World Cup 1996: Nail-biting semi-finals with India worthy of replaying

Almost 25 years ago, Sri Lanka won the World Cup final led by Captain Cool after a nail-biting final. From the very commencement of the match, if was nail-biting, I repeat, where both teams had sensational up and downs. There were many turning points in favour of the Sri Lankan team mainly owing to the unprecedented strategies meticulously adopted and those lessons learnt are food for thought especially for the younger generation in general and the current cricket team in particular.

It is important to place on record that that the semi-final match with India was equally nail-biting where Sri Lanka won beating India in the midst of intimidations and qualifying for the finals. 

Our premier TV Channel, Dialog deserves the plaudits of the nation for coming forward to refresh our minds by replaying the match. 

On behalf of all the Sri Lankans, I earnestly and respectfully urge Dialog TV to air the semi-final match with India which was the stepping-stone for the final. Here, our great cricketers displayed their leadership traits such as grist of determination, endurance, team spirit, maturity, iron-willed commitment, etc. against all odds in a foreign country. Such a replay would definitely bring honour and respect to the entire team whose names should not be relegated to the forgotten limbo. 

The laudatory speech of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at the medal-awarding ceremony was in fact a fitting tribute to all members of the team, in which he touched the human aspect with which our cricketers played at the semi-final match in India, despite intimidations such as unsavoury remarks and throwing of project missiles to the ground by Indians. In essence, the endurance our cricketers displayed despite all odds was remarkable, the PM said.

Last but not least, the young Minister of Sports Namal Rajapaksa in his early days has so far shouldered his responsibilities quite well in transforming Sri Lankan Cricket, and he should be commended for reviving this game with the support of veterans who played for the 1996 world cup. 

J.A.A.S. Ranasinghe,

Colombo 5.