Download Cricket World Cup Schedule in PDF
Cricket World Cup 1996 was hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was the first time in the history of World Cup that three countries jointly took the initiative to host the tournament at their various venues.
Twelve teams competed in the tournament that had 37 matches. The sixth world cup tournament began with a controversy, when Australia and West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka where LTTE triggered major attacks.
The tournament saw the introduction of third umpire in front of the TV monitor that gives the final decision if the field umpire is confused on taking a decision of whether the player is out or not out. The third umpire gives the decision by repeatedly monitoring the TV display.
Several players bid adieu to their profession after this tournament. Javed Miandad of Pakistan, Robin Smith of England, West Indies players Richie Richardson and Roger Harper, Asanka Gurusinha of Sri Lanka, Ramiz Raja of Pakistan, Manoj Prabhakar of India, England player Phil DeFreitas, Dipak Patel of New Zealand, Andy Waller of Zimbabwe and Australian player Craig McDermott. Pakistan bowler Waqar Younis made his first World Cup appearance in this tournament.
Out of the 12 teams that participated, 3 teams like the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Kenya made their debut performances in the tournament. The matches held in different venues of the three countries such as Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad, Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad, The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Pakistan, Green Park (Modi Stadium) at Kanpur, R. Premadasa (Khettarama) Stadium in Colombo, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, Moti Bagh Stadium at Vadodara,Barabati Stadium at Cuttack, Arbab Niaz (Shahi Bagh) Stadium at Peshawar in Pakistan, Iqbal Stadium at Faisalabad, Roop Singh Stadium at Gwalior, The Indira Priyadarshini Stadium at Vishakhapatnam, Jinah (Municipal) Stadium at Gujranwala, Moin-ul-Haq Stadium at Patna, Nehru Stadium in Pune, Vidarbha C.A.Ground at Nagpur, Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium at Delhi, Jaipur Sawai Mansingh Stadium at Jaipur, Asgiriya Stadium at Kandy in Sri Lanka, Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Punjab CA Stadium in Mohali and Gadaffi (Lahore) Stadium in Pakistan.
Indian bowler Anil Kumble took 15 wickets in the tournament and set the record for the top wicket-taker. Sachin Tendulkar scored 523 runs top break the record of top run scorer. These are some of the various records in the Cricket world Cup 1996.
The final match between Australia and host Sri Lanka saw the outstanding performance of Sri Lankan player de Silva. He took two catches and three wickets and took a stunning 107 runs not out. This exceptional contribution made Sri Lanka crush Australia and win the tournament by 7 wickets.
Group A |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 February | Zimbabwe 151/9 (50 overs) |
v | West Indies 155/4 (29.3 overs) |
West Indies won by 6 wickets Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad |
| 17 February | Sri Lanka | v | Australia | Sri Lanka won by a walkover R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo |
| 18 February | Kenya 199/6 (50 overs) |
v | India 203/3 (41.5 overs) |
India won by 7 wickets Barabati Stadium, Cuttack |
| 21 February | Zimbabwe 228/6 (50 overs) |
v | Sri Lanka 229/4 (37 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo |
| 21 February | West Indies 173 (50 overs) |
v | India 174/5 (39.4 overs) |
India won by 5 wickets Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior |
| 23 February | Australia 304/7 (50 overs) |
v | Kenya 207/7 (50 overs) |
Australia won by 97 runs Indira Priyadarshini Stadium, Visakhapatnam |
| 26 February | Sri Lanka | v | West Indies | Sri Lanka won by a walkover Premadasa Stadium, Colombo |
| 26 February | Kenya 134 (49.4 overs) |
v | Zimbabwe 137/5 (42.2 overs) |
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna |
| 27 February | Australia 258 (50 overs) |
v | India 242 (48 overs) |
Australia won by 16 runs Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| 29 February | Kenya 166 (49.3 overs) |
v | West Indies 93 (35.2 overs) |
Kenya won by 73 runs Nehru Stadium, Pune |
| 1 March | Zimbabwe 154 all out (45.3 overs) |
v | Australia 158/2 (36 overs) |
Australia won by 8 wickets Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur |
| 2 March | India 271/3 (50 overs) |
v | Sri Lanka 272/4 (48.4 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi |
| 4 March | Australia 229/6 (50 overs) |
v | West Indies 232/6 (48.5 overs) |
West Indies won by 4 wickets Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| 6 March | India 247/5 (50 overs) |
v | Zimbabwe 207 all out (49.4 overs) |
India won by 40 runs Green Park, Kanpur |
| 6 March | Sri Lanka 398/5 (50 overs) |
v | Kenya 254/7 (50 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 144 runs Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy |
Group B |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 February | New Zealand 239/6 (50 overs) |
v | England 228/9 (50 overs) |
New Zealand won by 11 runs Gujarat Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad |
| 16 February | South Africa 321/2 (50 overs) |
v | United Arab Emirates 152/8 (50 overs) |
South Africa won by 169 runs Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi |
| 17 February | New Zealand 307/8 (50 overs) |
v | Netherlands 188/7 (50 overs) |
New Zealand won by 119 runs Moti Bagh Stadium, Baroda |
| 18 February | United Arab Emirates 136 (48.3 overs) |
v | England 140/2 (35 overs) |
England won by 8 wickets Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawa |
| 20 February | New Zealand 177/9 (50 overs) |
v | South Africa 178/5 (37.3 overs) |
South Africa won by 5 wickets Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad |
| 22 February | England 279/4 (50 overs) |
v | Netherlands 230/6 (50 overs) |
England won by 49 runs Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar |
| 24 February | United Arab Emirates 109/9 (33 overs) |
v | Pakistan 112/1 (18 overs) |
Pakistan won by 9 wickets Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala |
| 25 February | South Africa 230 all out (50 overs) |
v | England 152 all out (44.3 overs) |
South Africa won by 78 runs Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi |
| 26 February | Netherlands 145/7 (50 overs) |
v | Pakistan 151/2 (30.4 overs) |
Pakistan won by 8 wickets Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| 27 February | New Zealand 276/8 (47 overs) |
v | United Arab Emirates 167/9 (47 overs) |
New Zealand won by 109 runs Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad |
| 29 February | Pakistan 242/6 (50 overs) |
v | South Africa 243/5 (44.2 overs) |
South Africa won by 5 wickets National Stadium, Karachi |
| 1 March | Netherlands 216/9 (50 overs) |
v | United Arab Emirates 220/3 (44.2 overs) |
United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| 3 March | England 249/9 (50 overs) |
v | Pakistan 250/3 (47.4 overs) |
Pakistan won by 7 wickets National Stadium, Karachi |
| 5 March | South Africa 328/3 (50 overs) |
v | Netherlands 168/8 (50 overs) |
South Africa won by 160 runs Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi |
| 6 March | Pakistan 281/5 (50 overs) |
v | New Zealand 235 (47.3 overs) |
Pakistan won by 46 runs Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
Knockout stage |
||||
Quarter-finals |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 March | England 235/8 (50 overs) |
v | Sri Lanka 236/5 (40.4 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad |
| 9 March | India 287/8 (50 overs) |
v | Pakistan 248/9 (49 overs) |
India won by 39 runs M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 11 March | West Indies 264/8 (50 overs) |
v | South Africa 245 (49.3 overs) |
West Indies won by 19 runs National Stadium, Karachi |
| 11 March | New Zealand 286/9 (50 overs) |
v | Australia 289/4 (47.5 overs) |
Australia won by 6 wickets MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
Semi-finals |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 March | Sri Lanka 251/8 (50 overs) |
v | India 120/8 (34.1 overs) |
Match awarded to Sri Lanka Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 14 March | Australia 207/8 (50 overs) |
v | West Indies 202 all out (49.3 overs) |
Australia won by 5 runs Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali |
Final |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 March | Australia 241/7 (50 overs) |
v | Sri Lanka 245/3 (46.2 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |