Category Archives: Sri Lankan cricket

Mark Nicholas, in ESPNcricinfo, on 20 September 2023, with this title:  “From Lahore to Madras at the 1996 World Cup, in cargo planes, delayed trains and on elephants” …. with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Aah, the 1996 World Cup. That was something. Chaos often reigned, characters thankfully shone, and underdogs did things that only a short time previously would have seemed impossible, even to them. Across five memorable weeks, the bewildering and the beguiling; the controversial and the constructive; the surprising and the satisfying chased us around three countries – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – whose honour it was to host the tournament and whose operational skills were tested to the limit by events and circumstance that frequently beggared belief. There were planes, trains, automobiles and elephants; red forts, pink cities and marble palaces; tuk-tuks, rickshaws and the roar of 1200cc engines in towns and villages that barely knew such powerful means of transport existed.

Cricket fans line the streets of Calcutta as a giant cricket bat passes by during a parade Saturday, Feb. 10, 1996. The 31-foot-long bat was signed by thousands of Indians in four cities to give luck to the Indian team. The opening ceremony of the cricket World Cup is Sunday.(AP Photo/John Moore)

Women in Calcutta watch a giant bat being driven past in a parade for the 1996 World Cup

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