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On September 7, 1996, Sri Lanka locked horns in the Singer World Series final against Ausralia, defeating them by 50 runs. For those who aren’t aware, Singer World Series 1996 was played between four teams - India, Australia, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka, with the latter being host of the tournament. Coming back to the summit clash of the four-nation tournament, the heavy rains in Colombo played a role in reducing the final to a 35-over a side contest. Kangaroos, as expected, decided to bowl first, keeping the rain factor in mind at the R Premadasa Stadium, but the decision didn’t work out in the favor of them.
In the batting innings, the Lankan Lions performed quite impressively to put up a challenging total of 234/3 in 35 overs in the Singer World Series 1996 final. The likes of Romesh Kaluwitharana (58) and Aravinda de Silva (75*) scored a fifty each while Sanath Jayasuriya (27), Asanka Gurusinha (29), and their skipper at the time, Arjuna Ranatunga (39*) also contributed to big total for the home side. On the other hand, for Australia, Glenn McGrath took two wickets while Darren Lehmann took one wicket. The rest of the bowlers such as Paul Reiffel, Damien Fleming, Steve Waugh, and his brother Mark Waugh had a poor day with the ball.
Sri Lanka beat Australia in Singer World Series final just months after winning ODI World Cup 1996
In reply, the Kangaroos had a poor start as they lost both of their openers, Michael Slater and Mark Waugh with only 26 runs on the board in pursuit of the 236-run target in 35 overs. The wicket of Ricky Ponting created further problems as the team was reduced to 48/3. At this stage, Steve Waugh and Stuart Law put together 56 runs for the fourth wicket.
After this partnership was broken, the rest of the batters failed to make any impact and the team was bowled out for 184, losing the Singer World Series final by 50 runs. For the Lankan Lions, Upul Chandana took four wickets while Kumar Dharmasena and Chaminda Vaas took two wickets each. Muttiah Muralidaran chipped in with one wicket.
This was the second straight win the final of an ODI tournament for Sri Lanka against Australia after getting the better of them in the ODI World Cup 1996 final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. During that auspicious occasion on March 17, 1996, Aravinda de Silva played a innings of a lifetime to help Sri Lanka chase down a difficult total in excess of 240, to win the coveted trophy for the first and the only time in their history.
