finel

Fitting Finale: Sachin Tendulkar
vs Muttiah Muralitharan

MUMBAI: It may
not provide the
pure thrill of an
India-Australia
encounter; it may
not offer the
political drama of
an India-Pakistan
clash either. Yet,
this India-Sri
Lanka final has
something that
makes it even
more engrossing.
A straight contest
between the
world's best
batsman and best
bowler of all time:
Sachin Tendulkar
versus Muttiah Muralitharan.
18,093 runs against 534 wickets.
(And we are only talking one-
dayers here.) A maestro and a
magician on the game's biggest
stage.
Add the cauldron-like
atmosphere at the Wankhede
Stadium, and it promises to be a
match for the gods, a battle for
eternity. There's been some
concern whether Murali's aching
hamstring and dodgy knee will
allow him to play but given the
stage and the occasion, it's safe
to bet that if he can walk, he'll be
out there wheeling away.
There is also a twist to the
contest that makes it even more
gut-wrenching: it is the last
World Cup for both. Only one of
them will be going home with
the trophy; the other will go
away with a heavy heart and a
strange feeling of emptiness.
Sure, it may not hurt Murali as
much as it will Sachin: he has,
after all, already been part of one
Cup-winning side. He has also
often shown the ability to take
triumphs and tribulations alike in
his stride. The tsunami and
accompanying devastation back
home has clearly helped him see
life's bigger picture.
Sachin has probably not reached
that stage yet: winning the World
Cup has been a lifelong dream
for him. He wants it desperately
because that's the only thing
missing from his array of
exploits. If the hundredth ton
comes along with it, it would be
a fitting last chapter, to at least
his one-day career.
"It's the most important
tournament in my life," he had
said just before the tricky
quarterfinal against Australia;
they were the magic words that
made his mates in the team
wake up to the possibility of a
day without him. Since then,
Team India has been a
transformed side.
Murali does not believe in such
hyperbole: he makes his own
destiny. More importantly, he
makes his mates do the 'dirty
work' by unleashing his charm
offensive in the dressing room.
"We will really miss him," said
vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene.
"He keeps us laughing all the
time.
That itself is amazing if you
consider his long and
tumultuous journey, from a
maverick spinner who had to
bowl outside the leg-stump
simply to stop Tendulkar once, to
the world's greatest. He has been
in the midst of many storms, and
been the cause of quite a few
too, only to emerge with a smile.
It may just be a joke but Murali
apparently believes he is a better
bat than Sachin. That is what
makes this last battle so
delightful while being intriguing
too. In the 46 times that they
have crossed paths, however,
Murali has got him only five
times; Sachin has managed 8
hundreds and 12 fifties.
The numbers are evidently in
favour of Sachin. Murali, however,
will be backing himself this time,
even though his body is
battered; after all, Sachin did go
through a nightmare against the
two Pakistani off-spinners in the
semifinal.
Murali has much more variety,
much more control and much
more guile. He will lure Sachin
with his flight; he will trick him
with his turn and he will try to
mesmerize him with his big, big
eyes. If nothing works he will
ambush him with his doosras.
Sachin, though, will be
unperturbed for the most part; if
the ball doesn't stop or grip as it
did in Mohali, he won't even
worry. He will use his feet, soft
hands and firm pushes to
counter the magic. If the ball
comes on nicely to the bat, it will
transcend into a battle in the
minds. One legend against
another.
In the end, there will only be one
winner, only one golden sunset.

news

NEW DELHI: With
Sri Lanka
annihilating
England on
Saturday, there
will be three
teams from the
subcontinent in
the ODI World Cup
semifinals for the
first time ever. It
would now take a
very brave man to
bet against an all-
Asian final. Every
final since 1992
has had one Asian
team. But never
have both finalists
been from South Asia.
Two of these teams, India and Sri
Lanka, were among the pre-
tournament favourites and a
billion-plus people will be hoping
they meet next Saturday in
Mumbai to decide who in the
region will get the Cup.
But don’t count Pakistan out just
yet. The 1992 champions, who
face India at Mohali on
Wednesday, were the most
exciting team in the group stage.
In the quarters, the men in green
made former champs West
Indies look like a bunch of
schoolboys. Shahid Afridi ’s men,
especially the bowlers, have
looked in ominous form. Afridi
himself has led from the front
with 21 scalps so far.
Fans, though, would be hoping
that the chinks in their rivals ’
batting as well as their sub-par
fielding would work to home
advantage. A couple of collapses
aside, India has the strongest
batting line-up in the game.
With Manmohan Singh and top
Pakistan leaders, President
Zardari and Prime Minister YR
Gilani (both or at least one), likely
to be seated in the special box,
Sachin Tendulkar would see this
as a perfect occasion to get his
100th international ton,
particularly now that Afridi has
predicted it won ’t happen.
Hopefully, fellow opener Virender
Sehwag would be fully fit. But the
loudest cheer would be reserved
for Yuvraj Singh, who ’s hit a
purple patch.
The Lankans will have to guard
against overconfidence as they
take on the Kiwis on Tuesday. On
Friday, Daniel Vettori ’s men
surprised the South Africans. But
on paper, the Lankans appear
too strong.
It’s going to be a South Asian
party alright.

results of qarter final

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3rd Quarter Final, Mirpur
NZ vs SA
New Zealand won by 49 runs
2nd Quarter Final, Motera
AUS vs IND
India won by 5 wickets
1st Quarter Final, Mirpur
PAK vs WI
Pakistan won by 10 wickets

Victory of India

Ind vs Aus: Yuvraj, Sachin, Raina
help Men in Blue avenge 2003
humiliation.
It
was billed as the
blockbuster and
the quarterfinal,
the second of the
2011 Cricket
World Cup at the
Sardar Patel
Stadium at Motera
on Thursday lived
up to the
expectations.
Blog: Can we beat
Pak and some
other questions
India survived a
Ricky Ponting
masterclass (104,
118 balls, 7x4, 1
x6) and some tense moments to
beat four-time World Champions
Australia by five wickets and 14
balls to spare to set up a
potentially explosive clash with
arch rivals Pakistan in Mohali on
March 30.
The hosts rose to the occasion in
style, first with a superb bowling
and fielding effort, then the great
master Sachin Tendulkar set the
stage alight with glorious
strokeplay to put the side on
cruise mode before some
quintessential Indian harakiri.
The Aussies sensing a chance
changed colours, bowled with
venom, sledged hard and even
bled - Brett Lee getting a cut
under his eye while fielding. They
did it all but couldn't stop India
from progressing.
There were many heroes for
India as they set about their
chase of 261, but Yuvraj Singh,
yet again, emerged as the knight
in shining armour coming up
with a match-winning knock of
unbeaten 57 runs besides
picking up two wickets earlier.
The effort earned the southpaw
his fourth Man-of-the-match
award in this World Cup.
Also rising to the challenge was
young Suresh Raina with a gutsy
unbeaten 34. Yuvraj and Raina
realized 74 runs from 61 balls
just when the Aussies had
turned on the screws.
There was some intense drama
before though courtesy a
horrible mix-up between Gautam
Gambhir (50; 64b, 7x4) and
Yuvraj (their third in the span of
five minutes) resulting in the run
out of Gambhir. Yuvraj edged
David Hussey to Cameron White
at slip and even before Yuvraj
could realize, Gambhir had
dashed towards him from the
non-striker's end and it was a
point of no return.
Five overs earlier, Virat Kohli
swatted a full toss straight down
the throat of Michael Clarke at
mid-wicket.
Skipper MS Dhoni cracked a
thundering boundary, but
another attempt off Lee saw
Dhoni cut the bowler straight to
Michael Clarke at point. The
Indians had slid to 187 for 5 in
37.3 overs and seemed to be
spoiling their own party till
Yuvraj and Raina came into their
own.
Of course, Tendulkar (53; 68b,
7x4) was on a different planet
altogether as he caressed,
punched, pulled, drove and also
played the upper cut, the way
only he can to raise hopes of the
ton of ton

match

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Batting R B 4s 6s
Brad Haddin - - - -
Shane Watson - - - -
Ricky Ponting - - - -
Michael Clarke - - - -
Cameron White - - - -
Michael Hussey - - - -
David Hussey - - - -
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Jason Krejza - - - -
Brett Lee - - - -
Shaun Tait - - - -
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