http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 – 1st Final CB series – Match Preview
A month long tournament finally gears towards a decisive juncture as the two finalists, Australia and Sri Lanka, battle it out in the first final of the Commonwealth Bank series, played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, March 4, 2012.
The fortunate has somewhat fluctuated throughout the competition, which also included a disjointed Indian outfit. The Men In Blue gave themselves an outside chance to qualify for the finals, following their emphatic bonus point win over the Lankans at Hobart.
However, despite the resounding defeat, the Lankan’s destiny was pretty much in their own hands and they took full use of it by surprising the hosts for the third time in the series – claiming a nail biting 9-run win in the 12th ODI to book their place ahead of their World Cup finalist.
Their transformation has attributed to the stability in the batting order, which had gone astray after the mega event last year. Disappointing losses followed, home and away, as the team looked for inspiration. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 was installed as the new skipper but still little gave them hope in matching the prowess of theirother two conterparts Down Under.
It started in customary fashion as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LD-Chandimal-c1831 with the added responsibility of steadying the middle-order – a role the youngster filled proficiently.
The lower order has also chipped in remarkably - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540 again spearheading the attack.
Apart from the hammering he suffered, mainly, from the bat of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Kohli-c2737, the pacer is the leading wicket-taker in the series and his four-wicket haul in the previous match remained imperative.
Injuries to key personnel will lead to forced changes to the finals lineup. Thisara Perera has been ruled out due to a back injury. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CK-Kapugedera-c1269 is also in line to make an appearance after he joined the squad to add depth to a depleting batting order.
The Aussies, on the other hand, will welcome back skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978, who had recovered from a hamstring injury but missed the MCG bout as a precautionary measure. However, the dilemma arises of who to bench for the all so important game.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Forrest-c2176 remain the two candidates, who could make way for the skipper after having poor outings recently.
In the bowling department, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/James-Pattinson-c1653 looking set for an extended run.
The hosts have come unstuck against the Lankans in their last three meetings and their inbound skipper will be eager to maintain his impressive unbeaten series streak since taking over on a permanent basin against the same opposition in September 2011.
The pitch at Brisbane has produced high-scoring encounters so far in the series, but with showers expected, both teams will need to play with controlled aggression and ensure they strike first blood in the best of three finals.
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