Cricket World Cup 1999 - Shane Warne Spun his Magic - South Africa Choked Under Pressure
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The final of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 1999 was played between Pakistan and Australia, which Australia won quite comfortably. The final game of this world cup was very one-sided and was not entertaining for fans except Australians. However, the semi-final between Australia and South Africa was one of the most thrilling matches in international One Day International history. The semi-final was a tie between Australia and South Africa, and the way the Proteas got out of the tournament was heartbreaking for me. The Proteas team were labeled as the ultimate “chokers” since 1992 and it remained true that year as well.
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India and Pakistan were officially at war during this world cup. They played during the Super-Six stage and India won the game by 47 runs. Despite that loss, Pakistan managed to reach the finals, but the Indians were out of the tournaments losing all the remaining matches.
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The Netherlands, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England hosted this edition of the cricket world cup. One game each was played in the Netherlands, Ireland, and Wales, two games in Scotland and the remaining games were played in England.
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Twelve teams were part of this world cup extravaganza. Bangladesh was still an associate cricket nation back then and was joined by Kenya and Scotland. None of the associate team reached the Super-Six stage and bowed out of the competitions from the first round. England was the host and they also could not reach the super six stage alongside West Indies. Zimbabwe made it to the next stage leapfrogging England with the superior run rate.
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I supported South Africa
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I used to support South Africa back then. I still like them, but now I prefer to be neutral in all the international matches as I hope Nepal Cricket will be able to represent us in the CWC. I would like to reserve my energy to support the Nepal team.
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Anyways, I was a huge fan of South Africa’s all-round team that was more than capable to win the world cup. But, they did not. They lost to Australia twice. Well, technically only once, but that loss came back to hunt again in the semifinal to rule out South Africa’s progress to the final. They have been the unluckiest team ever to get out of the tournament in that fashion.
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I still remember the day after the semifinal between Australia and South Africa. We dragged a professor, a South African fan, to discuss the semi-final debacle. Thanks to the semifinal, we skipped a boring day of lecture :D. Moments of happiness.
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Strengths and Weaknesses of the CWC teams
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Australia was the strongest team and was expected to win the world cup. South Africa was the closest second with their amazing team of all-rounders. Cronje the captain, Kirsten, and Gibbs are opening the batting, Jonty Rhodes the best fielder of all times, bowling trio slash Allrounder in Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Allan Donald and I have not yet mentioned the wicket-keeper batsman, Mark Boucher. What do you expect from a team like that?
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India and Pakistan are always considered the contenders for the CWC title. However, this world cup was particularly unfavourable for them as their record outside of the subcontinent pitches was shaky. India has changed that with their recent series win in Australia and New Zealand. Back then, Indian fast bowling was not as impressive and Pakistan’s batting used to falter. Pakistan still struggles outside of the subcontinent.
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Sri Lanka was the 1996 CWC title holders. England was hosting the tournament and was definitely hopeful.
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Super Six Stage - Team India wilted under pressure
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Six teams battled in the super six stage and Pakistan came out the winner with eight points. Australia and South Africa were second and third with equal points, but Australia came out on top with the superior run rate. New Zealand was fourth.
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Nobody could believe team India languishing at the bottom of the table behind Zimbabwe. Their performance was a disaster. They lost all their matches except the one with Pakistan and crashed out of the tournament.
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Pakistan managed to beat New Zealand in the semifinal quite comfortably. New Zealand were bowled out for 241 with Shoaib Akhtar, the Rawalpindi Express picked up three wickets. Pakistan chased down the total in the 47th over losing just one wicket. Saeed Anwar scored 113 runs not out. I remember the hype around Pakistan to win the CWC after their batting display against NZ. They were very confident going against the mighty Australians. But, they did not know until then what they were up against in the final.
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Australia vs South Africa - Clash of the Titans
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The semifinal between these two teams in 1999 CWC is one of the best matches ever in the One Day Internationals. This semi-final was a much-anticipated match of the tournament as both teams were going strength to strength in each department. You just could not separate these two teams. I still vividly remember how South Africa choked in pressure, giving away the crucial wicket to Australians.
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The match was played in Edgbaston and South Africa chose to bowl first. Shaun Pollock took 5 wickets in seaming conditions and Australia were restricted to 213. The total was not big and South Africa was expected to win that easily. But, Shane Warne spun his magic to claim 4 wickets with just 29 runs. In the final over, South Africa faltered.
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They needed nine runs in six balls. Klusener hit first two balls for eight. The equation was one run in four balls. Klusener did not score in the third ball but ran on the fourth. His partner did not respond and ran late, and was out. South Africa would have won the match if Donald was alert. They could have waited for the next ball and score. They could have done anything. But, Australia tied the match and South Africa choked under pressure.
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Australia went to the finals based on their superior net run rate in the super six stage. This was one of the shocking results in cricket history.
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Final match - Australia were Dominant, Pakistan were Subdued
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Much was expected in the final from Pakistan because they have shown great character in the semi-final. Australia was lucky to be in the final, but they grabbed their opportunity with both hands.
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The final was played at Lord’s cricket ground. Pakistan batted first and they were dismal in batting. Shane Warne spun his magic yet again taking four wickets and Pakistan was bowled out for 132 runs in 39 overs. Australia reached the target with the loss of two wickets in just 20.1 overs. With this win, the Australian dominance in world cricket started which was then continued for the next ten years. This was the start of the golden era for Australian cricket.