The evolution of one-day cricket that was jumpstarted with the 1992 World Cup continued in 1996. Back in the subcontinent after one event in Australia and New Zealand, this event was known as the Wills World Cup. And the notable changes included the presence of minnows (or associate countries) Kenya, UAE and Netherlands.

Returning to the older format of groups, this edition saw two groups of six teams each, from where four teams would go through to the quarter-finals. There was some controversy surrounding matches to be held in Sri Lanka with bombings in Colombo just a few days prior to the event. As a result, the West Indies and Australia forfeited their matches in Colombo.

The 1996 edition will also be remembered for the true explosion of the pinch-hitting opener. The field restrictions had come about four years earlier, but they would be utilised to the fullest only this time around. And it would bring to the world such stars as Romesh Kaluwithrana, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mark Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar in full flow.

England were suffering their worst outing in World Cups to date and after two successive finals in preceding editions, much was expected of them. But with a young and inexperienced team, not much went their way. They did not beat any of the Test playing nations they played against and managed to get past the UAE and Netherlands only. Despite this, though, they made it through to the next round.

South Africa had performed with clinical precision in the preliminary stages and won all five matches to establish themselves as one of the title contenders and prove that 1992 was not a fluke. Jonty Rhodes was going strong as ever even on the harder and drier outfields of the subcontinent.

With one match abandoned and a loss to India, it was important for the West Indies to ensure they won their other matches against Australia and Kenya. Interestingly, they beat Australia, but lost to Kenya by 73 runs! This was by far one of the low points of West Indies in World Cup cricket when they didn't even touch 100 as a team.

Australia finished in second place in Group A but had they played Sri Lanka instead of forfeiting the match, the situation may well have been different. In their match against India, one of the better ones in the early rounds, Australia had only narrowly escaped defeat. It was largely thanks to Shane Warne and some poor Indian batting that Australia had won the match.

Group B saw Pakistan and New Zealand finish above England. The defending champions Pakistan were in the enviable position of having to play India in the quarterfinal at Bangalore. And what a classic it turned out to be!

In what is always the match to watch out for in a World Cup, India and Pakistan faced off in the quarterfinal at a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The going was brutal right from the start. There was also a hint of controversy around when Wasim Akram pulled out last minute claiming a side strain. Nonetheless, the Pakistan bowling still looked formidable with Waqar Younis leading the pack and ably supported by India's nemesis over the years, Aqib Javed.

India started their innings in emphatic fashion. Navjot Singh Sidhu (93) decided to manhandle the bowling as he launched a flurry of pulls and drives. His opening partnership with Sachin Tendulkar was worth 90 runs, but Tendulkar contributed only 31 of these! After Tendulkar fell, India lost wickets regularly and at one point was in danger of not posting a competitive enough total. But Ajay Jadeja (45 off 25 balls) had other plans. He came in to bat in the final few overs and took to Waqar with such relish that neither the Pakistan team, nor the crowd could believe what they were witnessing. India finally finished with a very competitive 287.

The pitch was a good one and India's pace bowling on such a pitch was never going to worry too many. Aamir Sohail (55) and Saeed Anwar (48) got Pakistan off to a great start putting on 84 for the opening partnership. But soon after this was broken, Sohail lost his nerve. He hit Prasad for a boundary and called out to show him where the ball had gone. But this disturbed his concentration and in trying to repeat his stroke next ball, was clean bowled. The momentum had shifted due to one act of bravado and India was back in the hunt. Two more quick wickets by Prasad firmly put India on top. But the old firm of Salim Malik and Javed Miandad set about correcting things. Unfortunately, neither was young enough to pinch singles as is needed when chasing such a big total and were always under pressure. Eventually, India broke through and halted the Pakistan chase 39 runs away from the target. India had maintained their record of not losing to Pakistan in the World Cup!

In the other quarterfinals, Australia faced off against neighbours and arch-rival New Zealand. Riding high on the back of a fabulous 89* by Captain Lee Germon (remember the wicketkeeper?) and all-rounder Chris Harris (130), New Zealand posted a target of 287. But Australia planned their chase to perfection and Mark Waugh's third hundred of the tournament, a sublime 110, with brother Steve scoring 59 was enough for the win by 6 wickets. Mark Waugh's third hundred also equalled the record for most hundreds in a single edition of the event.

Sri Lanka overcame England easily in their quarterfinal played at Faisalabad. Batting first, England score 235 with Phil Defreitas topscoring with 67! The English top order had been woefully out of form throughout the tournament and this match was no different. Some listless bowling saw Jayasuriya take them to the cleaners with a fine 82 off just 44 balls! Even after his wicket fell, Sri Lanka was able to cruise home with almost 10 overs to spare.

But undoubtedly, the upset of the tournament came when the West Indies beat South Africa by 19 runs. Till this match, South Africa had looked like a professional team with a task to complete. But Brian Lara took them to task so badly that they had no clue what happened. Lara scored 111 and was well supported by Shivnarine Chanderpaul (56). The SA reply was going well at 1-118 when Andrew Hudson (54) fell to part-time bowler Jimmy Adams. A flurry of wickets and South Africa was struggling to get back on track. Roger Harper (4/47) proved to be the most devastating of all West Indian bowlers! The South African campaign ended with 5 wins and one loss. The West Indies at this stage had 3 wins and 3 losses!

The first semi-final of the 1996 tournament is one that every Indian fan tries hard to forget. It was the first international cricket match to be awarded by "default" to a team. Unfortunately for India, it happened to them on their home ground. The tournament had always threatened to turn violent in the stands and these fears came true in the semi-final under lights at Kolkata. India was chasing a gettable target of 252 and was well on track until Tendulkar was at the crease. Once he was stumped by the combination of Jayasuriya and Kalu, the collapse started. India lost 7 for 22 in just 70 balls and the writing was on the wall! But the crowd could not bear to see this and took matters into their own hands throwing stuff including bottles and fruit on to the ground. Match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the match to Sri Lanka and filed two reports citing the incidents and recommended action. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka had been rescued from a precarious 2 for 1 by Aravinda de Silva's fiery 67 off just 45 balls.

The second semi-final was a more straightforward though exciting affair. The West Indies had regained form and had reduced Australia to 4 for 15 when Stuart Law (72), Michael Bevan (69) and Ian Healy (31) took them to a slightly more respectable 207. In reply, the Windies were doing well until 3 for 165 when Chanderpaul (80) was out. That triggered a collapse which saw the West Indies lose 7 for 37 and the match was Australia's by 5 runs.

In none of the previous five finals had any one player dominated so completely. Australia had batted first setting Sri Lanka a competitive 241. Mark Taylor's 74 and Ricky Ponting's 45 were the highlights of the Australian innings. Aravinda de Silva had accounted both their wickets in addition to taking two catches. When he came in to bat, Sri Lanka was struggling at 2 for 23 with the swashbuckling opening duo back in the hut. But de Silva took charge and with Asanka Gurusinha (65) and Arjuna Ranatunga (47) set about collecting the necessary runs. He finished on 107* and hit the winning runs. The impossible had happened. A team that was considered a minnow until four years ago had won the cup and were now a force to reckon with.

Many attribute Sri Lanka's success to the two forfeited matches in the preliminary stage and the poor pitch in the semi-final that brought about India's downfall. But the fact is that Sri Lanka handled the pressure and was innovative in their approach. Their time had come and they grasped the opportunity with both hands.

PHOTOS © GETTY IMAGES