I believe that, in India, cricket and movies are two of the most seductive obsessions. Every person will be bitten by the cricket or the movie bug at some or the other point in their lifetime. I am not a big fan of movies but I love cricket very much. The cricket bug first bit me in 1996. I was in IV standard at that time. I can still vividly remember most of the matches that were played in that world cup.
Sachin Tendulkar was at his peak in those days. The Indian batting was quite strong with the likes of Sidhu, Azharuddin, Manjrekar, Kambli, Jadeja and Mongia in the line up. The bowling was dominated by the Kannadigas, Srinath, Venki and Kumble. Manoj Prabhakar's all round skills gave a nice balance to the team. Team India was one of the favorites to win the world cup, but unfortunately, they could only make it to the semi finals:-(
Of course, who can forget the quarter final match between India and Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore!!! Ajay Jadeja hitting the fiery Waqar Younis all over the park is still etched very clearly in my mind. And then, there was the famous encounter between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad!!! I was jumping with joy, and I am sure did 800 million Indians, when Aamir Sohail's off stump went back somersaulting to a brilliant delivery by Venki. This match had been the hottest topic of discussion the next day at school. Even the girls had joined in our discussion!!!;-) So, we were even more animated than ever:-)
South Africa had choked in the quarter finals. A brilliant 111 by Brian Lara had sealed the fate for South Africa. A magnificent century by Mark Waugh had steered Australia past the QF stage. Jayasuriya's heroics led Sri Lanka to their first WC semifinals.
The first SF between India and Sri Lanka was the one which no Indian would ever like to be reminded of. It was one of the black days in Indian cricketing history. India had won the toss but they had opted to field. I think it was the greatest error of decision because it was predicted that the pitch would take a turn later in the match. India started on a very good note, though. Sri Lanka was reduced to 1 for 2 in the first over itself and Eden Gardens had gone wild with joy. But the Sri Lankan middle order, led by the elegant Aravinda de Silva, staged a strong comeback and posted a challenging 251 on board.
India was going along nicely with the score at 98/1. Then, Jayasuriya was introduced into the attack and he got the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. From then on, it was all downhill for India:-( The pitch had begun to turn ferociously. In no time, India was reduced to 120/8. The passionate Calcutta fans found the Indian collapse too hard to bear. They vented their frustrations by setting fire to some parts of the stadium and by throwing water bottles onto the field. Match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the match to Sri Lanka by default as Vinod Kambli was seen leaving the field in tears:-(
The other SF between Australia and the West Indies was a humdinger!!! Australia had won the match by 5 runs!!! Once again, it was the magic of Shane Warne which had come to the fore and he was aptly awarded the man of the match award.
The final was a lopsided affair. Aravinda de Silva took three wickets and also scored an unbeaten century to take Sri Lanka to their first world cup victory!!! I still remember the winning shot hit by Arjuna Ranatunga to third man. It was a golden day in Sri Lankan cricket history!!!
This tournament had managed to instill a great love in me for this wonderful game. World cup tournaments may come and go, but I will continue to cherish the 1996 Wills world cup for a long time to come!!!:-)
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