The sixth edition of the Cricket World Cup returned back to the sub-continent and this time Sri Lanka also played the hosts along with India and Pakistan. This World Cup began in a controversial manner with Australia and West Indies forfeiting their matches in Sri Lanka citing security fears.
For starters, 12 teams took part and were divided into two groups with newcomers like Kenya, UAE and Netherlands making their World Cup debuts. The tournament also saw a revolution with the Sri Lankan openers – Jayasuriya and Kaluwithrana treating the first 15 overs as slog overs! Sri Lanka with this innovative tactic along with a spin-oriented attack gave a huge surprise by not only entering the Final but also easing to a victory against Australia to emerge from minnows to World Champions under the shrewd leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga!
Below are the Scorecards of the 1996 Wills World Cup :
GROUP A MATCHES
- Feb 16 : Scorecard of West Indies Vs Zimbabwe at Hyderabad
- Feb 17 : Australia Vs Sri Lanka at Colombo : Sri Lanka won by to a walk over with Australia deciding not to play in Sri Lanka due to safety concerns
- Feb 18 : Scorecard of India Vs Kenya at Cuttack
- Feb 21 : Scorecard of Sri Lanka Vs Zimbabwe at Colombo
- Feb 21 : Scorecard of India Vs West Indies at Gwalior
- Feb 23 : Scorecard of Australia Vs Kenya at Visakhapatnam
- Feb 25 : Sri Lanka Vs West Indies at Colombo : Sri Lanka won by to a walk over with West Indies deciding not to play in Sri Lanka due to safety concerns
- Feb 27 : Scorecard of Zimbabwe Vs Kenya at Patna
- Feb 27 : Scorecard of India Vs Australia at Bombay
- Feb 29 : Scorecard of West Indies Vs Kenya at Pune
- Mar 01 : Scorecard of Australia Vs Zimbabwe at Nagpur
- Mar 02 : Scorecard of India Vs Sri Lanka at New Delhi
- Mar 04 : Scorecard of Australia Vs West Indies at Jaipur
- Mar 06 : Scorecard of India Vs Zimbabwe at Kanpur
- Mar 06 : Scorecard of Sri Lanka Vs Kenya at Kandy
GROUP B LEAGUE MATCHES
- Feb 14 : Scorecard of England Vs New Zealand at Ahmedabad
- Feb 16 : Scorecard of South Africa Vs UAE at Rawalpindi
- Feb 17 : Scorecard of Netherlands Vs New Zealand at Baroda
- Feb 18 : Scorecard of England Vs UAE at Peshawar
- Feb 20 : Scorecard of New Zealand Vs South Africa at Faisalabad
- Feb 22 : Scorecard of England Vs Netherlands at Peshawar
- Feb 24 : Scorecard of Pakistan Vs UAE at Gujranwala
- Feb 25 : Scorecard of England Vs South Africa at Rawalpindi
- Feb 26 : Scorecard of Pakistan Vs Netherlands at Lahore
- Feb 27 : Scorecard of New Zealand Vs UAE at Faisalabad
- Feb 29 : Scorecard of Pakistan Vs South Africa at Karachi
- Mar 01 : Scorecard of Netherlands Vs UAE at Lahore
- Mar 03 : Scorecard of England Vs Pakistan at Karachi
- Mar 05 : Scorecard of Netherlands Vs South Africa at Rawalpindi
- Mar 06 : Scorecard of New Zealand Vs Pakistan at Lahore
Points Table of Group A
- Sri Lanka – Matches : 5 Won : 5 Lost : 0 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 10
- Australia – Matches : 5 Won : 3 Lost : 2 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 6
- India – Matches : 5 Won : 3 Lost : 2 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 6
- West Indies – Matches : 5 Won : 2 Lost : 3 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 4
- Zimbabwe – Matches : 5 Won : 1 Lost : 4 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 2
- Kenya – Matches : 5 Won : 1 Lost : 4 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 2
Points Table of Group B
- South Africa – Matches : 5 Won : 5 Lost : 0 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 10
- Pakistan – Matches : 5 Won : 4 Lost : 1 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 8
- New Zealand – Matches : 5 Won : 3 Lost : 2 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 6
- England – Matches : 5 Won : 2 Lost : 3 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 4
- UAE – Matches : 5 Won : 1 Lost : 4 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 2
- Netherlands – Matches : 5 Won : 0 Lost : 5 Tied : 0 No Result : 0 Points : 0
Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Final
- Mar 09 : Scorecard of Quarter Final 1 – England Vs Sri Lanka at Faisalabad
- Mar 09 : Scorecard of Quarter Final 2 – India Vs Pakistan at Bangalore
- Mar 11 : Scorecard of Quarter Final 3 – South Africa Vs West Indies at Karachi
- Mar 11 : Scorecard of Quarter Final 4 – Australia Vs New Zealand at Madras
- Mar 13 : Scorecard of Semi Final 1 – India Vs Sri Lanka at Calcutta
- Mar 14 : Scorecard of Semi Final 2 – Australia Vs West Indies at Mohali
- Mar 17 : Scorecard of Final – Australia Vs Sri Lanka at Gaddafi Stadium