World Cup 1999: The 7th edition of the world cup was held rather early in 1999, with just a gap of 3 years from the previous event. This was the first time the event was officially called the “ICC Cricket World Cup’99”, unlike the previous ones, where it was named after the sponsor’s name. The event returned to the English grounds after 16 years and was held from 14 May – 20 June.
A total of 12 teams were featured in this edition of the tournament divided into groups of 2, with 6 teams each. The knock-out stage from the previous world cup was replaced with “Super-Six”, where top 3 teams from each group clashed with each other. The top 4 teams from this stage will then qualify for the semis. Apart from the 9 test-playing nations, Kenya, Bangladesh and Scotland also made it to the world cup. This was the first time Bangladesh and Scotland were featured in the world cup. World Cup 2019 begins from the 30th of May & World Cup fantasy cricket on FanFight is all in readiness to take the fantasy world by a storm. Are you ready to win big? GROUP STAGE: The group stage had some surprising results. While Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand made the cut from Group B, it was Zimbabwe who stole the show by qualifying for the Super Six, while hosts England failed to qualify. South Africa, India and Zimbabwe were the top 3 teams from Group A. SUPER SIX: This was one of the most crucial stages of the tournament with all eyes set on India and Pakistan, with tensions going on between the two countries. The two nations were at war during the time of the tournament and it was the first time in the history of the world cup that the playing nations were at war. India had a disappointing run in this stage after winning just 1 out of the 3 games played, while Pakistan emerged on the top of the table. At the end of this stage, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand had qualified for the semis. SEMI-FINALS: Semi-Final 1: New Zealand vs PakistanTable toppers Pakistan clashed with New Zealand in the first semi-final. They both had already played once in the group stage, where the men-in-green defeated the Kiwis by 62 runs. But the stakes were really high in this game as both the teams were eyeing for a victory, to seal their berth in the finals. New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first. Though they had a strong batting line-up, the top-order failed miserably with a score of 3/58. It was Stephen Fleming and RG Twose’s partnership that saved the team. However, Shoaib Akhtar, on the other hand, was making it very difficult for the batsmen to stay on the crease. New Zealand managed to score 241/7 at the end of their innings. In response, Pakistan had an emphatic start to their innings. Their openers seemed unstoppable after setting up a partnership of 194 for the first wicket. Saeed Anwar’s valiant knock of 113 and Wasti’s 84 ensured the team comfortably sailed over the victory line. Semi-Final 2: Australia vs South AfricaThe second semi-final between Australia and South Africa was an absolute nail-biter. The Proteas won the toss and chose to field first. Australia started off on a disappointing note, by losing 4 wickets for 68 runs. However, captain Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan scored half centuries each and helped the team reach a total of 213/10. South Africa also had a similar start like that of Australia, as they were 4/61 after 21 overs. A steady partnership between Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes then put the team back on the track. The match went on till the last over. With just 1 run to win from 3 balls and only 1 wicket in hand for the Proteas, Allan Donald attempted to take a quick run in anticipation to win the match, however, was sadly runout at the other end. The match ended a tie. But considering Australia had finished above South Africa in the Super Six stage, the Aussies advanced for the finals. FINALS: AUSTRALIA vs PAKISTAN: Pakistan and Australia clashed with each other in the much-anticipated finals of the 1999 world cup. Both the teams had reached the finals after strong performances in their previous games. The game was played at the iconic Lord’s stadium in London and there were extremely high expectations from this match. However, contrary to everyone’s hopes, this game turned out to be one of the lowest scoring finals ever. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. They were confident of their batting, considering their solid display of batting strength in the semi-finals. However, the men-in-green started off their innings on a sad note. They kept losing wickets in quick successions with no strong partnership. Australia’s bowling attack was top-notch as they weren’t leaving any margin for error. In the end, Pakistan were bowled out for a mere 132 runs, in 39 overs. ADAM GILCHRIST WENT BERSERK Australia had a target of 133 runs to win their second world cup title. With that in mind, the openers gave a solid start to their innings. Gilchrist was absolutely lethal, after scoring his half-century at a strike-rate of over 150. He was later dismissed by Saqlain Mushtaq. However, that wicket got no respite to Pakistan as the Aussies had already reached half the target in just 10 overs. It just took another 10 overs from there for the Aussies to finish the game, in what could be dubbed as the fastest run-chase ever in the history of the world cup final. Australia won the game by 8 wickets and 29.5 overs to spare. With this win, Australia scripted history, by becoming the only team after the Windies to lift the world cup twice. This was just the beginning of Australia’s world dominance in cricket. It was also the start of their remarkable streak of world cup wins, which was due to come in the next coming editions. FACTS FROM WORLD CUP 1999Lance Klusener had in World Cup 1999. A tally of 281 runs at 140.50 and strike rate of 122.20 to go with 17 wickets at 20.58. No prizes for guessing who won the man of the tournament. Rahul Dravid’s 461 runs in 8 innings at 65.86 was the best batting performance by a batsman in the series. Steve Waugh finished 2nd on the list with 398. Sourav Ganguly scored a brilliant 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton. However, India weren’t able to progress to the knock-outs. The top three individual run-getters in the tournament all belonged to the Indian batsman. Ganguly(183), Dravid(145) & Sachin Tendulkar(140*). Geoff Allot & Shane Warne shared the best-bowlers’ slot. Both picked 20 wickets each. ICC World Cup Fantasy Cricket | Play Online Fantasy Cricket Games & League in India – FanFight Play fantasy cricket online at FanFight & Win cash daily. Participate in fantasy cricket games and leagues like ICC World Cup, IPL 2019 and T20 league. Download Fantasy Cricket App & Get Rs.30 Cash Bonus. Visit us: https://fanfight.com/
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