'''Leading run scorers Runs Player Country 523 Sachin Tendulkar 484 Mark Waugh 448 Aravinda de Silva 391 Gary Kirsten 329 Saeed Anwar

Leading wicket takers Wickets Player Country 15 Anil Kumble 13 Waqar Younis 12 Paul Strang Roger Harper  West Indies Damien Fleming Shane Warne

Notes and references

External links

• Cricket World Cup 1996 Scorecardsin CricketFundas
• Cricket World Cup 1996 from Cricinfo

Cricket World Cup  •  • [ e]
England 1975 England 1979 England 1983 India/Pakistan 1987 Australia/New Zealand 1992 India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka 1996 England 1999 South Africa 2003 West Indies 2007 ''South Asia 2011 ''Australia/New Zealand 2015 ''England 2019
Awards Format History Hosts Media Qualification Records Teams Trophy