Friday, August 27, 2010ASIAN GIANTS COLLIDE IN TRIANGULAR FINALEWith all the league matches done and dusted and Sri Lanka and India emerging out as the finalists, the stage is set for yet another familiar battle for glory which could also be a rematch of the Asia Cup final. The bowlers have dominated this triangular series and the batsmen from either of the sides have struggled to combat the swing and the seam movement on offer. The domination of the bowlers is born out from the fact that none of the sides in the tournament have lasted their full quota of 50 overs. Sri Lanka will have a sweet memory of their last clash with the Indian side as they thrashed the visitors and handed them their worst ever defeat in terms of ball spared. The team will be exceedingly pleased with their bowling, especially Thisara Perera, who in his maiden appearance in the series claimed a five-for and completely annihilated the Indian middle-order. Sri Lanka’s new ball bowling, spearheaded by Lasith Malinga, is looking in fine touch with good support from Kulasekara and Mathews. Suraj Randiv was not at all tested in that particular game, after that unfortunate No-Ball fiasco, but given his performance in the last Test match against India, he is equally capable of pegging the opposition with crucial blows. The hosts’ batting has improved as the tournament has progressed and it was a welcome sight for them to witness Dilshan regaining his lost touch. All in all the team has shaped up well and will enter into the match as favourites. The Indians like a true Bollywood movie took it to the climax to qualify for the final, but were far away from their best in the match. Their performance in the last match with the bat would have been the repeat telecast of their encounter against Sri Lanka in the fifth ODI, if the Nawab from Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, had not stroked an awe-inspiring century. He looked in killer mood and whacked the New Zealand bowlers to all parts of the park but none of the batsmen, barring skipper MS Dhoni, showed any intent to stick out with him. The young Indian brigade along with experienced Yuvraj Singh have failed miserably in the series and would have the last chance to impress one and all with their virtuosity in the final. The Indian bowling was termed as the weak link before the start of the series but the amazing show from Praveen Kumar and company have quietened many critics as they orchestrated a tremendous display of swing and seam bowling. The debate for the number seven slot will continue with the poor performance of Ravindra Jadeja but considering it to be the final, it is highly unlikely that the team management could take the chance of replacing him with Ravichandran Ashwin. Nevertheless, an exciting encounter is in store at Dambulla and the team holding on to its nerves in the crunch situation will come out trumps.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010TEAMS LOOK FOR STRONG COMEBACK IN VIRTUAL SEMI-FINALWith the hosts already into the final courtesy a comfortable win on Sunday, India and New Zealand lock horns for the final spot in the last league game at Dambulla. India have had a see-saw tournament so far, having started the tournament poorly, followed by a comprehensive win and then another miserable show. The last game was a bad day for them with plenty of tough decisions going against the batsmen. But, in general, in this series, the batting has been under the spotlight as apart from Sehwag, no one has really played a good knock. Yuvraj played a gritty knock in the previous game and would have scored more but for the lack of partners. The bowlers have, in general, done well throughout the series, be it the seamers or the spinners and changes, if any, might occur for batting. Kohli and Ashwin might be drafted in for Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, the second change purely because Ashwin is a much better all-rounder than Jadeja.
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