Sri Lanka became the first host nation and the second South Asian team
to lift the World Cup trophy in 1996, marked by huge spectator
attendance, though security issues, slow-and-low pitches and crowd
trouble triggered controversies.
After nine years, the World Cup
returned to the sub-continent, with Sri Lanka joining Pakistan and India
as co-hosts. However, following a deadly attack in January 1996 by
guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Central
Bank Building at Colombo, Australia and the West Indies refused to play
in the island nation.
Though the authorities promised high level
of security, the two sides remained adamant, and ultimately the
International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to award both matches to Sri
Lanka.
The sixth World Cup drew 12 teams - nine Test playing
nations and three associates the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the
Netherlands and Kenya who qualified from the ICC Trophy in 1994 - and
was staged Feb 14-March 17 at 26 venues spread across the three nations.
The teams were divided into two groups of six teams each, with the top
four from each group making the quarter finals.
Much of the Sri
Lankan success could be attributed to the blistering knocks of their
openers Sanath Jayasuriya, later declared Man-of-the-Series, and
wicketkeeper batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana who made mincemeat of the
opposition bowlers in the first 15 overs by taking advantage of the
fielding restrictions.
India were involved in a thrilling group
game against the eventual champions with, Sachin Tendulkar scoring a
blistering hundred. But it went in vain as Sri Lanka won the match by
six wickets.
Another fiercely competitive match was the
quarter-final at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy stadium between arch-rivals
India and Pakistan, which generated high passion in the two neighbouring
countries. India's opener Navjot Singh Sidhu cracked a superb 93 as
India totalled 287.
In reply, Pakistan lost wickets at regular
intervals as the asking rate escalated. The pressure proved too much and
their batting suffered a collapse. From 231 for five, Pakistan were
reduced to 239 for nine. They ultimately lost the match by 39 runs.
All
hell broke loose in Pakistan. Wild allegations flew. A crestfallen fan
broke his television and then shot himself. Angry fans burnt the effigy
of captain Wasim Akram, who sat out the match with a muscle pull. His
house was also attacked.
The match also signalled the end of the
glorious career of batting great Javed Miandad, which was his sixth
appearance in the World Cup.
The first semi-final raised some
questions and triggered violence at a packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin put Sri Lanka to bat on a newly- laid
track, which experts had predicted could crumble as the match
progressed. Sri Lanka piled 251 foe eight, with batsman Aravinda de
Silva scoring a 47-ball 66.
After the early loss of Sidhu, Sachin
Tendulkar and Sanjay Manjrekar steadied the Indian ship. Tendulkar was
going great guns, but was stumped. Azharudding perished to a return
catch soon after, and the Indian batting crumbled like cookies, as
Jayasuriya and other spinners turned the ball square. From 98 for one,
India slipped to 120 for eight.
A section of the crowd went
berserk and started raining fruits and plastic bottles on the outfield.
They lit papers and set fire to some of the seats. Match referee Clive
Lloyd stopped the game for 15 minutes, and took the players out to allow
matters to calm down. But as the game restarted, more missiles landed
on the ground, and more fires were lit. Lloyd deemed no more play was
possible, and awarded the game to Sri Lanka by default.
Several
Indian players were seen sobbing. Azharuddin and manager Ajit Wadekar
said the decision to send Sri Lanka in to bat first was a collective
decision. But middle order batsman Vinod Kambli denied it and put the
blame on the skipper.
The second semi-final went down to the
wire. Australia suffered initial jolts to be precariously placed at 15
for four, but Stuart Law and Michael Bevan came up with half centuries
to stem the rot and piloted the baggy greens to a modest total of 207
for eight. The West Indies, in contrast, started off well, and reached
165 for two in the 42nd over. But then suddenly their innings went
haywire, and the Caribbeans were skittled out for 202.
The Sri Lanka-Australia final at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, saw the co-hosts win the toss and send the rivals in to bat.
The
chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province created a minor ruckus
when he tried to enter the field with 6,000 "friends" who didn't possess
valid pass or tickets. But they were denied entry into the stadium.
On
the field, Australia notched up 241 for seven. Sri Lanka reached the
winning target with 22 deliveries still to be bowled. De Silva was
adjudged the Man-of-the-Final for his all round effort (3/42 and
unbeaten 107).
But things went out of control once the match
ended. People from all corners entered the ground. Ranatunga fell down
thrice with the invaluable Cup trophy in his hand.
However, for
the cricketers and the people of the tiny island nation that was a
trivial incident. The entire nation soaked in the celebrations and all
Cup-winning players, overnight, became national heroes.
(Kushal Chakraborty is a freelancer. He can be contacted at [email protected])
