'India's day of shame': When the 1996 IND vs SL World Cup match was abandoned

It has been 25 years (and one day) since the infamous India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 1996 encounter at Calcutta took place, which ended in an ugly fashion; the players walking off the field when the Indian crowd got hostile.

Sri Lanka was cruising towards a convincing victory in the first semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup match on March 13, 1996 courtesy of a stellar knock from Arvinda De Silva, when the Indian crowd started throwing bottles and objects on the ground.

Sri Lanka handed India a target of 252 runs from 50 overs which the blue shirts never looked set on achieving. India's batting line up, save for Sachin Tendulkar, collapsed like a house of cards, setting up an easy victory for the visitors.

At 120/8, it looked game, set and match for Sri Lanka before the Indian crowd, sensing their team was headed for defeat, started throwing bottles onto the ground.

The match referee Clive Lloyd had no option but to rule that Sri Lanka was awarded the game. The decision caused even more boos and hooliganism from the Indian crowd at Calcutta.

A few benches in the stadium were also lit on fire by the protesters.

"The police are circling the ground. There are 110,000 people in the crowd and uh, that makes it a bit scary," commentator Tony Greig can be heard saying in the video.

"This is a very disappointing performance by the folk here in Calcutta. The Bengalis love their cricket but they have to learn to lose as well," says Grieg.

Sri Lanka managed to win the 1996 World Cup by beating Australia in the final by 7 wickets and 22 balls to spare.