http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Sri Lanka face-off in the ultimate battle as ICC World Cup 2011 glory beckons in Mumbai
India and Sri Lanka are gearing up for the biggest match of the year as the final of the ICC World Cup 2011 takes place at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on 2 April. The two host nations have entered the final after convincing performances
throughout the tournament that started in Dhaka with the opening match between India and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
This is the first occasion in the 36-year history of the tournament that two co-hosts are taking part in the final, as before this edition only once has a host won the tournament. That team was Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia in
the final of the 1996 edition and the Lankans had hosted only three games of that particular event.
This time around, the Lankans had a fair share of the matches, as they played all but one game at home. They generally coasted through to the title decider where they are set to take on the mighty Indian team.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820, as they lost their second group match of the tournament against Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
They quickly regained their momentum after the game in Colombo. Kumar Sangakkara led the team, as they defeated http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 was pummeled by 10 wickets in the quarter-final clash also held at the same venue.
On the other hand, the Indian captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 on their way to the final.
In the semi-final they defeated their arch-rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 by 29 runs in front of a packed stadium in Mohali, while the Aussies were sent packing in the quarter-final match.
The track for the match is set to suit the faster bowlers more than the spinners, as the hosts are contemplating their final combination for the match and a decision in this regard is expected on the morning of the game.
Dhoni meanwhile spoke to the press a day before the match and stated that the team was focused on the job at hand and were looking forward to World Cup glory for their nation.
"That is a tricky one. If you see the Mumbai track there is a bit of pace and bounce for the seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going the third seamer can have an impact on the game. At the same time if the three seamers
are bowling well I can easily maneuver the bowling. But with four spinners and two fast bowlers there is not much room to maneuver too much."
The calm and collected wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni added that the bowling combination has delivered in the last few games and the team management will decide on match day if a seamer is to be included in the team instead of the off-spinner
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ravichandran-Ashwin-c84208, who also sat out the semi-final against Pakistan.
Dhoni adds, "If one of the fast bowlers has an off day it gets difficult. Still, not to forget, in whatever opportunities Ashwin got so far he has done really well. We have confidence in him. But we have not yet thought our bowling
combination yet."
Teams:
India (probable): 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zaheer-Khan-c98451, 10 Sreesanth/Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.
Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157, 11
Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath.
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