"The win that galvanized a nation and inspired me" - Kumar Sangakkara on Sri Lanka's World Cup win in 1996
On this day, 25 years ago, the Sri Lankan team got their hands on the World Cup. Commemorating this fabulous achievement, former skipper Kumar Sangakkara shared his thoughts about the impact that victory had on Sri Lankan cricket on social media.
Sangakkara called the victory a feat that delighted the entire nation and inspired a generation.
"25 years after 1996. The win that galvanized a nation and inspired me to imagine that maybe one day I would play for the country. #1996worldcupwin," Sangakkara wrote in a tweet.
Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup story
In what was a 12-team tournament, Sri Lanka played out of their skins to win their first-ever 50-over World Cup. The 1996 edition of the tournament was played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
However, due to security concerns in Colombo, Australia and West Indies forfeited all their games at the venue and the Lankans won two of their five league matches without a ball being bowled. They defeated the likes of Zimbabwe, India and Kenya to remain unbeaten in the league stages of the tournament.
In the first quarter-final against England in Islamabad, Arjuna Ranatunga and his men thrashed the Brits by 5 wickets. Sanath Jayasuriya was the star of the match with a 44-ball knock of 82 while also picking up a couple of wickets.
The infamous semi-final against India in Kolkata was next. The 'Men in Blue' were not at their best and the fans resorted to hooliganism even as the game was still underway. This caused the game to end abruptly and Sri Lanka were declared the winners.
The final of the tournament was played at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore against Australia. Sri Lanka's bowlers were brilliant in the final and restricted the Aussies to a sub-par total of 241/7. Aravinda de Silva was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name.
In the chase, it was Aravinda de Silva again who came to Sri Lanka's rescue after they lost a couple of quick wickets. He scored an unbeaten knock of 107 runs to help Sri Lanka get over the finish line.
Asanka Gurusinha (65 off 99 balls) and Arjuna Ranatunga (47* off 37 balls) also made valuable contributions as Sri Lanka won the World Cup final by 7 wickets.