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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 Terrorist Central Bank Bombing in January that killed 90 people and injured thousands. The Sri Lankan team were awarded four points from both games, which effectively qualified them for the quarter-finals of the tournament without playing a single game. The 1996 installment of the Cup featured three brand new teams - the United Arab Emirates , the Netherlands and Kenya . Kenya proved the best of the new teams, acquitting themselves proudly against their more experienced opponents, and actually defeating the West Indies in a league game. Defending a respectable total of 166, they skittled the West Indies for just 93. The Sri Lankan team, revolutionized the one-day approach to the game by taking the attack to the bowling team within the first 15 overs. Led by Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana , billed at the time as the most dangerous opening pair in the world, the Sri Lankan batting lineup for the tournament seemed unassailable. It was their dynamics that helped Sri Lanka amass the highest team score in limited-overs cricket, 398 for 5, against Kenya. Sachin Tendulkar proved to be one of the tournament's most prolific run-scorers, and Australia's Mark Waugh scored the first ever back-to-back Centuries in a World Cup. The first semi-final saw India take on Sri Lanka in Eden Gardens , Calcutta . The two teams had met before in a league match, when Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana destroyed the Indian bowling attack to win a high-scoring match. The semi-final, though, saw a different story; India struck early to remove the openers and have Sri Lanka on the back foot. A solid middle-order recovery, led by Aravinda De Silva 's brilliant 66 off 47 balls, led the Sri Lankans to 251 for 8, a strong total. Sachin Tendulkar led the Indian fightback with a 66 of his own, but after his dismissal, the Indian wickets tumbled. From 98 for 2, India crashed to 120 for 8. The Indian crowd rioted, forcing match referee Clive Lloyd to award the match to Sri Lanka, an unprecendented move. In the other semi-final, the West Indies, lucky to have made it that far, faced Australia. The two had met before, with the West Indies barely triumphing. Australia, put in to bat first, were rocked by the bowling assault from Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose , who reduced the Aussies to 17 for 4. The middle-order stabilized the collapse, though, with contributions from Michael Bevan and Ian Healy , to bring the Australian total to 207 for 9. The West Indians started strong, but Shane Warne tore through the West Indian batting lineup, as did Glenn McGrath . In the end, the West Indians were dismissed for 202. The final was played between Sri Lanka and Australia in Lahore, Pakistan . It was ironic, seeing how Australia refused to play Sri Lanka in the preliminary stages, that they now faced them with the World Cup at stake. Built on captain Mark Taylor 's 74, Australia put up 241 for 7, then removed Jayasuria and Kaluwitharna in quick succession to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 23 for 2. Asanka Gurusinha (66) and Aravinda De Silva (107 not out) took command, de Silva becoming only the third batsman to score a century in a World Cup final. In the end, Sri Lanka won the match with ease, the first team fielding first to be crowned world champions. It was the first, and thus far, only time a host nation has won a World Cup (Sri Lanka were part hosts, although the final itself was not played in Sri Lanka) and also the first time a team has win after fielding first. During the preparations of world cup 1996 a well known Pakistani youth organisation Pasban headed by it's president Altaf Shakoor created a tempo by making a World's Biggest Cricket Bat in Karachi. Thousands of youth and citizens signed over the giant Pasban bat in addition to the President, Prime Minister and other dignitaries, players, etc. Aravinda De Silva was named Man Of The Match for the final, and Sanath Jayasuriya was named Man Of The Series . RESULTS Preliminary Round
''The Sri Lanka v Australia and Sri Lanka v West Indies matches were both awarded to Sri Lanka by walkover after Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.'' Quarter Finals
Semi Finals
Final |
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