The 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy (officially known as Wills International Cup, also known as Mini World Cup) was a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament held in Bangladesh. It was the first tournament apart from the World Cups to involve all Test playing nations. The winners of the Knock-out stage—India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Indies—reached the semi-finals. South Africa made their way to the final by defeating Sri Lanka in the first semi-final by 92 runs; the match was reduced to 39 overs per innings due to rain. In the second semi-final, West Indies defeated India by six wickets, and qualified for the final.
The tournament's final was played on 1 November 1998 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka. West Indies scored 245 all out in 49.3 overs; Philo Wallace scored 103 runs and Jacques Kallis took five wickets for 30 runs. South Africa achieved the target in 47 overs losing 6 wickets. Hansie Cronje and Mike Rindel scored 61 not out and 49 runs respectively. South Africa won the inaugural edition of the tournament by four wickets. Kallis was named man of the match in the final, and man of the tournament.
Route to the Final
Knock-out stage
A total of eight matches were played in the tournament. The opening match was a pre-quarterfinal, played between New Zealand and Zimbabwe on 24 October 1998. New Zealand won the match and made their way to the quarterfinals where they faced Sri Lanka. South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies defeated England, New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan respectively in the quarterfinals, and qualified for the semi-finals.
Semi-finals
The first semi-final was played between South Africa and Sri Lanka on 30 October 1998 in Dhaka. On the rainy day, the match was initially reduced to 39 overs per innings, and Sri Lanka, who had won toss, invited South Africa bat to first. South Africa scored 240 runs for 7 wickets in their 39-over innings. Jacques Kallis scored 113 runs from 100 balls, and remained not out. The Sri Lankan innings was further reduced to 34 overs and the revising target was 224 runs. They were all out for 132 in 23.1 overs, and their highest scorer was Sanath Jayasuriya with 22 runs. South Africa won the match by 92 runs applying the Duckworth–Lewis method (D/L method). Kallis was awarded the man of the match for his performance.
West Indies played India in the second semi-final of the tournament on 31 October 1998 in Dhaka. Indian captain, Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and decided to bat first. Mervyn Dillon took the early wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Azharuddin. India scored 242 runs for 6 wickets in 50 overs, including Sourav Ganguly's 83 runs from 116 balls. Dillon finished with 3 wickets for 38 runs in 8 overs. West Indies started their innings aggressively, reaching 100 runs in 15 overs. They achieved the target in 47 overs losing 4 wickets. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brian Lara scored 74 and 60 not out respectively. Dillon was named the man of the match.
Build up
Prior to the start of the competition, India and Sri Lanka, along with Pakistan, were suggested as the most likely winners of the competition. South Africa and West Indies were not considered among the favourites in the start of the tournament. South Africa started their campaign without their key players: Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Lance Klusener, Gary Kirsten and Roger Telemachus. Pollack and Kirsten withdrew from the team because of back and finger injuries respectively. West Indies replaced their leading fast bowler Curtly Ambrose with Reon King, who made his debut in the tournament.