Feroz Shah Kotla, in the heart of the Indian capital in New Delhi can be a challenging place for visiting teams. India hardly lose here and over the years the venue has been one of their fortresses. In the 1996 World Cup, Sri Lanka had all their group games at home except the clash against India. They had to travel to Delhi for the Indian game.
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This was a formidable Indian side as well and pre-tournament favourites given that they were certain to play all their games until the final at home. A strong batting line up, a formidable spin quartet and the raw pace of Javagal Srinath made everyone believe that this was India’s best chance.
Sachin Tendulkar was on song scoring a run a ball 137 including eight fours and five sixes. Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin was equal to the task, posting an unbeaten 72 as the pair added 165 runs for the third wicket. India amassed 271 for three and two and half decades ago this was as good as gold. But the Sri Lankans were peaking at the right time and they would come up with an entertaining run chase to snatch the game away from the hosts.
Sanath Jayasuriya took on the bowling with some blazing strokes on the off-side, clearing the boundary frequently. This World Cup, he ended the careers of two players – Manoj Prabhakar of India and Phillip DeFreitas of England.
The irony was that Prabhakar, who had been such a thorn in the Sri Lankan flesh throughout his career, was eventually forced to bowl off-spin in that game as Jayasuriya made merry off his medium pace bowling. Prabhakar was suffering this fate at his home ground as Sri Lanka milked 47 runs off his four overs. His first two overs alone cost India 33 runs, forcing him to spin during his second spell. He would play no more cricket for India.
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Jayasuriya entertained the fans with 79 runs that came off 76 balls with nine fours and two sixes before being dismissed by Anil Kumble with Prabhakar ironically completing the catch.
The 53-run stand that Jayasuriya added with Rumesh Kaluwitharana had such a devastating effect that oppositions started fearing the Sri Lankan duo like the plague. There was no chance for the bowlers to provide width as both batters would slash hard and with just two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle, this was playing into the Sri Lankan hands.
The electric start that Jayasuriya provided helped the middle order to pace out the run chase. Despite losing a couple of wickets, the batsmen who came in next could settle themselves and play as there were no issues with the Required Run Rate thanks to the start that Jayasuriya had given.
When Aravinda de Silva was dismissed, Sri Lanka were 141 for four, still needing 131 runs. Skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and the reliable Hashan Tillakaratne finished things off with an unbeaten stand for the fifth wicket. Ranatunga posted 46 off 63 balls while Tillakaratne hit 70 off 98 balls to see the team through with eight balls to spare.
It was this comprehensive run chase that put fears in India and by the time the semi-final came, they were in no mood to let Sri Lanka chase again. Instead, they opted to chase themselves despite warnings by the Eden Gardens curator that the second innings will have plenty of assistance for spin bowlers. That proved to be a deadly mistake. When you play sports defensively, it tends to teach you harsh lessons.
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