20 years ago, on this very day, two supremely talented Indian youngsters launched an attack, not seen before in the history of the ICC World Cup.

The venue was Taunton. The opposition was Sri Lanka and the duo of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid got together. The two of them traumatised the Sri Lankan bowling attack by putting together a second-wicket partnership of 318 runs to help India score a massive total of 373 for 6 in 50 overs, in a group match.

After Sadagopan Ramesh was dismissed in the first over, Ganguly and Dravid sparkled. Dravid, the accomplished technician, surprisingly set the early pace with a flurry of brilliant strokes. Ganguly, the smooth timer, picked up the cue later and launched a blistering attack like which had rarely been seen before.

The 318-run partnership between Ganguly and Dravid was the highest in ODIs for a year until Tendulkar and Dravid broke the record with a 331-run stand against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.

This was the first 300-plus stand in ODIs. Ganguly’s 183 remained his highest individual score while Dravid dispelled the notion that he could not fit in the ODI team. 

India managed to reach the super-six stage after beating England and despite losing to Australia and New Zealand, India notched up a win against Pakistan in Manchester.

However, the World Cup will forever be remembered for the exploits of Ganguly and Dravid. It was Ton-Ton in Taunton and May 26, 1999, established the duo of Ganguly and Dravid as legendary.