World Cup 1999 News

Amay Khurasiya played domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh

Here's a comprehensive overview of the World Cup winners since its inception in 1975

The year is 1999, it is the 31st over in the final super six match of the World Cup. Lance Klusener is bowling and Australia are stationed at 152 for 3, with Steve Waugh batting in the middle.

On this day in 1999, the legendary spinner Saqlain Mushtaq took a hat-trick in the ICC World Cup Super-Six fixture against Zimbabwe at The Oval. He also became the second player after Wasim Akram to secure two hat-tricks in the 50-overs format. His first hat-trick came against Zimbabwe in 1996 at Peshawar. The Pakistan team had topped the league stage points table with four wins in five league matches. Ahead of this league match, they had lost their two encounters against India and South Africa. The Akram-led side opted to bat first in a crunch game. The likes of Saeed Anwar (103), Wajahatullah Wasti (40), and Shahid Afridi (37) were the key contributors to the team, posting a total of 271 on the board. Heath Streak and Henry Olonga picked two wickets each. In reply, the opener Neil Johnson played a fighting knock of 54, but the middle-order failed to contribute in a hefty manner. With 123/7 in 40 overs, it was certainly a done and dusted affair. But, Mushtaq came to bowl and produced impressive performances, which gave joy to the crowds in the stands and cricket fans back at home as well. In the first ball of the over, Olonga charged but missed the ball by a fair margin, and was stumped by Moin Khan. However, the patience of the fast bowler lasted 31 balls, wherein he could score only five runs. A similar type of dismissal happened in the subsequent delivery, with Adam Huckle was beaten by the spin and was nowhere close to the ball. A total of five fielders were positioned around Pommie Mbangwa for an all-important ball. Mbangwa could not judge the ball, failed to make contact with the bat, and was adjudged LBW. This wicket helped Pakistan to win by a significant margin of 148 runs and entered the World Cup semi-finals. In the penultimate stage, they chase down the score of 241 set by New Zealand. However, they emerged as runners-up after losing to Australia.

On this day, India secured a 63-run victory over England and knocked them out of the 1999 World Cup in Birmingham.

On this day in 1999, Indian batting stalwarts Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid etched their names in history by putting up a first-ever stand of 300+ runs in ODIs. They claimed this unique feat in a group fixture against Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup at Taunton. Ahead of this fixture, India had just one win in three appearances and was in desperate need of a win to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the Super 6 stage. On the other hand, Sri Lanka also had the same criteria to progress into the next stage. Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga invited India to bat first. Left-handed opener Sadagoppan Ramesh hit a boundary in the fourth ball of the innings but was undone by a peach of a delivery from Chaminda Vaas, which took his off stump in the subsequent ball. After that, Ganguly and Dravid played cautiously but hit the loose deliveries away, especially the ball at their legs. They were impressive to time the ball well against Vaas and hit multiple boundaries in his fourth and fifth over of the spell. At the 10-over mark, India was at a commanding position with 70+ runs on the board. In the 15th over of the innings, Dravid brought up his half-century off just 43 balls. In the 23rd over, Ganguly completed his fifty 68 balls. A couple of overs later, Muttiah Muralitharan missed the run-out chance of Ganguly, which could have turned the tables in their favour. With their eyes set on the pitch, both the batters scored consistent boundaries all around the park. Then, in the 36th over, Dravid scored his 5th ODI century off 102 balls. Three overs later, Ganguly hit his 7th century in the 50-overs format. ‘Dada’ often charged against Muralitharan to hit him sixes on the mid-on and straight boundaries. On the other hand, 'Mr. Dependable' made good use of the pacers to accelerate the run rate. In the 46th over, Muralitharan dropped Ganguly's catch at long-on, but darted an accurate throw to run-out Dravid for a well-made 145 off 129 balls, with 17 fours and a single six. After the mammoth partnership, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, and Robin Singh could not trouble the scorers. In the last over of the innings, Ganguly holed out to substitute fielder Upul Chandana in the long-off boundary off Pramodya Wickramasinghe. He scored 183 off 158 balls, comprising 17 fours and seven sixes, as the Indian team posted a humongous 373 on the board. In reply, Aravinda de Silva (56) and Arjuna Ranatunga (42) were the only notable contributors for Sri Lanka, as they fell short by 157 runs. All-rounder Singh picked up a five-wicket haul in the same match. After this victory, the Indian team won against England and sealed the place in the Super-6 stage. However, the team could not feature in the semi-finals.