On one hand, while the victory of the champions team is being discussed everywhere, the fans cannot forget the incident that happened 29 years ago on 13 March when the Indian team was on the verge of defeat against Sri Lanka in the semi-final match, when the match was awarded to Sri Lanka due to the uproar of the spectators. This was the dark day of Indian cricket in which the players were crying, fans were setting the stadium on fire and there was an atmosphere of terror in the entire stadium.

On one hand, while all the Indian fans are celebrating the victory in the Champions Trophy, this victory is still being discussed in every street. Some are singing praises of Rohit's captaincy, while some are praising the coach's thinking. Some historians are remembering March 9 as the most glorious date of Indian cricket. 4 days after this date, 29 years ago, something happened which is no less than a sore for the fans even today.

13th March 1996 will always be remembered as a day that left a bad stain on the history of Indian cricket. This was a day that no fan of Indian cricket would want to remember. 29 years ago on this day, the semi-final of the World Cup was played between India and Sri Lanka. Thinking about this semi-final match, even today the memories of angry fans and Vinod Kambli's tearful face come to mind.

That dark day at Eden Gardens

The semi-final match of 1996, Sri Lanka's team in front and the fans' faith in their team, with all these things the battle to make it to the finals had begun. Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and surprising everyone decided to field first, which is still discussed among cricket experts. By dismissing Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharna in the first two overs, Javagal Srinath had strengthened the fans' faith in the Indian team and it seemed that the finals were not far away. But destiny had something else in store when Aravinda de Silva batted aggressively and due to his innings, Sri Lanka was able to score 251 runs. Team India was in a good position at one point after losing one wicket at 98 runs while chasing the target of 252 runs, but after Sachin Tendulkar was out, the batting order of the team collapsed and its score became 120 runs at the loss of eight wickets. Indian batting collapsed in front of the spinning balls of Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena and Jayasuriya.

Spectators' uproar on the field

After the collapse of Indian batting, the spectators became unruly and due to their bad behavior the match could not be completed and it was given in the name of Sri Lanka. After this, the spectators started throwing bottles on the field and set fire to the seating area in a part of the stadium, after which the match referee Clive Lyde declared Sri Lanka the winner. The 1996 World Cup semi-final is remembered more for Vinod Kambli's crying pictures, arson at Eden Gardens and the bottles, slippers and shoes thrown on the field by the spectators than for India's defeat. This was the first incident in World Cup history when a match was abandoned midway and the winning team made it to the final without completing the match.