The 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup was a triangular ODI cricket competition held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 12 to 19 April 1996. It featured the national cricket teams of South Africa, Pakistan and India. Its official sponsor was Pepsi. The tournament was won by South Africa, which defeated India in the final.
The Pepsi Sharjah Cup was the second ODI tournament held after the 1996 Cricket World Cup, held immediately afterwards the 1996 Singer Cup in Singapore, which was won by Pakistan over Sri Lanka and India. The matches were held at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in the emirate of Sharjah. The tournament had a round-robin series of matches, with each team playing the others twice.
Pakistan named a 14-player side, unchanged from the squad that won the 1996 Singer Cup. Intikhab Alam served as the team coach, and Dan Kiesel as the team physiotherapist. [1]
Bob Woolmer served as the team coach. Cassim Docrat was the team manager; Craig Smith was the physiotherapist and Paddy Upton worked as the exercise specialist. [1]
India named a 14-player side unchanged from the side it fielded in the 1996 Singer Cup. Sandeep Patil served as the team coach-cum-manager. [1] Vikram Rathour made his international debut in the tournament.
South Africa won all of their four round-robin matches. India and Pakistan each claimed one victory over the other. Tied at 2 points each, India qualified for the final against South Africa based on superior run-rate.
| Team | P | W | L | T | NR | NRR | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Africa | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1.67 | 8 |
 India | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | −0.53 | 2 |
 Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | −1.15 | 2 |
15 April Scorecard |
v | ||
South African opening-batsman Gary Kirsten was the top run-scorer of the tournament, amassing 356 runs in 7 innings at an average of 89, with two centuries and one fifty. [3] He was named the player of the series. Pakistani captain Aamir Sohail was the second-highest run getter, scoring 240 runs at an average of 60. [3]
South African fast-bowler Fanie de Villiers took the most number of wickets, taking 10 wickets at an average of 19.20. [4] Indian leg-spin bowler Anil Kumble followed with a haul of 8 wickets at an average of 26.50. [4]
The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, also branded as England '99, was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with selected matches also played in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands. The tournament was won by Australia, who beat Pakistan by 8 wickets in the final at Lord's in London.
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 after the Wills Navy Cut brand produced by tournament sponsor ITC, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India but Sri Lanka were hosts for the first time. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia by seven wickets in the final on 17 March 1996 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan.
Rahul Sharad Dravid is an Indian cricket coach and former captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Under his tutelage, the Under-19 team finished as runners-up at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup and won the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is colloquially known as Mr. Dependable and often referred to as The Wall. He helped the Indian national cricket team become the winner of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. Under his coaching, Indian cricket team finished as runners-up at the 2023 Cricket World Cup and 2023 ICC World Test Championship final and were semifinalist at the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Anil Kumble is an Indian former cricket captain, coach and commentator who played Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. Widely regarded as one of the best leg spin bowlers in Test Cricket History, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and is the fourth highest wicket taker of all time as of 2022. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, but relied primarily on pace, bounce, and accuracy. He was nicknamed "Apple" and "Jumbo". Kumble was selected as the Cricketer of the Year in 1993 Indian Cricket, and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later. Kumble was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka.
Saeed Anwar PP is a Pakistani former cricketer and a former captain for Tests and ODIs. An opening batsman and occasional slow left arm orthodox bowler, Anwar played international cricket between 1989 and 2003. Considered one of greatest opening batsmen Pakistan has ever produced and also regarded as one of the finest batsmen of his era. Anwar has scored twenty centuries in ODIs, more than any other Pakistani batsmen in this format. He played 55 Test matches, scoring 4052 runs with eleven centuries, average 45.52. In 247 One Day Internationals (ODIs) he made 8824 runs at an average of 39.21. Anwar is credited for being one of the most stylish batsmen of 1990s alongside Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn and Sourav Ganguly. His timing, elegance and placement of cricket shots are widely admired by cricket fans.
Mohammad Aamer Sohail Ali is a Pakistani cricket commentator and former cricketer. In a playing career that spanned ten years, Sohail played in 195 first-class and 261 List A Limited Overs matches, including 47 Test matches and 156 One Day Internationals for Pakistan.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team toured India for cricket matches in October, November and December 2005. The tour was split into two legs, as India hosted South Africa for a One Day International series in between the India–Sri Lanka ODIs and the Tests, which took place in December. Before the ODI series, India were ranked seventh on the ICC ODI Championship table, while Sri Lanka were second, and the Indian team had officially changed captains with Rahul Dravid taking over from Sourav Ganguly. However, India defied the rankings, winning the first four ODIs of seven to secure the series, and ended up with a 6–1 win despite resting captain Dravid and letting opener Virender Sehwag take over the helm for the sixth ODI. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's opener with 100 Tests and 345 ODIs, was dropped for the Tests after tallying 86 runs in the six ODIs, while Rahul Dravid moved up 18 places on the ICC player rankings with 312 runs for twice out. India's wicket-keeper MS Dhoni also made his mark, being the second highest averaging batsman of the series, and he made 183 not out in 3rd ODI matches at Jaipur, which was at the time the sixth-highest innings by a batsman in an ODI.
India has won the Cricket World Cup twice, once in 1983 and then in 2011. India finished as runners-up in 2003 and 2023.
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1996 cricket season. They played a total of eighteen matches, including three Tests and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against England. In the Tests and ODIs, India were captained by Mohammad Azharuddin, while Michael Atherton captained England.
The 1996 Singer Cup was a triangular cricket tournament held between 1 and 7 April 1996 in Singapore. The competition featured the national cricket teams of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The tournament was won by Pakistan, which defeated Sri Lanka in the final on 7 April.
The Titan Cup was a triangular One Day International cricket tournament held in India between 17 October and 6 November 1996 involving South Africa, Australia and India. Although South Africa had won all its round-robin matches, it lost in the final to India. The tournament was sponsored by and named after Titan Industries.
The 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup was a quadrangular ODI cricket tournament held in May 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of India. It featured the national cricket teams of New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the hosts India. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, which defeated Pakistan in the best-of-three finals. Sri Lanka became the Champion.
The 1997 Wills Golden Jubilee Tournament was a quadrangular one-day cricket competition held in November, 1997 in Pakistan to mark that country's 50th anniversary of independence. It featured the national cricket teams of Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and the hosts Pakistan. All the matches were held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Defeating Sri Lanka in the final, South Africa won its first tournament in the Indian subcontinent in its seventh attempt.
The South Africa national cricket team visited India in 2000 for a two-match Test series and a five-match ODI series. The Test teams were led by Hansie Cronje and Sachin Tendulkar respectively for South Africa and India, while the latter's ODI side was led by Sourav Ganguly. South Africa won the Test series 2–0, while India took the ODI series by a 3–2 margin. The ODI series was later marred by a dramatic match fixing scandal. It was the first time that a visiting Test team had won in India for thirteen years, and the last Test matches to be played by Cronje.
Pool B of the 2015 Cricket World Cup took place from 15 February to 15 March 2015. The group consisted of India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Zimbabwe, West Indies and South Africa. This phase of the tournament was played as a full round-robin amongst all seven teams, with India, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies advancing to the quarter-finals. India remained unbeaten in this Group.
The 1997–98 Coca-Cola Triangular Series was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India in May 1998. It was a tri-nation series between Bangladesh, India and Kenya. India defeated Kenya in the final to win the tournament.
Pakistan cricket team won the World Cup in 1992 under the captaincy of Imran Khan. Pakistan have also been runners up at the 1999 Cricket World Cup where they lost to Australia in the Final. They have been Semi Finalists four times and have also reached the Quarter Finals twice. Pakistan's historical win–loss record at the cricket world cup is 49-36, with 3 no results. Javed Miandad has appeared in six Cricket World Cups which is more than any other player from Pakistan.
The Pakistan cricket team toured South Africa between December 2018 and February 2019 to play three Tests, five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI fixtures were part of both teams' preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
The 1999–2000 Coca-Cola Cup was a triangular ODI cricket competition held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 22 to 31 March 2000. It featured the national cricket teams of South Africa, Pakistan and India. Its official sponsor was Coca-Cola. The tournament was won by Pakistan, who defeated South Africa in the final.
The 1997 Singer Akai Cup was held in Sharjah, UAE, between April 3-11, 1997. Three national teams took part: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe.