ICC World Cup Final 2011: Analysis and Preview of India vs. Sri Lanka

India vs. Sri Lanka: The favorites against the mighty Lankans. The losing finalists from 2003 and 2007 will compete for the World Cup in front of what promises to be an electric and packed Wankhede stadium in Mumbai—the first time two teams from the sub-continent play in the finals of the World Cup and it promises to be a cracker.

The Indians have the hopes and expectations of a billion in an attempt to end a 28-year-old drought, while the Sri Lankans will look to win their second World Cup after lifting it in 1996 under Arjuna Ranatunga.

Both teams have suffered just one defeat in the road to the finals, with India losing a real cliffhanger against the Proteas, while Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan.

India finished second in their group with nine points and as a result, played defending champions, Australia in the quarterfinals. After some magic from Yuvraj Singh, India progressed to the semifinals, where they met arch rivals, Pakistan.

Some inspired bowling from all of India’s bowlers saw them beat Pakistan by 29 runs, defending a competitive but achievable 261. In the end, the combined efforts of Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and the India spinners, along with some good batting from Sachin and Raina, saw India conquer their rivals and progress into their third final.

India has gone from strength to strength this tournament, and they seem to be peaking at the right time with the bowling coming good in recent matches.

Going into this tournament, India had one of the world’s best batting orders, but the bowling looked like it could prove to be their undoing. And their initial performances indicated that the bowling was still a major concern. It was only witty paceman, Zaheer and all-rounder Yuvraj who impressed with their bowling.

Nehra was erratic, especially in the match against South Africa, and the usually tidy, Munaf Patel, was inconsistent. Bhajji failed to pick up wickets but was tidy and economical.

But when India took on Pakistan, everything fell into place and the bowling impressed as they put in a great effort to beat Pakistan for the fifth time in World Cup tournaments.

Nehra was brilliant in the end, and Munaf varied his pace to great effect. Harbhajan picked up two crucial wickets, and all five bowlers picked up two wickets apiece.

Even the fielding has been fantastic in recent matches, especially against Australia and Pakistan. With Raina playing and with Kohli and Yuvraj already in the squad, India’s fielding has gone up a notch in the last couple of matches.

But going into the match, Nehra has been ruled out with a finger injury and in his place will come in most probably, Ashwin, who has impressed when given a run in. Ashwin is a player who can handle the pressure of a world cup final with ease and will be a moral boost for the entire side. He is a great fielder who will always give 100 percent and is no slouch with the bat.

India will most probably go in without any change except for Nehra.

India’s batting has been good this time, but they have been unable to overcome their batting power-play conundrum. In most of their matches, India has been off to fantastic starts, only to collapse and crumble later on. India cannot afford any such slip-ups against a fantastic Sri Lankan batting lineup. India will be hoping for Sehwag to build on his start and go on to make a big score.

But all eyes will be on Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, who will be looking to create history by becoming the first cricketer to score 100 tons in international cricket.

Sachin is the second-highest scorer in the tournament behind Sri Lanka’s Dilshan, who has been scintillating and brilliant, as he looks to fulfill the “Jayasuriya” role. But the star for India has been Yuvraj Singh who has picked up four man of the match awards and will be keen to pick up a record breaking fifth one. He has silenced his critics with a fantastic show with both ball and bat and will be keen on making amends for his duck against Pakistan.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is missing Angelo Matthews and have drafted in Randiv as a replacement. Muttiah Muralitharan, too, looks to be a doubt but has expressed his urge and desire to play in the final. It will be only fitting that this legend plays this match and ends his career playing this match. He will retire from international cricket after the match, and the world will want to see this genius retire with one last hurrah.

Speaking of momentous occasions, Saturday will be Sachin Tendulkar’s final world cup match. The Indian idol has always cherished the dream of lifting the world cup trophy with India, and tomorrow will be his last chance to achieve his dream.

Sri Lanka has looked strong this tournament, and their bowling attack has been extremely impressive to say the least. They have Malinga to spearhead their pace attack, and he will be the danger man for the Lankans. Their spin trio of Mendis, Murali and Herath may be altered, but nothing is decided as of now.

Sri Lanka’s openers have been on song this tournament and have already had two double-ton stands against Zimbabwe and England. Their top order with the likes of Jayawardane and Sangakkara will be hard to breakdown for the Indians.

But their weakness lies in the middle order, with neither Chamara Silva or Samaraweera particularly impressing. This is where India can look to exploit their weakness. Sri Lanka’s middle order has shown susceptibility this time too.

Both teams will be looking to win their second world cup in front of a packed crowd that will once again have dignitaries from both sides (the time for the Presidents to feast on some cricket this time), such as bureaucrats and actors. The newly renovated Wankhede will be host to what lets all prays will be a fantastic battle between to cricketing giants.

Prediction

I am going for an Indian win but just. While Sri Lanka may possess a good bowling attack, they will suffer from the loss of Matthews. With Murali still a doubt, Sri Lanka will want him to return for the final. India will be on a high after two strong wins over Pakistan and Australia and will be looking to feed off the crowd. The high-octane crowd will be behind India throughout the match, and with the home crowd cheering them on, India will look to live up to their billing as favorites.

In the last two matches, I noticed a burning passion in the Indians, and with that passion running, India can conquer the Lankans. But it will require a total team effort and anything less than the best can see Sri Lanka lift the trophy.

Whatever happens at the end of the day, there is no doubt that Saturday will witness two greats of international cricket looking to lead their teams to glory.