Aravinda de Silva made 107 not out in the World Cup final — and also took 3 wickets with the ball — to lead Sri Lanka to their first World Cup title in a comprehensive 7-wicket victory over favourites Australia.
Sri Lanka had been growing as a cricketing force throughout the early 1990s under the guidance of coach Dav Whatmore and captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Their 1996 World Cup campaign was innovative — Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana had pioneered the opening Powerplay assault that teams now take for granted. Australia were defending champions.
Aravinda de Silva came in at number four and played one of the great innings of controlled, brilliant strokeplay. With Asanka Gurusinha and then Ranatunga, he rebuilt the chase with elegant driving and wristwork.
He reached his hundred in the 40th over. Sri Lanka crossed the target in the 47th. De Silva was not out 107, having batted for the majority of the innings. Ranatunga hit the winning boundary.
This was not just a cricket match — it was the first World Cup win for a South Asian nation other than India and Pakistan, and it came against the side everyone expected to win. Sri Lanka's innovative 1996 campaign — their 15-over blitz, their use of pinch-hitters — permanently changed ODI strategy across the world.
Sri Lanka 2/2 in two overs — Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana both out for ducks
De Silva's century — the innings that rebuilt the chase
Sri Lanka win by 7 wickets — first Asian team other than India or Pakistan to win the World Cup
March 17, 1996
World Cup Final, Lahore — Australia bat first, 241/7
Sri Lanka chase, over 1
Sri Lanka 2/2 — Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana both out
Over 40
De Silva reaches 100 — Sri Lanka well positioned
Over 47
Sri Lanka win by 7 wickets — de Silva 107*
Sri Lanka's win transformed the approach to ODI batting globally. Their pinch-hitting Powerplay strategy was copied by every major team within two years. De Silva and Jayasuriya became the two most influential ODI batsmen of the late 1990s.
One of the great World Cup final innings — all the more remarkable for coming when Sri Lanka were 2/2 and seemingly doomed. De Silva's 107 and his 3 wickets made him arguably the best player of a single World Cup final in history.
1996 was the World Cup that changed cricket's format. Sri Lanka invented modern ODI batting — the aggressive Powerplay, the lower-order hitting, the attitude that no score was too big to chase. Every ODI team since 1996 plays in their shadow.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.