- India was 120-8 while chasing 252 in the World Cup semi-final
- The angry fans set fire in the stands and pelted fruit and bottles
- The match was abandoned and Sri Lanka was promoted by default
The World Cup of 1996 went down in history and what happened in the first semi-final will be remembered for a long long time, especially by the Indian fans. The Willis World Cup scheduled and played in India saw four semi-finalists namely Australia, West Indies, hosts India and Sri Lanka. The entire tournament was going well until it was time for the first semi-final.
Sri Lanka and India were face-to-face on 13th March 1996 in Kolkata. India won the toss and forced the Sri Lankans to bat first, perhaps a decision they will regret for a long time. The visitors were off to a horrendous start with their first three batters removed for 1, 0 and 1. It was Aravinda De Silva and Roshan Mahanama who brought their team back to action by stellar half-centuries and two thirties by Ranatunga and Tillakaratne further consolidated their score and final 251 was put for India to chase.
India’s top batters, in contrast to the opposition, batted better. Tendulkar racked 65 while Manjrekar who came at number three scored 25. Unfortunately, these were the only two highest scores by the men in blue as no other batsman could cross even the 10 run mark. As a result, India crumbled to 120-8 and now the real disaster began.
The Indian fans in the crowd were full-on in rage at this point. Areas of the stadium were set on fire and the Sri Lankan fielders were pelted with water bottles and fruits. The match referee, Clive Lloyd, had to abandon the match and Ranatunga ( c ) and his men moved to the finals by default and they absolutely deserved it. The final was played between Sri Lanka and Australia and after a brilliant performance by the Lankans, they were crowned the World Cup champions, their first and only Cup.
Also, Read: Highest wicket-taken Woman in the World Cup
