Asia Cup 2010 Final preview – India vs Sri Lanka
It is only fitting that Sri Lanka and India face off in the final of Asia cup, With Pakistan going through a transition period, and Bangladesh still not able to match it with the big boys. The two teams in the final certainly are the two best teams from the region.
The tournament itself turned out to be somewhat of an anticlimax, who knew Pakistan would lose both their games and finalists would be decided well before the big day. India and Sri Lanka were set to play the final even before the final league match between the two.
That effectively meant that final league match between the two became a dead rubber, but make no mistake, with so much history between the two teams at least the bragging rights and psychological upper hand before the final were certainly up for grabs. Sri Lanka managed to beat India convincingly in the final group game by 7 wickets, and will go into the final with some edge. The biggest and most exciting game of the event was certainly the Pakistan-India match, India showed great nerve and determination to come out on top in the all important game.
India, although missing Tendulker and Yuvraj, still has a very potent batting line up. Gambhir at the top of the order will once again be the key, with Sehwag in and out due to injury the left hander has been the corner stone to good starts for India. Karthik has been filling in for Sehwag but has not been able to really kick on after a number of starts. At number 3 the former under -19 captain, Virat Kohli, has been disappointing. Kohli scored some good runs in Zimbabwe and looked to have made the number 3 spot his own. However, he has failed miserably against a much better bowling attack.
Suresh Raina is another man who was in form in the last tournament but has not been able to come to party when it really mattered. Raina though is expected to be moved up the order in place of Kohli. Rohit Sharma is one player who has been performing consistently well in recent games. He is believed to be the man to take Indian batting forward in the next decade, but it will be important to see if he can step it up on the day when it matters.
Dhoni, the Indian captain, meanwhile remains the obvious reliable authority, regardless of the situation. Dhoni has the ability to adapt to any mode of the game, while his constant motivating shouts from behind the stumps cannot be ignored either.
Looking at the Sri Lankan team, the biggest plus for them is that Dilshan has finally hit form once again. The man who took the 2009 T-20 world cup by storm, faded away after that. Thankfully, for Sri Lanka, he has found the free scoring ability yet again, with Tharanga at the top openers will play a big role especially if they are to set a massive target. Captain, Sangakkara and former skipper Jayawardane have been as solid as ever in the middle order, both of them have been the backbone of Sir Lankan batting for a while now. Even in Asia cup both guided the team to victory while chasing, and the team will heavily be banking on the experienced men to deliver yet again.
In the bowling department Kulasekara will once again be a handful for Indian openers with the new ball. He really does make the ball talk with the shine on it. While Maharoof, fresh from his hat trick, should be charged up and hungry for more. Herath, if picked can be destructive, his left arm spinners are not easy to get away, and with Mendis at the other end with his mystery balls, Indian batsmen will surely have a lot to play at.
All in all the final is sure to be nothing like the final group match, and is believed to be more of an even contest between the 2 giants of Asian cricket, for the bragging rights of the region.
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