The 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup was a quadrangular ODI cricket tournament held in May 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of India.[1] It featured the national cricket teams of New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the hosts India. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, which defeated Pakistan in the best-of-three finals. Sri Lanka became the Champion.
The Indian team coach and manager for the tournament was Madan Lal. Notably missing from the squad was former captain and lead batsman Mohammad Azharuddin, who was dropped.[1][3] Lead pace bowler Javagal Srinath was ruled out of the first half of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.[3] Pakistan's line-up missed regular pace bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed, who were playing county cricket in England.[3] The Sri Lankan team had minor changes from the team that won the 1996 World Cup under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga.
Using the round robin format, each team played the others once. New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the tournament opener, but proceeded to lose its other matches. Similarly, India succeeded in its opening match against New Zealand, but suffered defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. After its loss to New Zealand, Pakistan's victories against Sri Lanka and India enabled it to qualify for the finals. Sri Lanka lost a high-scoring match to Pakistan, but defeated New Zealand and India to reach the finals.
Sanath Jayasuriya's score of 151* was the highest individual score by a Sri Lanka player in an ODI innings, before he broke his own record when he made 189 in 2000.[5] After the innings, he held the record for best batting and bowling figures both by a Sri Lanka player in ODIs.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka squared-off in a best-of-three final series. The first final was in Chandigarh, and the second final (and if necessary, the third) was held at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta (now Kolkata). However, Sri Lanka won both the first and second finals, winning the tournament without the need for a third final to be played.
The crowd of an estimated 85,000 was the largest at this venue for an ODI that did not feature India.[9]
Records and awards
The player of the tournament award was Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored the most runs in the tournament, 306, with one century and two fifties, and took 5 wickets to add. Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq took the most wickets in the tournament, bagging 14.[10] Pakistani batsman Saeed Anwar's innings of 194 against India in Chennai became the record for the highest runs in a single innings by any batsman in ODI cricket.[1] The record stood until 2010, when India's Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman in ODI history to score a 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior.
