NAGPUR, jan 26
THE 1999 World Cup stamped ‘chokers tag’ on South Africa for the first time after the Proteas failed to eke out a win against Steve Waugh-led Australia in the semi-finals.
The tournament hosted by England, saw Australia emerging winners defeating Pakistan in the final. This was Australia’s first of the three straight coveted titles.
The Australians started with a six-wicket win over Scotland. But they lost their next two matches against New Zealand (by five wickets) and against Pakistan (by 10 runs).
They survived in the tournament with two straight wins over Bangladesh and West Indies to bring back their journey on track and move into Super Six.
The moment of the World Cup came in the Super Six when Herschelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh in a game Aussies needed to win at any cost. Gibbs dropped the World Cup and Waugh held it with a ton!
Their semis too was heart stopping. Needing nine runs from the last over, Lance Klusener took eight from first two deliveries. And then they choked. Allan Donald and Klusener got tangled in a horrible mix up and the match ended in a tie. Australia moved into the final on better run-rate. In the other semi-final, Pakistan crushed New Zealand by nine wickets.
Australia then avenged their league phase defeat at the hands of Pakistan thrashing them by eight wickets to win the title.
As far as India is concerned, it was a mediocre tournament for them. They did well in the league phase but failed to carry that momentum in Super Six. India managed to beat arch-rivals Pakistan but to their bad luck New Zealand qualified for the semis on better run rate despite losing to Australia. The tournament marked the start of the domination of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly, who showed remarkable consistency. Dravid recorded two mammoth partnerships and ended up as the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 461.
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