Pakistan entered the 1996 ODI World Cup as the defending champions. But they couldn’t repeat the success of the 1992 edition, and it was another Asian team that won the tournament. Sri Lanka surprised everyone with its performance and became the third Asian team after India and Pakistan to win the ODI World Cup in 1996. The 1996 ODI World Cup was co-hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
It was famously known as the “Wills World Cup” of 1996 as the Wills Navy Cut brand sponsored it. This tournament saw a total of 12 teams, including three associate nations, compete for the first time in a tournament. 12 teams were divided into two groups of six.
Group A: Australia, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Kenya
Group B: Pakistan, South Africa, England, New Zealand, UAE and Netherlands
Sri Lanka’s journey in 1996 ODI World Cup
Sri Lanka played their first match against Australia in Colombo on February 17. Australia didn’t appear, and Sri Lanka was rewarded two points. In their second game, Sri Lanka won against Zimbabwe by six wickets. In their third game, Sri Lanka was rewarded another two points, and just like Australia, the West Indies also didn’t come play in Colombo.
The first three games for Sri Lanka were played in Colombo, then they moved to New Delhi for their fourth game against India on March 2. India made a good score of 271/3 in 50 overs, with Sachin Tendulkar scoring 137 not out. In reply, Sri Lanka also batted well and reached the target in 48.4 overs. They made 272/4 to win by six wickets. Sri Lanka hosted Kenya in their next game at Kandy on March 6.
And they registered a huge win. Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a massive score of 398/5 in their first inning, which was the highest score back then. Aravinda de Silva made 145 runs for them. In reply, Kenya reached 254/7 and lost the game by 144 runs. That win helped Sri Lanka top the group with five wins out of five.
Then, in the first quarterfinal, Sri Lanka met England in Faisalabad on March 9. England batted first and scored 235/8, which was a below-par total. Sri Lanka was in great form, and they registered a comprehensive win. They made 236/5 in just 40.4 overs to win by five wickets and advance to the semi-final. They faced India in the first semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 13.
That game is still known for some weird incidents when the public interrupted the game. Batting first, Sri Lanka made 251/8 in 50 overs. In reply, India struggled badly with their batting performance and was at 120/8 in 34.1 when the spectators set fire to the stadium. As a result, the match referee awarded the win to Sri Lanka, and they made it to the final of the tournament.
The final saw Sri Lanka and Australia facing each other at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 17. Australia scored 241/7 in the first inning. Sri Lanka chased it down quite easily and made 245/3 in 46.2 overs to win their maiden ODI World Cup. Aravinda de Silva scored a brilliant, unbeaten century and made 107 not out to lead his team to the World Cup title.
Sri Lanka Squad for the 1996 ODI World Cup
Arjuna Ranatunga (c), Aravinda de Silva (vc), Upul Chandana, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Dharmasena, Asanka Gurusinha, Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Hashan Tillakaratne, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodya Wickramasinghe
Sri Lanka Roadmap to 1996 World Cup Final
| Match | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
| Group | Australia | Colombo | Feb 17, Sat | Won (walkover without a ball bowled) |
| Group | Zimbabwe | Colombo | Feb 21, Wed | Won by 6 wkts |
| Group | West Indies | Colombo | Feb 25, Sun | Won (walkover without a ball bowled) |
| Group | India | Delhi | Mar 02, Sat | Won by 6 wkts |
| Group | Kenya | Kandy | Mar 06, Wed | Won by 144 runs |
| Quarter Final | England | Faisalabad | Mar 09, Sat | Won by 5 wkts |
| Semi Final | India | Kolkata | Mar 13, Wed | Won by Default |
| Final | Australia | Lahore | Mar 17, Sun | Won by 7 wkts |
SL Most Runs in 1996 World Cup
| Batter | Mts | Runs | HS | Avg | 50/100 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 6 | 448 | 145 | 89.60 | 2/2 |
| Asanka Gurusinha | 6 | 307 | 87 | 51.16 | 3/0 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | 6 | 241 | 75* | 120.50 | 1/0 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 6 | 221 | 82 | 36.83 | 2/0 |
| Hashan Tillakaratne | 6 | 128 | 70* | 64.00 | 1/0 |
SL Most Wickets in 1996 World Cup
| Bowler | Mts | Wkts | BBI | Econ | 4/5 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran | 6 | 7 | 2/37 | 3.77 | 0/0 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 6 | 7 | 3/12 | 4.52 | 0/0 |
| Chaminda Vaas | 6 | 6 | 2/30 | 3.93 | 0/0 |
| Kumar Dharmasena | 6 | 6 | 2/30 | 4.44 | 0/0 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 6 | 4 | 3/42 | 5.11 | 0/0 |