It was on a day like today (17th of March 1996), Sri Lanka’s cricketers achieved the unimaginable by winning the Cricket World Cup beating Australia in the grand final in Lahore. The country came to a standstill as Arjuna Ranatunga’s men stunned the pre-tournament favourites with a seven wicket win.
Wisden celebrated the win with the following tribute:
“Nobody gave Sri Lanka a chance before the World Cup – they were 100-1 outsiders – but their fairytale victory was completed with a comprehensive defeat of Australia in the final in Lahore. No true sporting underdog has ever won a major tournament with such relentless conviction. After demolishing England and India in the quarter- and semi-finals, Sri Lanka brushed Australia aside with ease. Aravinda de Silva made a wonderfully pure 107 not out, to add to three wickets, two catches, and one of the more inevitable Man-of-the-Match awards, and Arjuna Ranatunga glided the winning runs with 22 balls and seven wickets to spare.
