1996 Cricket World Cup last 8 wickets for 37 runs in 50 balls. Sri Lanka won the toss in the final and sent Australia in to bat despite the team batting first having won all five previous World Cup finals. Mark Taylor top scored with 74 in Australia's total of 241 for 7. Sri Lanka won the match in the 47th over with Aravinda de Silva following his 3 for 42 with an unbeaten 107 to win the Player of the Match award. It was the first time a tournament host or co-host had won the cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka won the toss
Cricket World Cup awards Cricket World Cup awards The major prestigious awards handed out in and in the Final awards. Man of the tournament Man of the match in Final For a long period of time prior to the Cricket World Cup, awards were handed out to players for their performance in each match. These player's were named the Man of the Match. This trend continued into the Cricket World Cup. To receive a Man of the Match award in the final generally meant that one had put up a match-winning performance for their team and, in essence, won their team the World Cup.