World Cup Final Preview: Middle-order worries for both India and Sri Lanka

By Suneer Chowdhary

 

Interestingly, both sides have similar worries – the under-par scores from the middle-order. Sri Lanka’s top three batsmen are a part of the top five run-getters in the tournament, while India has its openers in the top six. Beyond that, the cookie crumbles.

By Suneer Chowdhary

 

Mumbai: April 2, 2011

 

A few months ago, when it was announced that India and Sri Lanka were going to play a tri-series – with New Zealand as the third side – there were collective groans. Not again, was a common refrain – and with compelling reasons as well. Since 2008, leading up to August last year, India and Sri Lanka had played in ten bilateral series or multi-nation tournaments – a total of 31 games, of which India have been victorious 18 times. Its a record which may find entry in the latest show television hosted by Preity Zinta.
It is, therefore, ironic that the final is between two teams who have played each ad nauseam in the three years leading to the tournament.

 

The hype is incomparable with the semi-final game; the sense that one gets from the fans is that the tournament has already been won. There is an equally strong following which has expressed its concerns about letting complacency set in, a feeling of déjà vu from the 1996 edition of the tournament.

 

Not that there is any other similarity between the two Indian sides. That was a team which could easily be put under duress, while under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian side of today has taken every game like any other game of cricket. The match against Pakistan was a prime example where the Pakistani fielding floundered under pressure while India were at the best that one had seen them for a long time.

 

Sri Lanka’s journey has been simpler, blessed by the draw which has had them playing England and New Zealand in the two knock-out games before the final. West Indies aside, they were the two teams which would have been the easier of the opponents in a vital knock-out encounter.

 

It was a different, gruelling path taken by the Indians.

 

Australia may have lost most of the sheen that their previous squads carried when they had won the World Cups, but the rankings still put them at the pedestal. They were brushed aside, but not before India had had its share of hiccups. The semi-final against Pakistan promised much more than what actually panned out, but rest assured the build-up would have taken a lot out of the Indian side as well. 

 

The question therefore is: Does India have as much left in their tank as it is required to win a final?

 

It was interesting to hear Mahela Jayawardene speak about the pitch. He noted that the track in their game against New Zealand had grass on it, while the one for the final seems to be shorn of it. One could sense that spin will hold the key on the typically brown wicket at the Wankhede, with the reverse swinging ball playing its part in equal measure.

 

The fans have probably been pampered by the way Australia went about their selection in the lead-up to their World Cup triumphs; playing elevens to be changed only in case of injury. It has not been the case in the lead-up to this final. Horses race better on some courses and do not on the others has been Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s mantra. And that thinking is unlikely to change for the final.

 

Second-guessing Dhoni’s penchant for surprises will be as futile as expecting the Indian fans to underplay an Indian win over Pakistan. Throughout the tournament, he has been in the news for some bizarre selections, but that has hardly stopped him from romping into the final – an indicator that the captain knows his job slightly better than most of us.

 

However, Ashish Nehra’s injury could make it easier for him and Ravichandran Ashwin to make it to the playing eleven.

 

Sri Lanka will sweat on two of their injured personnel. One of them, Muthiah Muralitharan, is deemed to play irrespective of his state, and while he did well in the semi-final with a similar injury, things may not look as rosy against batsmen that devour spin for snacks.

 

The other fitness concern has to do with Angelo Mathews. Mathews seemed to be coming into his own with his bowling after having endured a few months of injury. But having seen him limp off, it is highly unlikely that even if he gets into the playing eleven he will be able to bowl. Sri Lanka, in that case, could be better off with Thisara Perera, who averages 20 with the ball in his 19-match long career and has a couple of five-wicket hauls, including one against India.

 

Interestingly, both sides have similar worries – the under-par scores from the middle-order. Sri Lanka’s top three batsmen are a part of the top five run-getters in the tournament, while India has its openers in the top six. Beyond that, the cookie crumbles.

 

Mahela Jayawardene’s runs have dried up after his first game century and he has got only 101 in the last seven games. Gautam Gambhir has three half centuries despite his struggles but Dhoni and Virat Kohli have failed to live up to their reputations.

 

Man to man, there isn’t much to choose from, although Sri Lanka would stake a claim to possessing a better bowling attack. On a crucial final day, the much-vaunted batting will need to counter that to bring home the cup.

 

Teams:

 

India (Probable):  Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt&wk), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R Ashwin/Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel.

 

Sri Lanka (Probable): Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (capt&wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara/Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan.

 

Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan)

 

Time: 14.30 local (09.00 GMT)

 

(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here: @suneerchowdhary)

 

Pictures © Getty Images

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