Sri Lanka’s Historic Triumph over Australia in 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup Final
Sri Lanka pulled of one of the greatest run-chases in any ODI World Cup final ever to clinch the 1996 ODI World Cup over Australia on March 17, at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan.
Australia, a two-time finalist and past champion, faced off against Sri Lanka, who were playing in their first World Cup final. By winning by seven wickets, Sri Lanka achieved their first-ever World Cup victory and cemented their status as one of cricket’s top teams. Sri Lankan batting sensation Aravinda De Silva played a match-winning knock of 107 not out and picked up 3 for 42 in 9 overs in the grand finale, was named man of the match as well. The Man of the Series award went to Sanath Jayasuriya (221 runs, 7 wickets).
Key Performances and Match Results
Sri Lanka 245/3 (De Silva 107, Gurusinha 65, Fleming 1/43, Reiffel 1/49) beat Australia 241/7 (Taylor 74, Ponting 45, de Silva 3/42, Vaas 1/30) by 7 wickets.
Road to Final
Sri Lanka made an incredible run to the final. They won the first spot in Group A thanks to the forfeits of matches by the West Indies and Australia, who declined to participate in Sri Lanka because of security concerns. With wins over Zimbabwe and India, among other teams, Sri Lanka dominated the group rounds. Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya particularly excelled.
Sri Lanka defeated England in the quarterfinals of the knockout phases and met India in the semifinals. After play was stopped due to disorderly crowd behaviour, Sri Lanka managed to produce a respectable total despite India’s poor start, winning the match by default with a sluggish 120/8. With confidence, Sri Lanka made it to their first-ever World Cup final.
The journey to Australia was likewise exciting. They defeated Kenya, Zimbabwe, and India to easily go through the group stage despite losing their match against Sri Lanka. They defeated New Zealand by six wickets in their quarter-final match, sending them to the semi-finals.
Australia pulled out a stunning comeback against the West Indies in the semi-final, holding them to a low aim after they had fallen from a dominating position. Australia’s spot in the final was guaranteed by Glenn McGrath’s wicket in the last over.
Match Analysis
Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain of Sri Lanka, won the toss and chose to send Australia to bat. Later, Ranatunga recalled that he and the manager had visited the stadium the night before, and they had noticed the “weight of dew” on the ground, which had prompted them to conclude that it would be better to bat second.
Australia lost from 1–137 to 5–170 as a result of Sri Lanka’s four-pronged spin attack, despite a brilliant start from captain Mark Taylor and rising sensation and future captain Ricky Ponting. Australia eventually completed its 50 over quota at 7-241. After a tense beginning in which they lost both of their openers before the score reached 30, Sri Lanka triumphed in 45 overs.
Asanka Gurusingha (65), a senior batsman, and skipper Ranatunga (47 not out) provided valuable support for Sri Lankan batting star Aravinda De Silva, who scored a match-winning 107 not out. Because of his all-around performance, De Silva was chosen the man of the match. In addition to his century in the bat, he bowled 10 overs in the Australian innings, capturing 3 wickets for 42 runs. The Man of the Series award went to Sanath Jayasuriya.
There was never a big tournament final between Australia and Sri Lanka. However, the summer 1995/1996 tour of Australia by Sri Lanka led to a bitter rivalry between the two teams. Muttiah Muralitharan, their young spin bowler, was under intense scrutiny throughout the tour after field umpire Darrell Hair called him for “chucking” during the 1995 Boxing Day Test.
Jim Maxwell, a commentator, likened Muralitharan’s treatment to a “public execution”. A far closer match ensued in the triangular one-day series called the ‘Benson and Hedges World Series’ following the test series, which saw Australia win handily 3–0.
Sri Lanka presented a challenge to the all-conquering Australian squad, who were unable to win as easily as they had in previous matches due to opposition from the West Indies and other players. With a lot of momentum after their victory over Australia at the MCG in their previous match, Sri Lanka easily defeated the West Indies to get to the tournament final against them. But Australia prevailed 2-0, and the celebrations that followed the competition made clear how tense things were between the two teams.
Ranatunga refused Australia’s captain Mark Taylor’s request to shake hands. Many believed that the Muralitharan issue was to blame for this. Numerous Sri Lankans said that Muralitharan and other Sri Lankans became the targets of racism and prejudice as a result of the incident. The enthusiastic Australian spectators’ chants of “No Ball!” were added to this every time Muralitharan delivered a ball.
Australia and the West Indies declined to visit Sri Lanka during the world cup citing security concerns following a suicide bombing there. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka was given points by default in their match against Australia, this episode added to the already rising tensions before the final.
Mahela Jayawardene on Aravinda de Silva’s Iconic 1996 World Cup Final Performance
The former captain of Sri Lanka on a World Cup performance he wishes he could take credit for.
It was just that—he was in the zone. You are aware of the one. when you enter and are overcome with a sense of total and absolute control. You can sometimes get an easy hundred if the bowlers aren’t bowling well or if the pressure isn’t too high. That’s not the subject of my discussion. I mean, there are situations like that where you have to bowl well under pressure and really nail it.There was never an innings that, in my opinion, more perfectly captures this than Aravinda’s knock in the World Cup final in 1996.
There was never an innings that, in my opinion, more perfectly captures this than Aravinda’s knock in the World Cup final in 1996.The Australian attack included McGrath, Fleming, Reiffel, and Warne.
In addition, they had a few part-timers who bowled, including as the Waugh brothers. It was clear that Sri Lanka was not the favorites going into the final.
But Aravinda demonstrated to us that type of mindset is just possessed by big-game athletes. There isn’t much that can stop them on their day.
For most of the younger generation of cricketers, that World Cup victory was a game-changing moment, although I’m sure that day will always be memorable for many Sri Lankans. Because it was my last inter-school “big match” as a schoolboy, it stood out to me in particular on that specific day.
There was no way we could change it—we only learned Sri Lanka had advanced to the final a few days prior to that game. Both Saturday and Sunday were involved. As you might imagine, on Saturday the Khettarama Stadium was packed, but on Sunday it was limited to the instructors, parents, and school prefects. The rest of the country, most likely, was watching the championship game.
Only when Sri Lanka began to pursue me did I manage to return home. You had no choice but to fear the worst when the two wickets fell early. However, Aravinda leaves the field; in that batting order, he was crucial to our success.
You felt there was something unique from the first ball. He batted with a speed that was evident in his eyes. Additionally, it was very dissimilar from his knock against India in the semifinals. This was deliberate and well-planned, unlike the previous counterattack, which had been a furious blitz. This demonstrated his versatility in and of itself.
It was an innings with a great deal of depth as well, layers that came to light when I got to know the man later in my career. But as an eighteen-year-old, all you can do is stare in awe at what you’re seeing – the total belief in oneself, the focus.
It took me a while to realize how absolutely amazing it was. How he played McGrath, how he used the pace to go through, how he had a strategy against Warne, and so on. It was an expert seminar. Rewatch it and you’ll see that he was constantly shielding his stumps, hoping the guys would bowl as close to him as possible. But because he had such faith in his abilities, he would simply cross without fear of an LBL and continue to take advantage of the situation on the on side. Throughout the entire game, he did it.
And that would be sufficient if that was all he did, but it wasn’t, was it? It’s easy to forget that he collected two catches and three wickets in addition to his undefeated century. He had a total impact on the game. And it was all during his greatest game to date. Do I regret not doing that? Who doesn’t?
