Australia met Sri Lanka in the final in Lahore - a fitting end to a tournament that had started with Australia forfeiting their match in Colombo. All five previous finals had been one by the side batting first, but Ranatunga put Australia in after winning the toss, not wanting to field under the lights as the dew fell. This seemed to be a misjudgment as Australia made a strong start. Mark Waugh failed, but Taylor was in fine form, and the pitch held no terrors. Supported by Ponting, he took Australia to 137/1 in the 27th over, and a big total looked likely. After Taylor holed out, however, Ranatunga used some astute bowling changes, and clever field placings to stifle the Australians. Muralitheran bowled his 10 overs for 31 runs, and Australia managed but one boundary in 25 overs. The total of 241 was respectable, and looked challenging after the two openers failed again. This brought together the phlegmatic Gurusinha, and the flamboyant de Silva, who with their partnership of 125, brought the Sri Lankans within striking distance.
The dew made bowling difficult, but de Silva played an innings that was perfectly paced, laced with 13 fours and a six, and made with consummate ease. His 107* was the third century in a final, and every bit as good as the preceding innings of Lloyd and Richards. When Gurusinha was bowled by Reiffel, Ranatunga joined de Silva, and saw Sri Lanka to a famous victory with 3.4 overs to spare. Fittingly Ranatunga made the winning run, and the Sri Lankans became the first host team to win a World Cup. they had completely outplayed and out-thought their opponents, and unbeaten in the tournament were worth winners. Christoper Martin-Jenkins wrote in the Electronic Telegraph "The image will long remain; one of the most romantic in the continuously evolving history of cricket. Half past ten on a misty night in Lahore as the rain begins to fall. Arjuna Ranatunga, a tubby little 32-year-old in dark blue shirt and trousers, holds up a huge silver trophy: a monument to a little nation`s marvellous sporting achievement" Aus-SL final
The Sri Lankans had revolutionized one day cricket, with their tactics of going all out for the first 15 overs, and then building on their start. Jayasuriya in particular was a revelation, and deservedly won the player of the tournament, but de Silva's innings in the semi-final and final showed that conventional stroke making could be just as effective. Sri Lanka's bowling was unexceptional (Jayasuriya was their leading wicket-taker, 16th on the list), but backed by good fielding they always managed to restrict the opponents sufficiently. Tendulkar and Mark Waugh both had magnificent tournaments, 1st and 2nd as top run scorers, with de Silva 3rd, all three averaging over 80 (as did Ranatunga, bolstered by not outs, and Saeed Anwar). Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana were well back on runs scored and average but their strike rates were extraordinary. Kumble was the leading wicket-taker, followed by Waqar Younis.
Contributor: ronnie (worldcup1999.webjump.com)