They had defending champions Sri Lanka as their opponents and though the islanders were heavy on talent, the seaming English conditions were a different kettle of fish
Sourav Ganguly
World Cup memory
Tonny time for India at Taunton
India needed a big win at Taunton after defeats to South Africa and Zimbabwe which came before their win over Kenya at Bristol in the 1999 World Cup. They had defending champions Sri Lanka as their opponents and though the islanders were heavy on talent, the seaming English conditions were a different kettle of fish.
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Astute skipper Arjuna Ranatunga opted to field first and the only satisfaction he extracted from that decision was when Chaminda Vaas clean bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh for five as Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly blazed away to a 318-run stand for the second wicket in 45 overs. Dravid was imperious till he got run out for 145 and Ganguly displayed his full array of strokes to score 183 – still the highest individual score by an Indian at the World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh fell cheaply, but India still amassed 373 for 6. The Lankans never looked like challenging India as Robin claimed a fifer inside his quota of 10 overs for India to claim a memorable 157-run win, their first over Sri Lanka on the World Cup stage.
Figured out
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy had a forgettable 2011 World Cup with the bat. He could cross double figures in only one of his six innings and the 41 he hit against England at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai ended up being in a losing cause. His sequence of scores apart from the 41 read: 0,6, 4, 2, 1
Did you know?
Middle-order batsman Hashan Tillakaratne scored 128 runs in five innings during the 1996 World Cup, but he averaged 64.00 because he stayed unbeaten in three of those five visits to the crease. His best effort in the victorious campaign was an unbeaten 70 against India at the Kotla in Delhi where Lanka got to the 272-run target with eight balls to spare.
Player to watch
Jason Holder
Jason Holder has given enough indication of being an astute captain and it's this quality that will come to the fore in England during the World Cup. Holder can get players to rally around him and with administrative changes in Caribbean cricket, he could have some old hands for the West Indies' World Cup campaign. His handling of forces will be good and the former kings of cricket have only to gain hereon.
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