BLANKED IN BANGALORE: Defending champions Pakistan were dumped out of the tournament after a fierce battle with arch-rivals India in the second quarter-final played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. PHOTO:ESPNCricinfo
Sri Lanka were virtually guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals of the 1996 World Cup well before a single ball was delivered — Australia and West Indies forfeited their group games slated for the Pearl Island due to security fears.
Despite the easiest among a surfeit of easy passages to the knock-out for the ‘Big Eight’, the Islanders stamped their authority in the tournament in no uncertain terms.
Minnows Kenya were given a record hiding, India – one of the favourites – were taken to the cleaners twice, passengers England were ruthlessly razed while the Australians were hammered in a lopsided final in Ian Chappell’s ‘lovely Lahore’.
The tournament remained largely lacklustre. Other than the West Indies shocker against Kenya in Pune, the three debutants (UAE and the Netherlands were the other two) found the gulf between them and the top sides insurmountable.
The 1996 World Cup was the second edition in colourful kits, white balls, black sight-screens and day and night matches. But the loose-fit playing kits remain the worst ever adorned in a premier tournament — a stark contrast to the iconic colour combination and slick design of the 92’ edition.
After an overdose of meaningless group matches, the West Indies – despite the Kenya reversal – had enough wins at their disposal to guarantee a quarter-final spot. India, Australia joined table-toppers Sri Lanka from Pool A.
South Africa maintained a cent percent record in Pakistan to seal the top spot in Pool B. New Zealand and England joined the hosts in the last eight; one didn’t need to be a seer to predict the eight teams for the knock-out phase.
The quarter-finals caught the attention of the cricket crazed region, but other than the high intensity India-Pakistan clash in Bangalore, the matches remained skewed.
Sri Lanka feasted on England in Faisalabad, Mark Waugh’s magical innings overshadowed a blitzkrieg by New Zealand’s Chris Harris in Chennai, while the Proteas were choked by a Brian Lara blitz at Karachi’s National Stadium.
The tournament finally delivered a thriller in the penultimate match, when Australia recorded one of the greatest jail-breaks in ODI history against the West Indians at Mohali.
India’s meek surrender in the semi-final against Sri Lanka at Kolkata failed to go down well with the massive crowd that turned into an unruly mob as the hosts lost wickets in a clutter.
Sri Lanka’s dream-run ended win a fairytale-style win, with ace batsman Aravinda de Silva scoring a match-winning century in company of his dear friend Arjuna Ranatunga. The veteran warriors who had given their blood and sweat to hoist their nation’s cricket flag around the world earned a fitting reward.
Pakistan crumble in Chinnaswamy cauldron
If ICC’s current venue allocation criteria were in place for the 1996 World Cup, Pakistan would have played their infamous quarter-final against India at Karachi instead of Bangalore. Pakistan finished higher than India in their pool and were also better placed in the ICC ODI rankings then — who knows what would have transformed at the National Stadium?
In the 1990s, Pakistan dominated India in bilateral series and ODI tournaments staged in Sharjah, while they also had the wood over their fiercest rivals in the sub-continent.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium was packed by partisan Indian fans for the quarter; the men in green were pitted against 11 players from the opposition team and their 40,000 supporters were calling for blood.
Backed by the boisterous home crowd, Indian batsmen cashed in on Wasim Akram’s ‘withdrawal’ at the eleventh hour after Mohammad Azharuddin elected to bat first.
Wasim’s pace-bowling ally Waqar Younis endured a horrendous end to his spell as Ajay Jadeja transformed into an Indian hero in a space of 25 deliveries, derailing the Burewala Express in a game-changing cameo.
There was pin-drop silence in the first 10 overs of Pakistan’s 288-run chase as southpaw Saeed Anwar and stand-in captain Aamir Sohail produced an array of powerful blows against the Indian pace attack.
After Anwar’s departure, Sohail’s swipe and an appalling dismissal at Venkatesh Prasad caused an irreparable crack in the seemingly strong foundations. The middle-order caved in as the runs dried up and the task proved beyond an aging Javed Miandad in what turned out to be a sad swansong for one of the greatest ever.
The backlash for the defeat was arguably the worst ever even by the low Pakistan standards. Wasim was accused of withdrawing from the game deliberately for reasons other than his ‘rib injury’, as conspiracy theories with undertones of match-fixing took the country by storm.
The 11 who took the field at Bangalore also had to endure some wretched days confined to their homes as their effigies were burned — a full circle to the unbridled joy and the hero’s welcome after the 1992 triumph. The subsequent stress and anguish had a lasting impact on Wasim as the all-rounder was afflicted by diabetes for the remainder of his distinguished career.
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@Emmad: Whilst you are right about Kaluwitharana contributions with bat during tournament, but Saif is correct about you not mentioning Jayasuriya in the article. It was not just his batting, but his bowling and fielding too...How do you justify a review of the World Cup and not mention the person who was chosen as the Player of the Tournament? Arguments may be made whether he should or shouldn't have been given this award ( think Aravinda was stiff, and they should have waited and counted the finals), but fact remains he was awarded this title.
@Saif Kaluwithrana didn't score a single fifty in the tournament! (abject failure in knock-out games) Jayasuria too failed in the semi-final and final, played only two worthy innings against India in group game and England in the quarter-final...besides caning minnows Kenya...the duo DIDN'T revolutionise one day cricket, pinch hitters were in place in the 1992 edition also (Mark Greatbatch, Ian Botham)
There is no mention of Jayasuriya or Kaluwitharana. No mention of revolutionizing one day cricket by taking advantage of the first 15 overs. This article is rather poor.