Cricket Scandals: When India’s Quick Wickets Shocked Semi-Final Fans

When it comes to the matches which scare the Indian fans, many of them may talk about the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand or the 2023 World Cup final against Australia. But a few of them remember the semi-final clash against Sri Lanka, where India’s batting order collapsed badly. Some fans call it a great play by the Sri Lankan bowlers, while other players and even fans have called the match fixed.

The Build-Up to the Clash

The 1996 World Cup seemed like an opportunity for the Indian team to get the title once again after they had last won in 1983. The team performed well in the Group stages, finishing third in Group A with 3 wins in 5 matches. The match also propelled them to the Quarter-final clash against Pakistan. India went on to defeat Pakistan by 39 runs and moved to the next stage.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka was seen as an unstoppable team in this World Cup. Playing 5 matches in Group B, the team won all of them, finishing at the top and also reached the playoffs. In the Quarter-final match, they defeated England by 5 wickets and 56 balls remaining, setting the stage for the semi-final clash, where they would be facing India.

Sri Lanka’s Innings

The stage was all set for India and Sri Lanka in the semi-finals, where India surely had the upper hand, having the home ground advantage. The match was being played at the iconic Eden Gardens, and the supporters were heavily in favour of India, unaware of what was going to happen next. Winning the toss in the semi-final match, India decided to field first.

This decision was taken by Mohammed Azharuddin, which is still questioned to date by players like Vinod Kambli. Indian bowlers had a great start to the finals, as the first three batsmen of Sri Lanka got out, scoring just 2 runs combined. After that, Aravinda de Silva and Roshan Mahanama started to dominate the Indian bowling line-up.

Aravinda lost his wicket to Anil Kumble, but Arjuna Ranatunga and Hashan Tillakaratne were also able to contribute well to the team, scoring 35 and 32 runs each. Amidst this, Roshan Mahanama scored 58 runs off 101 balls, before being retired hurt. By the end of the innings, Sri Lanka was able to score 251 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. For India, Javagal Srinath dominated with the ball, taking 3 wickets as Sachin Tendulkar also took 2.

India’s Promising Start

India now had to chase the target of 252, which seemed easy at the start, as India’s line-up was filled with star players such as Navjot Sidhu, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, and many more. At that time, Tendulkar also stood at the top of the run-scoring charts in the World Cup, showcasing India’s batting line-up dominance.

Navjot Sidhu was struggling with his form, and his campaign was filled with inconsistent performances. He lost his wicket early, putting India down at the score of 8 for the loss of a wicket. But then came Sanjay Manjrekar, and along with Sachin Tendulkar, he played a vital knock.

Tendulkar focused on scoring runs for the team while Manjrekar stood at the other end, playing the role of an anchor. Eventually, Tendulkar reached his half-century, and all the Indian fans thought that the game was now in their hands, unaware of what was coming next.

The Turning Point – Sachin’s Dismissal

After standing at the score of 98 runs for the loss of just one wicket, came a point where the match turned completely in Sri Lanka’s favour. On a great delivery by Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar was trapped as Romesh Kaluwitharana stumped him. With Tendulkar falling short of his crease, he was given out and had to walk off after scoring 65 runs off 88 balls, with 9 fours.

Indian fans had their hopes washed away a bit, watching Tendulkar go off to the pavilion, but still there was a part in them which believed that there is still much left in the game. But then the team lost quick wickets, as their skipper Mohammad Azharuddin got out for a duck, and Sanjay Manjrekar was also dismissed quickly after him, getting out for 25 runs in 48 balls.

With Sanjay Manjrekar’s wicket, India stood at the score of 101 for the loss of 4 wickets. After that, the collapse followed with wickets of Javagal Srinath (6), Ajay Jadeja (0), Nayan Mongia (1), and Aashish Kapoor (0). Amidst these constant wickets, only Vinod Kambli stood constantly at the other end, watching the senior players struggle to score runs.

After the wicket of Aashish Kapoor, the Indian fans at Kolkata erupted in anger as they watched the team go from 98 for the loss of one wicket to 120 for the loss of 8 wickets. Following that, the shock of the fans turned into anger, and they started booing the Indian players, blaming them for deliberately getting out on purpose to lose the match.

Some fans even started to throw water bottles and debris on the field, which started to disrupt the play. Along with that, some fans also lit fires in the stands, and the chaos was increasing, even turning out to be out of control for the police. With the match being halted for a few minutes, the umpires talked with the Match referee, Clive Lloyd.

The umpires and referee started to connect with the fans, making announcements to calm them down, which would help the game resume. But the fans continued their unruly behaviour, and the match couldn’t continue at this stage. Therefore, the match referee announced Sri Lanka as the winners, making them win by default.

When the match result was announced, the Indian players who were at the crease at that time, Anil Kumble and Vinod Kambli, walked back to the pavilion in disappointment. Kambli was also captured in tears on camera as this moment remains as one of the most emotional moments for Indian cricket.

The Aftermath

After the match, the media started to question and blame the skipper, Mohammad Azharuddin, for his team selection and form. Along with that, the team’s over-reliance on Sachin Tendulkar was also questioned, with some allegations coming against the team for match fixing.

The Eden Gardens crowd also received backlash globally, which marked it as a black day for the Indian cricket team and its fans. On the other hand, Sri Lanka qualified for the World Cup finals for the very first time, and they also went on to defeat Australia in the finals to win their maiden World Cup title.

Several years later, Vinod Kambli talked about the incident, saying, “I will never forget the 1996 match because my career ended after this, and I was dropped from the team. I was stunned by India’s decision to field.” Along with that, Vinod Kambli also put down some allegations of match fixing on his teammates and the team’s captain, Azharuddin.

Later, Azharuddin was asked about his opinion on what Kambli said earlier, to which he replied:

Absolutely rubbish, whatever he (Kambli) is talking about. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. When you have people who have no character and no background come on TV and talk absolute rubbish in front of the nation and demean all the players who played in the team, it is disrespectful and it’s very sad.

Why It Remains a Scandal

The fall of wickets at such a grand stage by the senior players in the 1996 World Cup semi-final is still regarded as a scandal. Some analysts say that match fixing was involved, and it has still not been figured out who was the culprit, while others say that it happened due to the psychological breakdown at such a grand stage.