On 17 March, 1996, Sri Lanka national cricket team made history by rising from the underdog status to win their first-ever cricket World Cup.
Under captain Arjuna Ranatunga, the Lankan team played an outstanding match to beat Australia by 7 wickets in the finals of the Wills World Cup held at Lahore.
As reported by India Today, in the sixth edition of the cricket World Cup, Australia and West Indies had refused to play in Sri Lanka due to security concerns and this resulted in Sri Lanka winning those matches by forfeit, thereby directly qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Sri Lanka then demonstrated a fearless brand of cricket in the finals against Australia by restricting their opposition with brilliant bowling and became the first country to win a World Cup final batting second.
In the 50-overs match played at Lahore, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first. Skipper Mark Taylor smashed 74 while one of Australia’s most successful run-makers Ricky Ponting scored 45. Australia was cruising to 137 for 1 by the 27th over and it was Lanka’s all-rounder Aravinda de Silva who stepped in to change the course of the game.
De Silva dismissed Mark Taylor to end a century second-wicket stand and bowled out Ricky Ponting soon after.
He then dismissed Ian Healy after he made just 2 runs and also snaffled catches from Steve Waugh and Stuart Law, reducing the team to 241 for 7.
Chasing a target of 242 runs from 50 overs, Sri Lanka lost their famed openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana early, with just 23 runs on the board. Asanka Gurusinha and De Silva then settled in and their partnership put up together a smart innings to steer Lanka out of trouble.
Gurusinha scored 65 before being bowled by Paul Reiffel. After his exit, Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga joined De Silva in the middle and remained unbeaten on 47. The duo stitched a 97-run partnership and scripted a historic day in Sri Lankan cricket.
With a stunning 245/3 in just 46.2 overs, Sri Lanka defeated Australia by 7 wickets, with 22 balls remaining.
Aravinda de Silva was indeed the hero for Sri Lanka and was declared Player of the Match for his stunning 107 off 124 balls and for picking three wickets against Australia in the finals. De Silva’s century was also the third-ever 100 in a World Cup final, the previous two being scored by CH Lloyd in 1975 and Vivian Richards in 1979.
Sri Lanka’s outstanding victory also made them the first to have won a World Cup final by losing the least number of wickets (3), along with being the first host country to win a World Cup.
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