Published: May 16, 2016, 02:40 PM (IST)
Edited: May 16, 2016, 04:26 PM (IST)
The curtains are down and the stage is set for a finale. Indian cricketing ‘God’ Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara are set to clash in the final of ODI GOAT competition, with the voting scheduled to begin later this week.. Starting off from a total of 64 great players, only these two managed to survive till the end. Sangakkara, one of the greatest ever wicket-keeper batsman, beat Pakistani great Imran Khan in the final-4, whereas Tendulkar, whose records are unparalleled, beat Sanga’s former teammate Sanath Jayasuriya. The GOAT competition is fans poll which will determine the greatest ODI player of all time. ALSO READ: Kumar Sangakkara beats Shane Warne in ODI GOAT; will face Imran Khan in semi-finals
The competition kicked of with 64 players. The road to final for Tendulkar started very convincingly, as he beat fellow Indian Rohit Sharma hands down in the first round, before thrashing Pakistani Saeed Anwar in the round of 32. His next competitor was Australian Michael Bevan, but even he was beaten comprehensively by the Little Master. The quarter-final saw the contest of the tournament as Tendulkar faced off against West Indian Viv Richards. But the little master just prevailed, garnering 53 percent of votes. And his place in final was secured with an easy win over Jayasuriya.
Sanga’s run to the final was a tough one. He faced current Indian ODI skipper MS Dhoni in the first round, and beat him convincingly. Next up, he faced another wicket-keeper in the form of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist. Beating him by garnering 60 percent of the votes, Sanga next prevailed in a brilliant contest against the ‘Mr.360’ AB de Villiers. And a contest against Tendulkar in final was confirmed with a somewhat shocking win over the spin maestro Shane Warne.
