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.
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Laxman 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.
Harbhajan Singh is a former Indian cricketer who became a politician, serving as a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha. He is also a film actor, a television celebrity and a cricket commentator.
The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 New Zealand had to wait until 1956, more than 26 years, for its first Test victory, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch. New Zealand are the inaugural champions of WTC which they won in 2021 and they have also won ICC CT in 2000. They have played in the CWC final twice and the T20 WC final once.
The Pakistan national cricket team, has represented Pakistan in international cricket since 1952. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Pakistan compete in cricket tours and tournaments sanctioned by the PCB and other regional or international cricket bodies in Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20) formats. Pakistan are current ICC Champions Trophy holders.
The Bangladesh men's national cricket team, popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket win in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test-playing nation. It became an associate member of the ICC in 1977, and competed in six ICC Trophies but performed inconsistently until 1997, which marked the year of their first major victory, winning the 1997 ICC Trophy held in Malaysia. This set Bangladesh on its way of becoming a Test-playing nation, a journey which ended with success in the year 2000.
The Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium is a cricket ground located in Mohali, Punjab, India. It is popularly referred to as the Mohali Stadium. The stadium was built by Geetanshu Kalra is home to the Punjab team. The construction of the stadium took around ₹ 25 crore and 3 years to complete. The stadium has an official capacity of 26,950 spectators. The stadium was designed by Ar. Arun Loomba and Associates, and constructed by R.S. Construction Company based in Chandigarh. Inderjit Singh Bindra stadium is home of Punjab cricket team and Punjab Kings. The stadium is named after former BCCI president & former PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra.
The Nepal men's national cricket team represents the country of Nepal in International cricket and is governed by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). They are Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1996. Nepal were awarded Twenty20 International (T20I) status by the ICC in June 2014 until the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and earned One Day International (ODI) status in 2018.
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in the country after Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, formerly known as Fateh Maidan, is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana. The stadium is primarily used for cricket and association football.
The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, also called Mirpur Stadium, is an International cricket ground at Mirpur, in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Located 10 kilometres from Mirpur city centre, the ground holds approximately 25,000 people and is named after the Bengali statesman A. K. Fazlul Huq, who was accorded the title Sher-e-Bangla.
The India–Pakistan cricket rivalry is one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world. The matches between these neighbouring countries are known for its intensity. It is considered as one of the biggest matches in the world, and is among the most-viewed sport games. It is often termed as the El Clásico of cricket.
Eden Gardens is an international cricket stadium in Kolkata, India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 68,000. It is owned and operated by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and is the home ground of the Kolkata Knight Riders. It houses the headquarters of Cricket Association of Bengal.
Deshabandu Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain, Regarded as one of the best Sri Lankan cricketer, he played in the team as an all-rounder. De Silva was a key member of the Sri Lankan team that won 1996 Cricket World Cup, where he scored a match winning century in the final, that brought Sri Lanka from underdog status to present-day form. He has held various posts in Sri Lankan Cricket after his retirement in 2003. He was inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2023.
The Silver Jubilee Independence Cup was a One Day International cricket tournament held in Dhaka, Bangladesh during January 1998. The tournament was held as a celebration of 25 years of Bangladesh's independence and all the games were held at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.India, Pakistan and the hosts Bangladesh were the participating teams in the tournament.
The 1996 'Friendship Cup' , also known as the 1996 Sahara 'Friendship Cup' for sponsorship reasons was a One Day International cricket series which took place between 14 and 23 September 1996. The tournament was held in Canada, which was seen as perfect neutral territory for India and Pakistan to play each other. The tournament was won by Pakistan, who won the series 3–2. This was the first edition of the annual event.
The Pakistani cricket team toured Australia in December 2016 to play three Test matches and five One Day Internationals (ODIs). The 1st Test at The Gabba in Brisbane was a day/night match played with a pink ball. In preparation for the first Test, ten matches in Pakistan's 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the first round of matches in Australia's 2016–17 Sheffield Shield season were played as day/night matches. Ahead of the Test matches, Pakistan also played a first-class match against Cricket Australia XI.
The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup final was a Twenty20 International cricket match played at MCG in Melbourne, Australia on 13 November 2022 to determine the winner of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It was played between England and Pakistan, with both the teams eyeing their second ICC Men's T20 World Cup title. England won the match by 5 wickets to win the title for the second time. Having also won the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final, England became the first men's team to hold the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup titles at the same time.
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