Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us–
Wilma Rudolph
Sri Lanka’s victory in the 1996 World Cup was truly well-deserved and thankfully devoid of any controversy. Their win was achieved effortlessly, without any umpiring mistakes, and only accompanied by a minimal amount of verbal exchanges on the field.
Australia was the clear favourite to win their second World Cup in 1996. And who could overlook what transpired next?
THE BACKDROP
The cricket landscape was notably distinct in those days. While Australia’s presence in the final was expected, Sri Lanka’s appearance came as a surprise to many. Dav Whatmore’s squad had made a significant impact on the tournament. In an era where one-day teams typically began slowly and picked up speed, Sri Lanka’s bold pinch-hitting approach introduced a fresh style of play.
Everyone else was content with scoring at a modest rate of three or four runs per over in the beginning of their innings, aiming to accumulate around 60 odd runs by the 15th over. However, Sri Lanka took a different approach.
Led by Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana as openers, they aggressively scored 117 runs in the first 15 overs against India, followed by 123 against Kenya and 121 against England in the quarterfinals. Despite these impressive performances, Australia remained the favored team to win the final match.
Captained by Mark Taylor, their squad boasted a formidable line-up including talents like the Waugh twins, Shane Warne, Ian Healy, Glenn McGrath, alongside promising young players such as 21-year-old Ricky Ponting.
Sri Lanka, led by the cunning Arjuna Ranatunga, featured Aravinda de Silva as their standout player. Just two years earlier, de Silva had been excluded from the team due to weight issues.
Australia had gained momentum by defeating the West Indies in the semi-final after an unexpected rise. Sri Lanka advanced past India with the help of match referee Clive Lloyd’s decision to award them the match following crowd disturbances in Calcutta.
Surely, there was only one possible outcome?
THE AUSTRALIAN INNINGS
The first indication that things wouldn’t go as planned occurred when Ranatunga won the toss. Instead of opting to bat, based on the logical reasoning that no team batting second had ever won a World Cup final, he decided to put Australia in to bat. Taylor and Mark Waugh were soon separated when the in-form Waugh was caught by Jayasuriya off Vaas.
However, a young and talented Ponting entered the game with ease, helping Australia steadily pull ahead by scoring 101 for the second wicket. Then came De Silva who first dismissed Taylor for 74 (caught by Jayasuriya again), followed by clean-bowling Ponting for 45.
Warne, entering the game at number five, was dismissed by Murali for two runs. Shortly after, De Silva claimed Steve Waugh caught by Dharmasena for 13 and got Stuart Law out off Jayasuriya for 22. With Australia struggling, he received the ball from his captain for a second spell and bowled Ian Healy for two runs, ending with figures of 3-42 from nine overs.
A late surge from Michael Bevan and Paul Reiffel, adding 32 runs in the final five overs, propelled Australia to a total of 241-7 at the end of their allotted fifty overs. Murali finished with figures of 1-31 from his 10 overs, Vaas conceded 30 runs in six overs, and Jayasuriya gave away 43 runs in eight overs.
However, this was just the beginning of the excitement.
THE SRI LANKAN REPLY
Jayasuriya, the standout player of the tournament, was dismissed by a run-out in the second over while attempting to score quick runs. Following his departure, Kaluwitharana was caught out by Bevan off Damian Fleming’s delivery, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 23-2.
De Silva then entered the crease. Initially witnessing Gurusinha narrowly avoid being caught out and surviving a close run-out opportunity due to Bevan’s missed throw at the non-striker’s end. The turning point arrived when Healy dropped a crucial catch off Mark Waugh with De Silva still finding his footing.
De Silva never turned around. While the Australians started to show signs of fatigue – Gurushina survived being dropped twice by Fleming and once by Law – the Sri Lankan duo managed to score 125 runs for the third wicket.
Reiffel dismissed Gurusinha for 65 with 94 runs still required for victory, but captain Ranatunga partnered with his long-time friend and smoothly chased down the remaining runs. Despite Australia missing five straightforward opportunities, Sri Lanka secured the win in the 47th over as Ranatunga directed the ball towards third man.
De Silva remained unbeaten on 107 runs, contributing to the dismissal of five out of seven Australian players. As a result, he rightfully earned the man-of-the-match accolade. Australia was left shocked while Sri Lanka celebrated enthusiastically.
Despite being eliminated in the initial stage in four out of the last five World Cups and finishing eighth in one, they had never been considered a strong international team before. However, their victory under the floodlights in Lahore marked a significant turning point.
Image source– Prashant Banjare
