1996
Final: Sri Lanka def. Australia by 7 wickets
Aravinda da Silva's all-round brilliance inspired Sri Lanka to its first World Cup title.
Da Silva claimed three wickets, including Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting, and two catches as Australia struggled to 241-7 in the final at Lahore.
He then sealed his third man-of-the-match award of the tournament with a stylish 107 not out as his side reached its victory target with ease.
Sri Lanka's surprising and emotional win in a tournament it co-hosted with India and Pakistan ensured the event at least ended on a high note.
The sixth Cricket World Cup exasperated fans with its seemingly interminable group stage, which lasted three weeks and took in 29 matches before only eliminating Zimbabwe, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands.
Australia and West Indies forfeited their group games in Colombo following a terrorist bombing in the city three weeks earlier, and still reached the quarterfinals.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the group stage was provided by Kenya's rotund wicketkeeper Tariq Iqbal, who put a series of errors behind him with a catch to dismiss Brian Lara in his side's shock 73-run win over West Indies.
But the tournament reached another low in the semifinal at Calcutta when India's fans, outraged by their team's slide to 120-8 in reply to Sri Lanka's 251-8, began throwing bottles onto the pitch and lighting fires in the stands.
The game was abandoned, leaving batsman Vinod Kambli in tears and giving Sri Lanka a spot in the final.
