Australia and the West Indies refused to play in Sri Lanka in the tournament between February 14 and March 17, after some bomb blasts in the capital Colombo in January. Efforts to make them change their minds were all in vain.

Nevertheless, the International Cricket Council (ICC) was firm in not rescheduling the games and Sri Lanka got full points for both games with walkovers. Something that was to their benefit in the long run.

The tournament also saw the maximum number of teams participating, with the nine Test-playing nations being joined by three associate members in Kenya, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sri Lanka, with four points from two forfeits, were almost through to the quarter-finals even before stepping onto the ground. However, even in the other games, they found ways to surprise their rivals.

Call it indignation at being slighted by Australia or the West Indies, or the brilliant tactical acumen of coach Dav Whatmore, Sri Lanka were on another level.

The plan to use Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana as pinch-hitters at the top of the order bore rich fruit.

Their first ‘real’ match was Zimbabwe, which they won, and then they met India at New Delhi. Though the latter scored 271/3 off 50 overs, thanks to a run-a-ball 137 by Sachin Tendulkar and 72 not out from skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, Sri Lanka’s plan worked to perfection. Jayasuriya scored 79 off 76 balls and Kaluwitharana added 26 off 16 before Asanka Gurusinha, captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Hashan Tillekeratne sealed off a fine win.

Sri Lanka Then Crushed Kenya To Top The Group

Getting into the quarter-finals was not a great feat this year. All the teams had to do was to win two games. Everyone beat the UAE and Netherlands and four sides including India and Sri Lanka entered the quarter-finals.

India Stop Pakistan Again

India met Pakistan there, with India winning the Bangalore match by 39 runs. Navjot Singh Sidhu scored 93 and everyone chipped in as India scored 287/8 and Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble claimed three wickets each as Pakistan were restricted to 248/9 off 49 overs.

Sri Lanka were not bothered too much by England and duly entered the semi-finals, where they met India, at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Fire At Eden

Despite Azharuddin’s disastrous decision to field first on a breaking Eden pitch, India began sensationally, with Javagal Srinath dismissing Jayasuriya, Kaluwitharana, and Gurusinha, with the first two wickets falling with the score at just one run.

But the inimitable Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama, Ranatunga, and Tillekeratne came good and Chaminda Vaas used the long handle effectively as the visitors ended at 251/8.

India never got off the ground on the crumbling pitch and though Tendulkar got 65, it was a wasted effort as India were reduced to 120/8.

The Eden crowd was unforgiving and flames were seen in the stands as the anger boiled over. The match was halted and subsequently, Sri Lanka won by default, Vinod Kambli’s tears as he walked off being a stark reflection of India’s dismay.

Payback

The final, ironically, brought Sri Lanka face to face with Australia, who had snubbed him at the beginning of the tournament. The islanders had not forgotten and they made Australia pay.

The Aussies batted first at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and Mark Taylor (74), Ricky Ponting (45) and Michael Bevan (36 not out) got some runs but the Sri Lankan spinners, especially the innocuous off-spin of De Silva, were deadly. All Australia got was 241/7.

Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana left early again by De Silva was in supreme form, carving out 107 not out, while Gurusinha (65) and Ranatunga (47 not out) made sure that the Sri Lankans had vengeance and also the World Cup.

It was quite a sensational achievement for the Sri Lankans and their cause was vindicated, in one of the most dramatic World Cups ever.

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Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga revealed that he led his like a school principal in their World Cup success in 1996. Sri Lanka, out of all odds defeated heavyweights Australia in the World Cup final at Lahore. Ranatunga played 93 Test’s and 269 ODI’s in a career spanning 18 years. “I led the team like a school principal. I would order my players to get back to their rooms at 10pm, even if they couldn’t get sleep early. We were stationed in Colombo, and I got these people from different backgrounds to eat, drink and sleep the World Cup,” reported News18.com. ALSO READ: Arjuna Ranatunga slams Sri Lanka Cricket administration

“I still remember every ball we bowled and every run we scored in the final match against Australia in Lahore. We entered the World Cup with abundant energy and hope. We were very confident. We were not afraid of anyone or any team in the world. Be it Australia or West Indies. I told my teammates that we will win if we have confidence in ourselves. I asked the team to focus on just playing and leave everything else to me,” he said.

This was the first win for Sri Lanka in an major ICC tournament. The 1996 World Cup was the third time a sub-continent team won the tournament in the past four editions, with Indian winning in 1983 and Pakistan winning in 1992. Ranatunga said the World Cup win changed everything for the country’s cricket. “That victory firmly put us on the world map of cricket as a formidable team. After that, in the last 20 years, Sri Lankan team has had several big successes to its credit,” he said.

He also revealed he picked players who would give their 100% and not the star players. “It was the most cohesive team in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. I always wanted to pick 14 good cricketers who would give their lives to the country. Other than Aravinda de Silva we didn’t have any stars. The World Cup win didn’t happen overnight. We planned to get into the semi-finals, and that began a year and a half earlier. I asked my players if they wanted to win. Two players laughed. I only picked committed players. I probably didn’t pick the best players. We didn’t care about the money. We gathered around de Silva. I always looked to keep him happy. He’s tough to keep happy,” he said.

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Born April 3, 1964, Tariq Iqbal was a part of the Kenyan cricket team that upset West Indies in Cricket World Cup 1996. Abhishek Mukherjee looks at a bespectacled, overweight wicketkeeper whose name has been etched in history forever alongside Brian Lara’s.

Tariq was overweight, and that is an understatement. He also wore glasses, and did not switch to contact lenses even when he played in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Given his girth and eyesight (which, obviously, was not 20/20) he had probably not expected to make an appearance. The Guardian observed that Tariq wore “a blue headband and a double chin” while keeping wickets.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for him, Kennedy Otieno, who would go on to play for Kenya for 13 years, was injured during Kenya’s second match — against Australia at Visakhapatnam. Otieno took time to recover, and Tariq, the only other person in the side with any experience of keeping wickets, was drafted in for the next few games. These included the historic match against West Indies at Pune, which Tariq managed to be a part of — and claimed the catch of Brian Lara; but more of that later.

Tariq played 3 ODIs in all, scoring 17 runs at 8.50 and a strike rate of 32.7. His tally of victims amounted to 2 catches. Those were his only List A appearances as well. In all recorded cricket he played 28 matches, scored 558 runs at 21.46, claimed 32 catches, and affected 7 stumpings. Exactly why Kenya picked a rotund, bespectacled wicketkeeper in a World Cup squad remains one of the unsolved mysteries of cricket.

Early days

Tariq went to Technical High School, Nairobi. A regular for Swamibapa Club, Tariq scored 47 and took 4 catches for Kenya Cricket Association XI against Minor Counties Under-25s at Nairobi. It was his first recorded match. Selected for ICC Trophy 1986, Tariq had a decent tournament, scoring 152 at 25.33 and taking 13 catches from 6 matches. He even top-scored with 55 against Argentina.

Kenya Times wrote that Tariq “bats with lots of courage and has the ability to hit the ball very hard,” adding that he was excellent against the short-pitched delivery, specialising in the hook. “Every time he occupies the crease in the league matches fielders can expect a torturous time,” Kenya Times added.

ICC Trophy 1990 also turned out to be a decent outing for Tariq: 136 runs at 19.42, 6 catches, and 3 stumpings were not a bad haul. He played for Young Kenya (the Kenyan definition of the word “young” is probably a bit unconventional; Tariq was 30 at this stage) in 1994.

By the time ICC Trophy 1994 started, Otieno had arrived. Not only was Otieno a better batsman and wicketkeeper, he was also fitter and looked like a cricketer. Tariq played a solitary match, against Israel, and scored 32 not out. For some reason he was picked for World Cup 1996.

That catch of Lara

Tariq made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Patna. The match was rained off after Zimbabwe reached 45 for 3 in 15.5 overs batting first. As per the rules of the tournament, the match was re-played the day after. This time Kenya batted first, were bowled out for 134, and lost convincingly. Opening batting with Dipak Chudasama, Tariq was bowled by Charlie Lock for a 20-ball 1.

Then came the West Indies match. Otieno was fit, but not fit enough to keep wickets. Tariq played as wicketkeeper (and opener). To be fair, he batted quite well against Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, and Ian Bishop.

Both Chudasama and Otieno fell to Walsh with 19 on the board, but Tariq and Steve Tikolo held fort, adding 26 for the third wicket. Tariq flicked Walsh brilliantly for four, and when a short-pitched delivery from Bishop kept low, he pulled it ferociously to the fence. Then he tried one stroke too many; he tried to pull Walsh, top-edged, and Cameron Cuffy took the skier at mid-on. Tariq fell for a 32-ball 16. Kenya were eventually bowled out for 166.

Tariq started West Indies’ innings in style. A ball from Rajab Ali hit Richie Richardson on the pad and rolled to the fine-leg fence: Tariq did not make an attempt; he strolled a couple of paces to his left and let the ball go.

Martin Suji bowled outside off next over, and Sherwin Campbell shouldered arms; the ball kept a bit low. The 95-kilo Tariq was obviously not going to make a serious effort to anything that passed low. He knelt on his left knee: the ball brushed his left thigh on its way to the fence.

Tariq kept up with the good work, dropping Richardson in the next over off Rajab Ali. The ball raced to the fence. In the first four overs of the innings Tariq had managed to drop a catch and concede three boundaries. The Guardian mocked him, mentioning that he “had dropped the ball so many times before that his own bowlers were laughing at him”. Wisden reported that Tariq’s “stout figure and village-standard juggling had hitherto caused much mirth”.

Richardson was bowled by Rajab Ali and Campbell by Suji. However, Lara looked in control, and though the score read 22 for 2 and the KENYA JUU (approximately “Kenya on top” in Swahili) banners were out, Kenya did not stand a chance — especially with our hero behind the stumps.

Then it happened: Rajab Ali pitched one outside off; Lara tried to punish off back-foot, but it was too close to his body; Tariq took the catch, or rather, the catch took Tariq. The Daily Telegraph commented: “The ball sank somewhere into his nether regions and the gloves clutched desperately, trying to locate it. Then, glory be, it reappeared in his hands and was raised aloft in triumph and relief.”

On air, Keith Stackpole tried his best to be polite: “For his size it was a good attempt but any wicketkeeper in the world would have taken it.” It took our hero a couple of seconds to realise what he had done (or was it because of pain?) before he broke into an appeal.

With West Indies reduced to 65 for 6, Roger Harper decided to go for it; he hit three boundaries before Maurice Odumbe slid one down the leg. Tariq had moved a foot or so, and did not have to move his gloves an inch; the ball landed in his gloves. Ten overs later West Indies were bowled out for 93. Tariq did not play another ODI.

Later years

Tariq played three more recorded matches that year before his career ended.  He scored 46 (for Kenya) and 44 (for Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association XI), both against Netherlands in his last two matches. In the last match he also effected 3 stumpings.

He owns a shop in Nairobi. It was because of his profession that Daily Mirror (Kenya) ran the famous headline LARA IS SHAMED BY A 15-STONE SHOPKEEPER, A DENTIST AND A TENNIS PLAYER, referring to Tariq, Chudasama, and Aasif Karim, in that order.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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February 13, 1996. Australia and West Indies cited security reasons and declined to visit Sri Lanka for their league matches. India and Pakistan, co-hosts of World Cup 1996, sent a combined team to Sri Lanka to play against the hosts, thereby sending a message to the sceptics. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at a surreal day of cricket when India and Pakistan took field alongside each other.

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Australia were not keen on playing Sri Lanka at Premadasa for their league match in World Cup cricket 1996, and neither were West Indies. It can be argued that Sri Lanka were not among the most peaceful nations in the mid-1990s, but both Zimbabwe and Kenya toured Sri Lanka during the World Cup.

However, Sri Lanka needed someone — a major team — to send the message across to the world regarding the safety; who better could it have been than India and Pakistan, co-hosts for the tournament? India and Pakistan had not played a bilateral series since 1989-90, but would they agree to play in Sri Lanka before the World Cup.

The response was in the affirmative. Not only would India and Pakistan take field at Premadasa, but they would field a combined team. This meant that Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram, Mohammad Azharuddin and Saeed Anwar, Anil Kumble and Waqar Younis would all play in the same side.

They called the side Wills’ India and Pakistan XI. The players were excited at the opportunity. Azhar, named captain of the side, told Lake House on the day of the match: “As far as the game is concerned we are all together. We have come to Sri Lanka to make sure that it is going to be a very successful day today. I hope everyone realises that there is nothing wrong where sport is concerned.” Wasim, then Pakistan captain, echoed Azhar’s thoughs: “We have no fears of any security in Sri Lanka. We are just relaxed and it was like coming to Sri Lanka on a normal cricket tour.”

Intikhab Alam, named manager of the side, commented: “This is the first time that India and Pakistan are playing as one team its history. I sincerely hope with this match India and Pakistan will resume cricket ties. I hope it is the turning point. It was a tremendous sight to have both Indian and Pakistan cricketers get together at the airport. I don’t think you can achieve any better goals than that. We are happy to be here and it is the least we can do for our countries.”

Though the match was well-contested, Arjuna Ranatunga expressed his gratitude: “The Indians and Pakistanis have showed the World that Sri Lanka is safe to play cricket. They have been very kind enough to come and play good cricket.”

c Sachin b Wasim

Could it get better than this? Was this not what the entire subcontinent had hoped for since Partition — to see Hanif Mohammad and Vijay Hazare, Fazal Mahmood and Vinoo Mankad, Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan take field for the same side?

The match got underway, and Romesh Kaluwitharana perished shortly things started — caught Sachin Tendulkar, bowled Wasim Akram. Fortunate were the spectators who witnessed Wasim and others huddled around the little man; and blessed was the scorer who recorded that dismissal.

Sri Lanka lost two quick wickets before Asanka Gurusinha (34) and Ranatunga (32) added 70. There was no Aravinda de Silva, and neither Marvan Atapattu nor Hashan Tillakaratne got going; Ashish Kapoor took out both Arjuna and Atapattu, but Kumble, with figures of 8-1-12-4, was easily the leader of the pack. Sri Lanka finished their 40 overs on 168 for 9.

Wills XI lost Anwar and Aamer Sohail; Muttiah Muralitharan took out Tendulkar (36), and with Upul Chandana picking up two quick wickets, they were reduced to 126 for 5, still needing 43. However, Ajay Jadeja and Rashid Latif got together to add 38 before Waqar walked out (ahead of Wasim) to provide the finishing blows.

Kumble was duly named Man of the Match (he got the trophy from the exotically named Sports Minister Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Sumanaweera Banda Dissanayake) while the Wills XI lifted the Wills Solidarity Trophy. The players — of two countries that have been considered bitter enemies by the world — celebrated the win.

So much for terrorism!

What followed?

– Australia and West Indies did not change their stand. They declined anyway, and Sri Lanka were awarded full points. They also went on to beat Zimbabwe at SSC, India at Kotla, and Kenya at Kandy in the league matches, England at Faisalabad in the quarter-final, and India at Eden Gardens in the semi-final by comprehensive margins.

– Interestingly, Australia and West Indies — the two teams that declined to visit Sri Lanka — played the other semi-final at Mohali. Australia edged past West Indies by 5 runs, but were duly beaten in the final at Lahore as Sri Lanka lifted their maiden title.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 168 for 9 in 40 overs (Asanka Gurusinha 34, Arjuna Ranatunga 32; Ashish Kapoor 2 for 34, Anil Kumble 4 for 12) lost to Wills’ India and Pakistan XI 171 for 6 in 34.3 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 36, Mohammad Azharuddin 32; Muttiah Muralitharan 2 for 46, Upul Chandana 2 for 35) by 4 wickets with 33 balls to spare.

Man of the Match: Anil Kumble.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here)

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India, third from Group A, and Pakistan, runners-up from Group B, met at the quarter-finals of World Cup cricket 1996 at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Pakistan received a huge blow before the match started, when Wasim Akram was declared unfit for the contest. Ind vs Pak: Statistical preview

Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar helped India to a 90-run opening stand. Sidhu eventually fell for a well-compiled 115, but though India progressed at steady pace, they needed that one major push. That came from Ajay Jadeja, who smashed his way to a 25-ball 45, taking 40 off two overs from Waqar Younis. India finished on 287 for eight.Live Scorecard: ICC World Cup 2015, India vs Pakistan

In response, the Pakistani openers stormed to an 84-run opening stand, being especially harsh on Venkatesh Prasad. Aamer Sohail smashed him for four and, in a rush of blood, gestured him to fetch the ball. Prasad struck next ball, and gestured back to him. He added two more wickets to his kitty.Ind vs Pak, Preview:

All hopes lay on Javed Miandad, but he was involved in a needless run out, and walked back for one final time in international cricket. Anil Kumble then took three wickets as Pakistan finished on 248 for nine.Ind vs Pak, World Cup 2015: 5 players who can change the match

India vs Pakistan Live Score

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UAE won the battle of the minnows by beating the Netherlands at Lahore on March 1, 1996 in what was the first ODI clash between two Associate Nations. Abhishek Mukherjee looks at the day when they became the fourth Asian nation to win an international match.

[Note: Several records mentioned in the piece are not valid anymore.]

UAE had a rich heritage of hosting cricket: they were the ninth country and the first Associate nation to host an international match; Sharjah Cricket Ground has hosted the most ODIs (216), while no other ground has hosted even 150.

Despite that, Netherlands had done a better job than UAE in World Cup 1996. In their first ever ODI they lost to New Zealand by 119 runs at Vadodara; they scared England for a while before losing by 49 runs at Peshawar; they then lost to Pakistan by 8 wickets at Lahore. However, they lost only 20 wickets from three matches.

UAE, on the other hand, lost to South Africa by 169 runs at Rawalpindi (Gary Kirsten scored 188* — still the highest World Cup score; this was also the match where their captain Sultan Zarawani walked out to face Allan Donald without a helmet and was promptly hit on his head); to England by 8 wickets at Peshawar; to Pakistan by 9 wickets at Gujranwala; and to New Zealand by 109 runs at Faisalabad.

The match

The match was originally scheduled to be played under floodlights, but was later changed to a day match. Zarawani asked Netherlands to bat in what was the first ODI between two Associate Nations, and Shehzad Altaf, the bespectacled seamer, soon got the ancient Nolan Clarke for a duck.

A gritty partnership between Peter Cantrell and Flavian Aponso followed. They added 74, but Zarawani was only too happy to let them bat as the overs ticked by. Altaf made excellent use of the conditions. “The batsmen struggled as the ball moved around and only Aponso looked comfortable,” wrote Wisden.

By the time Aponso hit an off-break from Shaukat Dukanwala back to him, he had scored 45 — but had consumed 80 balls in the process. Tim de Leede showed some sense of urgency, but with Cantrell stuck at one end, runs were difficult to come by. Cantrell was eventually claimed by Azhar Saeed as late as in the 41st over; his 47 had come off 106 balls and had included a solitary boundary.

Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk and Roland Lefebvre hit out, but Dukanwala kept striking on a regular basis. He finished with figures of 10-0-29-5 (this included 4 wickets from his last 11 balls). At that time these were the best ODI figures by any bowler from an Associate Nation, the best ODI figures for a non-Pakistani in Pakistan, and the best ODI figures at Lahore. It also remains the only five-wicket haul by a UAE bowler.

[Note: The best ODI figures by an Associate nation bowler are 7.2-3-9-5 by Josh Davey; the best ODI figures for a non-Pakistani in Pakistan are 8-1-13-6 by Ajantha Mendis; and the best ODI figures at Lahore are 10-0-49-6 by Lance Klusener.]

Netherlands finished with 216 for 9. While Dukanwala was the hero, Azhar Saeed chipped in with a couple of wickets, and Altaf returned excellent figures of 10-3-15-1.

Azhar Saeed and Saleem Raza went on a rampage in response, adding 94 from the first 15 overs. By the time Azhar Saeed was run out for a sedate 82-ball 32, the pair had already added 117 — still the only hundred-run partnership for UAE. Mazhar Hussain fell for a cameo; 3 runs later, Steven Lubbers sent Raza back — but not before he had scored a 68-ball 84 — the highest score for UAE. He also hit 6 sixes, equalling the World Cup record.

[Note: Raza’s 84 stood as the UAE record for 18 years. The highest score currently belongs to Swapnil Patil (99*). The World Cup record for most sixes in an innings is 8, shared by Ricky Ponting, Imran Nazir, and Adam Gilchrist, though Raza shares the record for most sixes by a batsman from an Associate Nation — with Dave Houghton, John Davison, and Kevin O’Brien.]

If there was any hope of Netherlands coming back into the match after the double-blow, it was smashed to oblivion by some savage butchery from Mohammad Ishaq, who raced to 51 not out from 55 balls with 8 boundaries, Vijay Mehra providing him company. UAE won by 7 wickets in the 45th over. It was the fifth ODI win by an Associate nation (after Sri Lanka in 1979; Zimbabwe in 1983 and 1992; and Kenya in 1996 — a day before UAE’s win).

Dukanwala and Raza shared the Man of the Match Award. It was only the second World Cup match in which the award was shared (the first occasion had come at Nagpur when both Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Sharma were named Man of the Match).

What followed?

– Netherlands lost their last match of the tournament by a whopping 160 runs: Andrew Hudson threatened to break Kirsten’s record but finished on a 132-ball 161. They lost 37 wickets in the tournament and managed to bat their full quota of overs every time.

– UAE has won only one other ODI till date, against Hong Kong at Kuala Lumpur in 2014. It remains the record for the longest gap between two ODI wins for any team. However, they have made it to World Cup 2015.

– Two years after the match, Bangladesh became the fifth Asian side to register an international win, defeating Kenya at Hyderabad. Two years later they attained Test status.

– The other Asian teams to register international wins are Afghanistan (both ODIs and T20Is, the first being in an ODI against Scotland at Benoni, 2009); Nepal (T20I against Hong Kong at Chittagong, 2013-14); and Hong Kong (T20I against Bangladesh at Chittagong, 2013-14). Nepal and Hong Kong are yet to win ODIs. Of course, this does not include Asia XI.

Brief scores:

Netherlands 216 for 9 in 50 overs (Peter Cantrell 47, Flavian Aponso 45; Shaukat Dukanwala 5 for 29) lost to UAE 220 for 3 in 44.2 overs (Saleem Raza 84, Mohammad Ishaq 51*) by 7 wickets.

Men of the Match: Saleem Raza and Shaukat Dukanwala.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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