11 Man of the Match performances in 11 World Cup Finals

#6 Aravinda de Silva - 107 and 3/42 versus Australia - 1996 World Cup Final

Sri Lanka, with their aggressive strategies, had redefined the way ODIs were played. Australia was one of the most consistent sides. It was not a surprise when Sri Lanka locked horns against Australia in the 1996 World Cup final in Gadaffi stadium Lahore. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field first, a strategy that had served them well in the tournament.

Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh had a successful opening combination in the World Cup. Mark Waugh was the danger man for Sri Lanka as he had scored 3 centuries in the World Cup.

Although Waugh was dismissed early, Mark Taylor scored a brilliant 74. Australia regularly lost wickets in the middle overs with the spin trio Muralitharan, Dharmasena and de Silva applying the brakes and chipping in with timely wickets. Australia scored 241, which was still good enough considering they had the best bowling attack.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharna who had terrorized bowling attacks were dismissed cheaply. Sri Lanka were reeling at 23 for 2 when vice-captain Aravinda de Silva walked in. He first built a 125 run stand with Asanka Gurusinghe before stitching another 93 runs stand with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. The Islanders won the game by 7 wickets.

de Silva played an aggressive knock with beautiful flowing drives and pulls. He scored a match-winning hundred and remained unbeaten on 107 for which he was awarded the MoM.