India vs Sri Lanka live streaming on the final from Mumbai India, April 02, 2011, Match scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)
MS Dhoni*†, V Sehwag, R Ashwin, PP Chawla, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, V Kohli, A Nehra, MM Patel, YK Pathan, SK Raina, S Sreesanth, SR Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh
Sri Lanka squad
KC Sangakkara*†, DPMD Jayawardene, TM Dilshan, CRD Fernando, HMRKB Herath, S Randiv, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis, M Muralitharan, NLTC Perera, TT Samaraweera, LPC Silva, WU Tharanga
Match Facts
April 2, Mumbai
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)
Watch India vs Sri Lanka live streaming cricket world cup ICC on the final from Mumbai India result hightlight radio commentary ESPN 360 gamecast freedocast video online broadcast, April 02, 2011
The defending champions didn't make it, the mercurial outsiders stumbled, the strong contender choked, the Ashes winners ran out of gas, and after six weeks of high drama, we have come to this: the first all-Asian World-Cup final. And they deserve to be there: five of the top six run-getters, two out of top five wicket-takers, the fielder with the most catches and the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals will all be on show. The two teams have rallied around two of the best modern-day captains: MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara.
Sangakkara is a fiercely ambitious man. Arjuna Ranatunga was almost the freedom fighter, infusing self-respect and clearing the colonial hangover, Mahela Jayawardene was the astute captain who brought so much tactical nous and cricketing intelligence, and Sangakkara is trying to add ruthlessness. Ranatunga pushed the boys to become men, Jayawardene made the men self-aware, and Sangakkara is trying to turn them ruthless. The evolutionary journey has produced a World Cup triumph, a runners-up finish and now, a chance to win it for the second time.
Sangakkara's dream, however, has been hit a nightmarish blow with the injury to Angelo Mathews. Even Muttiah Muralitharan won't be 100% fit. Mathews' absence severely affects the balance of the team and adds huge pressure on an already brittle lower-middle order, where Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera haven't exactly set the tournament alight. Silva, who dazzled in the 2007 edition, has proved combustible in this tournament. Samaraweera is there to manage a collapse, and he did that really well in the curtailed game against Australia. Neither has Mathews' talent to turn a 225 score into 275.
To state the obvious, Sri Lanka will now heavily depend on Tillakaratane Dilshan, the captain and Mahela Jayawardene if they are to put up or chase down a daunting target. They will now have to bat with the knowledge that the lower middle order might not withstand a top-order collapse. Dilshan, though, is in great form, Sangakkara has looked as gritty as ever and while Jayawardene is yet to really flow, he can be always be counted on to come good in pressure games. And Sri Lanka have a varied bowling attack to defend even relatively unsafe totals and the ability to restrict the opposition from piling up too much.
MS Dhoni is a quietly ambitious man. Sourav Ganguly was passionate, Rahul Dravid was process driven, Anil Kumble led from the front with his grit, while Dhoni has been an intuitive captain. He is level-headed, and shrewd enough to marry passion and process. He has soaked up the pressure of being India's captain, is smart enough to know the value of his own brand, and keeps his star-heavy team rolling smoothly with the aid of Gary Kirsten. India's previous two victories, against Australia and Pakistan, have ironed out many of the flaws seen earlier in the tournament. However, those two wins also raise the question of India being emotionally drained. Do they have fuel left in them to raise their game one final time?
The batsmen, who had perhaps tried too hard to compensate for the relatively weak bowling attack by trying to do too much in the end overs and collapsed in the batting Powerplay, seem more aware of identifying a viable target. Someone or other has taken charge during tricky chases. Yuvraj Singh showed tenacity in the chase against Australia, and Suresh Raina maturity in his shot selection against Pakistan.
The poor performance in the early part of the tournament seems to have freed up the bowlers. Expectations are lower and the pressure is off in some ways, allowing them to show better discipline and skill. Munaf Patel has greater control over his legcutters and Harbhajan Singh has slowed up the pace to give himself a better chance to take wickets.
In the last two years, Sri Lanka and India have won eight games apiece against each other. In the last year, the record stands 4-3 in Sri Lanka's favour. In their last five encounters in India, though, the record stands 3-1, with one no result, in the home side's favour. However, these two teams have played each other so often - tomorrow's final will be the 30th time since July 2008- that they should know everything there is to know about each other.
Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
IndiaWWWLW
Sri Lanka WWWWW
Watch out for...
Sachin Tendulkar has the records, the mountain of runs and memorable Man-of-the-Match performances but there are a few things that have eluded him: a Test innings like Brian Lara's 153, a Ponting-esque record in World Cup finals and, indeed, a winner's medal. He has openly talked about his thirst for that World Cup triumph and has played his part in India's journey to Mumbai by being their top scorer. Will he achieve his dream tomorrow?
Muttiah Muralitharan has written some great scripts for himself: a memorable last Test match where he took the last wicket to get to the magical 800, a fabulous performance almost on one leg in his last ODI at home and now, with one World Cup winner's medal in the bag, he has the chance to end with another. He will fancy his chances against the Indian middle-order; he is likely to go around the stumps and aim for lbws with his off breaks and edges with his doosras. Can he script yet another great farewell?
Virender Sehwag's knock against Pakistan, defying the nerves of a World Cup semi-final, was vital in ensuring India could soak up the middle-over wobbles and reach a competitive score. If there is one man who can put up a nerveless display again in the final, it's him. It will be interesting to see how he plays the Sri Lankan spinners. Will he continue to, as he has done during this tournament and perished a few times, try hitting the spinners almost solely through the off side?
Mahela Jayawardene hasn't scored much after that 100 against Canada but all along, and even ahead of the tournament, he has been talking about his itch to perform in the big games. He has the skills to tame the Indian attack and the elegance to do it in style. It was a hundred in the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup against New Zealand that proved a major turning point in his career. "That hundred gave me confidence that I can do it at this big stage," Jayawardene said. "Ever since that moment I have probably lifted my game quite a bit and turned into a big-match player." Will he turn up for Sri Lanka tomorrow?
Team news
Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the final and the Indian camp hasn't made it clear whether R Ashwin or Sreesanth will play. This is what Dhoni said when asked a direct question: "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 manoeuvre the bowling. But with four spinners and two fast bowlers there is not much room to manoeuvre too much."
And just when you think that's a clear hint Sreesanth will play, 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."
India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth/Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.
Sri Lanka have drafted Suraj Randiv into the squad but in Mathews' absence they will most likely turn to Thisara Perera, who almost doubles his career average of 19, and has a strike rate of 146.98, when he plays against India. It remains to be seen whether they will take the brave decision to play Randiv ahead of Rangana Herath. Randiv has played 13 games against India, with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 4.57, while Herath has played just one game against India. Herath has been playing regularly in this tournament, though, while Randiv has been drafted in from the cold.
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 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath.
Try picking the XIs for tomorrow's game by playing Team Selector.
Pitch and conditions
The hot summer has transformed the nature of the pitch from the one on which Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. It's a dry surface and the curator Sudhir Naik was quoted in Times of India as saying that 260-270 will be an excellent score batting first.
There have been only ten day-night games at this venue and Sri Lanka achieved the highest successful chase, overhauling India's 225 in 1997. The highest score by a team batting second under lights is 250. The chasing team has won four out of ten games under lights though.
Stats and trivia
# Dhoni's career ODI average is 48.04 but it falls to 22.37, with a highest score of 34, in 11 World-Cup games.
# The Sri Lankan openers average 97.90 at a strike-rate of 90.10, while the Indian openers average 53.90 at a strike-rate of 102.06.
# India have a better DRS record than Sri Lanka. India have made 14 appeals out of which three have been successful. Sri Lanka have had only one successful appeal in 10 attempts.
# Yuvraj Singh is the third Indian, after Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, with five fifties in a single World Cup.
For more stats, click here.
Quotes
"I am a bit concerned about Sri Lanka's middle order. Mahela Jayawardene has failed to fire and the middle order is struggling a fair deal."
Arjuna Ranatunga, former world-cup winning captain, sweats over potential pitfalls
"You want to end the tournament on a good note. It's a big game for all of us. Irrespective of what the result is I am proud of the team I have."
MS Dhoni on the eve of the final
Walking in to the freshly rebuilt Wankhede Stadium the day before the World Cup final, the most arresting visuals are the huge hoardings featuring Indian cricketers in body paint and primal scream. There's MS Dhoni looking slightly out of character; there are Harbhajan Singh and Virat Kohli in an extension of their on-field persona; and there is Virender Sehwag looking brooding and intense.
The two best teams in the tournament, and by no coincidence led by the two finest captains, will contest the final. Nothing can be better for what has been an outstanding event. The World Cup has given new life to the 50-over game and it has been hosted with great passion in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and in India. Now it has a dream final.
India will start favourites because they seem the more rounded of the two sides. They have players for most occasions and have batting match-winners of extraordinary pedigree. More important, as the tournament draws to a close, they seem to have a better idea of the combination they must believe will bring the World Cup home.
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the best opening pair of the tournament, though by sheer weight of runs Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan will contest that. After the 175 against Bangladesh, Sehwag has been playing cameos, a bit like a brilliant actor working two shifts and leaving quickly after having delivered his lines impeccably. But even if he only does that, he makes it much easier for the batsmen to follow; especially, he takes the load off Tendulkar, who, apart from a quixotic phase in the semi-final, is batting as well as he ever has. The one thing he doesn't have in his gallery, a winner's medal, is a step away and I will be very interested in seeing how he keeps ambition at arm's length in the final.
India have resolved what is becoming a key position in this World Cup: Suresh Raina has batted with much confidence against Australia and Pakistan. Truly he has won back his spot and it has been wonderful to see him field, an area India are rather thinly endowed in. And Dhoni's extraordinary handling of Yuvraj Singh means he has the option of playing an extra seamer as he did against Pakistan. By working on his bowling Yuvraj has given himself the time to rediscover his batting form, paradoxical as that might seem.
India will come to Mumbai with their confidence soaring after back-to-back wins against opponents against whom they have had their most bruising encounters. And I have no doubt that Dhoni will not allow a win against Pakistan to be rated higher than any other. It cannot be so. It was a semi-final, not a final.
Indeed, Dhoni's leadership has been outstanding. He has backed his hunches and taken calls that might have seemed bizarre at the time, but always he has stayed calm and in control. It is a wonderful quality for a leader to possess. Having taken India to a World Twenty20 title, to the No. 1 spot in Test cricket, he now has the opportunity of winning a World Cup.
Arrayed in front of him are Kumara Sangakkara's mild, humble men, who become mighty competitors on a cricket ground. They have the most wonderfully innovative bowlers, men with unique styles and actions and who come at you from different angles. The top four batsmen are in brilliant form, and like India they are led by a man with extraordinary poise and assurance. Unlike India, though, they haven't quite ticked all their boxes yet.
Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara have batted with great assurance, but after them, Mahela Jayawardene, another big-match player, hasn't had enough time in the middle, and Nos. 5, 6 and 7 appear a bit fragile. I believe Angelo Mathews should be the highest of those numbers, but he seemed to be in some pain in the quarter-final. If he is handicapped, and cannot bowl, for example, the Sri Lankans will lose the one outstanding feature they possess: the balance to the side. Mathews must bowl, otherwise the bowlers will start r at home fetched another and led to a comfortable win in the World Cup semi-final. Injury or not, who'd bet against him bowing on one leg and walking off the field with a handsome smile?
Fans in the subcontinent can sometimes be accused of missing the bigger picture by obsessing with individuals and certainly no one man can win the World Cup by himself. But that Tendulkar and Murali lend this World Cup final a certain poignancy and romance is unquestionable. Neither deserves disappointment but that's the cruelty of sport: for one dream realised tomorrow, there will be one broken. Murali has already been part of a World Cup-winning team but, if India lose tomorrow, Tendulkar will never know the feeling.
Neither deserves disappointment but that's the cruelty of sport: for one dream realised tomorrow, there will be one broken. Murali has already been part of a World Cup-winning team but, if India lose tomorrow, Tendulkar will never know the feeling.
Their craft and ways are different, but there are remarkable similarities between Tendulkar and Murali. Their careers have almost run concurrently and they have built records that are unlikely to be ever broken. Neither has allowed fame to corrupt them or divert them from their path. Both have made their nations proud not merely by their achievements on the field, but also with the dignity and grace they have conducted themselves off it. The controversies that Murali's action generated were not of his making; if anything, the way he has dealt with them has merely enhanced his reputation. And if Tendulkar can be accused of anything it is of being too reticent.
They have even had similar rivals. When they dazzled, Brian Lara and Shane Warne were more magical and compelling, but Tendulkar and Murali have endured because their devotion to the game was purer and they allowed nothing to distract them. And over the years they have become strong symbols of national identity in a way Lara and Warne could never have become.
And from their team-mates they have not merely earned respect but genuine affection. Murali has always been the soul of the Sri Lankan dressing room. Both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara spoke endearingly about what a "nuisance" Murali is with his constant chattering about cricket. "He perhaps thinks he knows more about batting than Sachin," Jayawardene said. Murali, already a star, was the first team-mate to take him out for a meal when Jayawardene was a nobody, and he was neither the first nor the last one to receive his kindness. "Murali is always there for you," Jayawardene said.
occupd the last three haven't been - it will not take away from what has been a really good World Cup.
One cricketer is significant by his absence. Sachin Tendulkar doesn't endorse this cola brand anymore.
But just as well. For all of India, the World Cup has built itself up for the perfect finale, the dream finish: The Indian team winning it as the perfect gift for its greatest ever cricketer. It would complete the Sachin Tendulkar story. Throw in the hundredth hundred and the whole nation could die in peace. But Tendulkar isn't the only legend due a fairytale. There is another team in the match and what a farewell would it be for Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's greatest cricketer.
And if precedent is anything to go by, the force is with Murali. The final ball of his Test career yielded a wicket, his 800th. The final ball of his international caree
Tendulkar has never been as effusive by nature but, from all accounts, young players are drawn to him. Unlike some of his predecessors whose presence was intimidating, Tendulkar has been a calming influence in the dressing room, leading not merely by example but by doing little things to put at ease younger players who might have otherwise been star-struck by him.
If there is anything lacking between them, it's the absence of the kind of rivalry forged between either Tendullkar and Warne, and Murali and Lara. Leave aside a grand series, or full innings or a spell, it's hard to remember a moment of magic involving them. And remarkably, even though India and Sri Lanka have played each other incessantly in the last few years, our ball-by-ball records show only 91 balls in ODIs and 366 balls in Tests between Tendulkar and Murali.
ying positions from No. 7, and that would be dangerous. It must be a worry, too, that neither Thilan Samaraweera nor Chamara Silva has looked in good form. Sri Lanka look vulnerable if someone can penetrate their excellent top order early.
Hopefully Muttiah Muralitharan will be ready for the big day. He has had an extraordinary sense of drama to his life, picking up wickets with the last balls he bowled in Tests and in one-dayers in his country. Winning a World Cup and retiring would be a dream come true. In the home dressing room, too, they will be aware that the best present they can give Tendulkar is a World Cup medal. There will be some emotion in both camps.
Hopefully it will be a match worthy of a final, but even if it isn't - an
The World Cup can have only one winner tomorrow. Neither Tendulkar nor Murali would mind personal failure in their final World Cup match if their team ends up on the winner's podium. For cricket's sake, though, let's pray that these two titans rouse each other to a battle worthy of them.
India squad
MS Dhoni*†, V Sehwag, R Ashwin, PP Chawla, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, V Kohli, A Nehra, MM Patel, YK Pathan, SK Raina, S Sreesanth, SR Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh
Sri Lanka squad
KC Sangakkara*†, DPMD Jayawardene, TM Dilshan, CRD Fernando, HMRKB Herath, S Randiv, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis, M Muralitharan, NLTC Perera, TT Samaraweera, LPC Silva, WU Tharanga
Match Facts
April 2, Mumbai
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)
Watch India vs Sri Lanka live streaming cricket world cup ICC on the final from Mumbai India result hightlight radio commentary ESPN 360 gamecast freedocast video online broadcast, April 02, 2011
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Preview:The defending champions didn't make it, the mercurial outsiders stumbled, the strong contender choked, the Ashes winners ran out of gas, and after six weeks of high drama, we have come to this: the first all-Asian World-Cup final. And they deserve to be there: five of the top six run-getters, two out of top five wicket-takers, the fielder with the most catches and the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals will all be on show. The two teams have rallied around two of the best modern-day captains: MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara.
Sangakkara is a fiercely ambitious man. Arjuna Ranatunga was almost the freedom fighter, infusing self-respect and clearing the colonial hangover, Mahela Jayawardene was the astute captain who brought so much tactical nous and cricketing intelligence, and Sangakkara is trying to add ruthlessness. Ranatunga pushed the boys to become men, Jayawardene made the men self-aware, and Sangakkara is trying to turn them ruthless. The evolutionary journey has produced a World Cup triumph, a runners-up finish and now, a chance to win it for the second time.
Sangakkara's dream, however, has been hit a nightmarish blow with the injury to Angelo Mathews. Even Muttiah Muralitharan won't be 100% fit. Mathews' absence severely affects the balance of the team and adds huge pressure on an already brittle lower-middle order, where Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera haven't exactly set the tournament alight. Silva, who dazzled in the 2007 edition, has proved combustible in this tournament. Samaraweera is there to manage a collapse, and he did that really well in the curtailed game against Australia. Neither has Mathews' talent to turn a 225 score into 275.
To state the obvious, Sri Lanka will now heavily depend on Tillakaratane Dilshan, the captain and Mahela Jayawardene if they are to put up or chase down a daunting target. They will now have to bat with the knowledge that the lower middle order might not withstand a top-order collapse. Dilshan, though, is in great form, Sangakkara has looked as gritty as ever and while Jayawardene is yet to really flow, he can be always be counted on to come good in pressure games. And Sri Lanka have a varied bowling attack to defend even relatively unsafe totals and the ability to restrict the opposition from piling up too much.
MS Dhoni is a quietly ambitious man. Sourav Ganguly was passionate, Rahul Dravid was process driven, Anil Kumble led from the front with his grit, while Dhoni has been an intuitive captain. He is level-headed, and shrewd enough to marry passion and process. He has soaked up the pressure of being India's captain, is smart enough to know the value of his own brand, and keeps his star-heavy team rolling smoothly with the aid of Gary Kirsten. India's previous two victories, against Australia and Pakistan, have ironed out many of the flaws seen earlier in the tournament. However, those two wins also raise the question of India being emotionally drained. Do they have fuel left in them to raise their game one final time?
The batsmen, who had perhaps tried too hard to compensate for the relatively weak bowling attack by trying to do too much in the end overs and collapsed in the batting Powerplay, seem more aware of identifying a viable target. Someone or other has taken charge during tricky chases. Yuvraj Singh showed tenacity in the chase against Australia, and Suresh Raina maturity in his shot selection against Pakistan.
The poor performance in the early part of the tournament seems to have freed up the bowlers. Expectations are lower and the pressure is off in some ways, allowing them to show better discipline and skill. Munaf Patel has greater control over his legcutters and Harbhajan Singh has slowed up the pace to give himself a better chance to take wickets.
In the last two years, Sri Lanka and India have won eight games apiece against each other. In the last year, the record stands 4-3 in Sri Lanka's favour. In their last five encounters in India, though, the record stands 3-1, with one no result, in the home side's favour. However, these two teams have played each other so often - tomorrow's final will be the 30th time since July 2008- that they should know everything there is to know about each other.
Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
IndiaWWWLW
Sri Lanka WWWWW
Watch out for...
Sachin Tendulkar has the records, the mountain of runs and memorable Man-of-the-Match performances but there are a few things that have eluded him: a Test innings like Brian Lara's 153, a Ponting-esque record in World Cup finals and, indeed, a winner's medal. He has openly talked about his thirst for that World Cup triumph and has played his part in India's journey to Mumbai by being their top scorer. Will he achieve his dream tomorrow?
Muttiah Muralitharan has written some great scripts for himself: a memorable last Test match where he took the last wicket to get to the magical 800, a fabulous performance almost on one leg in his last ODI at home and now, with one World Cup winner's medal in the bag, he has the chance to end with another. He will fancy his chances against the Indian middle-order; he is likely to go around the stumps and aim for lbws with his off breaks and edges with his doosras. Can he script yet another great farewell?
Virender Sehwag's knock against Pakistan, defying the nerves of a World Cup semi-final, was vital in ensuring India could soak up the middle-over wobbles and reach a competitive score. If there is one man who can put up a nerveless display again in the final, it's him. It will be interesting to see how he plays the Sri Lankan spinners. Will he continue to, as he has done during this tournament and perished a few times, try hitting the spinners almost solely through the off side?
Mahela Jayawardene hasn't scored much after that 100 against Canada but all along, and even ahead of the tournament, he has been talking about his itch to perform in the big games. He has the skills to tame the Indian attack and the elegance to do it in style. It was a hundred in the semi-final of the 2007 World Cup against New Zealand that proved a major turning point in his career. "That hundred gave me confidence that I can do it at this big stage," Jayawardene said. "Ever since that moment I have probably lifted my game quite a bit and turned into a big-match player." Will he turn up for Sri Lanka tomorrow?
Team news
Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the final and the Indian camp hasn't made it clear whether R Ashwin or Sreesanth will play. This is what Dhoni said when asked a direct question: "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 manoeuvre the bowling. But with four spinners and two fast bowlers there is not much room to manoeuvre too much."
And just when you think that's a clear hint Sreesanth will play, 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."
India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth/Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.
Sri Lanka have drafted Suraj Randiv into the squad but in Mathews' absence they will most likely turn to Thisara Perera, who almost doubles his career average of 19, and has a strike rate of 146.98, when he plays against India. It remains to be seen whether they will take the brave decision to play Randiv ahead of Rangana Herath. Randiv has played 13 games against India, with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 4.57, while Herath has played just one game against India. Herath has been playing regularly in this tournament, though, while Randiv has been drafted in from the cold.
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 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath.
Try picking the XIs for tomorrow's game by playing Team Selector.
Pitch and conditions
The hot summer has transformed the nature of the pitch from the one on which Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. It's a dry surface and the curator Sudhir Naik was quoted in Times of India as saying that 260-270 will be an excellent score batting first.
There have been only ten day-night games at this venue and Sri Lanka achieved the highest successful chase, overhauling India's 225 in 1997. The highest score by a team batting second under lights is 250. The chasing team has won four out of ten games under lights though.
Stats and trivia
# Dhoni's career ODI average is 48.04 but it falls to 22.37, with a highest score of 34, in 11 World-Cup games.
# The Sri Lankan openers average 97.90 at a strike-rate of 90.10, while the Indian openers average 53.90 at a strike-rate of 102.06.
# India have a better DRS record than Sri Lanka. India have made 14 appeals out of which three have been successful. Sri Lanka have had only one successful appeal in 10 attempts.
# Yuvraj Singh is the third Indian, after Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, with five fifties in a single World Cup.
For more stats, click here.
Quotes
"I am a bit concerned about Sri Lanka's middle order. Mahela Jayawardene has failed to fire and the middle order is struggling a fair deal."
Arjuna Ranatunga, former world-cup winning captain, sweats over potential pitfalls
"You want to end the tournament on a good note. It's a big game for all of us. Irrespective of what the result is I am proud of the team I have."
MS Dhoni on the eve of the final
Walking in to the freshly rebuilt Wankhede Stadium the day before the World Cup final, the most arresting visuals are the huge hoardings featuring Indian cricketers in body paint and primal scream. There's MS Dhoni looking slightly out of character; there are Harbhajan Singh and Virat Kohli in an extension of their on-field persona; and there is Virender Sehwag looking brooding and intense.
The two best teams in the tournament, and by no coincidence led by the two finest captains, will contest the final. Nothing can be better for what has been an outstanding event. The World Cup has given new life to the 50-over game and it has been hosted with great passion in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and in India. Now it has a dream final.
India will start favourites because they seem the more rounded of the two sides. They have players for most occasions and have batting match-winners of extraordinary pedigree. More important, as the tournament draws to a close, they seem to have a better idea of the combination they must believe will bring the World Cup home.
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the best opening pair of the tournament, though by sheer weight of runs Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan will contest that. After the 175 against Bangladesh, Sehwag has been playing cameos, a bit like a brilliant actor working two shifts and leaving quickly after having delivered his lines impeccably. But even if he only does that, he makes it much easier for the batsmen to follow; especially, he takes the load off Tendulkar, who, apart from a quixotic phase in the semi-final, is batting as well as he ever has. The one thing he doesn't have in his gallery, a winner's medal, is a step away and I will be very interested in seeing how he keeps ambition at arm's length in the final.
India have resolved what is becoming a key position in this World Cup: Suresh Raina has batted with much confidence against Australia and Pakistan. Truly he has won back his spot and it has been wonderful to see him field, an area India are rather thinly endowed in. And Dhoni's extraordinary handling of Yuvraj Singh means he has the option of playing an extra seamer as he did against Pakistan. By working on his bowling Yuvraj has given himself the time to rediscover his batting form, paradoxical as that might seem.
India will come to Mumbai with their confidence soaring after back-to-back wins against opponents against whom they have had their most bruising encounters. And I have no doubt that Dhoni will not allow a win against Pakistan to be rated higher than any other. It cannot be so. It was a semi-final, not a final.
Indeed, Dhoni's leadership has been outstanding. He has backed his hunches and taken calls that might have seemed bizarre at the time, but always he has stayed calm and in control. It is a wonderful quality for a leader to possess. Having taken India to a World Twenty20 title, to the No. 1 spot in Test cricket, he now has the opportunity of winning a World Cup.
Arrayed in front of him are Kumara Sangakkara's mild, humble men, who become mighty competitors on a cricket ground. They have the most wonderfully innovative bowlers, men with unique styles and actions and who come at you from different angles. The top four batsmen are in brilliant form, and like India they are led by a man with extraordinary poise and assurance. Unlike India, though, they haven't quite ticked all their boxes yet.
Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara have batted with great assurance, but after them, Mahela Jayawardene, another big-match player, hasn't had enough time in the middle, and Nos. 5, 6 and 7 appear a bit fragile. I believe Angelo Mathews should be the highest of those numbers, but he seemed to be in some pain in the quarter-final. If he is handicapped, and cannot bowl, for example, the Sri Lankans will lose the one outstanding feature they possess: the balance to the side. Mathews must bowl, otherwise the bowlers will start r at home fetched another and led to a comfortable win in the World Cup semi-final. Injury or not, who'd bet against him bowing on one leg and walking off the field with a handsome smile?
Fans in the subcontinent can sometimes be accused of missing the bigger picture by obsessing with individuals and certainly no one man can win the World Cup by himself. But that Tendulkar and Murali lend this World Cup final a certain poignancy and romance is unquestionable. Neither deserves disappointment but that's the cruelty of sport: for one dream realised tomorrow, there will be one broken. Murali has already been part of a World Cup-winning team but, if India lose tomorrow, Tendulkar will never know the feeling.
Neither deserves disappointment but that's the cruelty of sport: for one dream realised tomorrow, there will be one broken. Murali has already been part of a World Cup-winning team but, if India lose tomorrow, Tendulkar will never know the feeling.
Their craft and ways are different, but there are remarkable similarities between Tendulkar and Murali. Their careers have almost run concurrently and they have built records that are unlikely to be ever broken. Neither has allowed fame to corrupt them or divert them from their path. Both have made their nations proud not merely by their achievements on the field, but also with the dignity and grace they have conducted themselves off it. The controversies that Murali's action generated were not of his making; if anything, the way he has dealt with them has merely enhanced his reputation. And if Tendulkar can be accused of anything it is of being too reticent.
They have even had similar rivals. When they dazzled, Brian Lara and Shane Warne were more magical and compelling, but Tendulkar and Murali have endured because their devotion to the game was purer and they allowed nothing to distract them. And over the years they have become strong symbols of national identity in a way Lara and Warne could never have become.
And from their team-mates they have not merely earned respect but genuine affection. Murali has always been the soul of the Sri Lankan dressing room. Both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara spoke endearingly about what a "nuisance" Murali is with his constant chattering about cricket. "He perhaps thinks he knows more about batting than Sachin," Jayawardene said. Murali, already a star, was the first team-mate to take him out for a meal when Jayawardene was a nobody, and he was neither the first nor the last one to receive his kindness. "Murali is always there for you," Jayawardene said.
occupd the last three haven't been - it will not take away from what has been a really good World Cup.
One cricketer is significant by his absence. Sachin Tendulkar doesn't endorse this cola brand anymore.
But just as well. For all of India, the World Cup has built itself up for the perfect finale, the dream finish: The Indian team winning it as the perfect gift for its greatest ever cricketer. It would complete the Sachin Tendulkar story. Throw in the hundredth hundred and the whole nation could die in peace. But Tendulkar isn't the only legend due a fairytale. There is another team in the match and what a farewell would it be for Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's greatest cricketer.
And if precedent is anything to go by, the force is with Murali. The final ball of his Test career yielded a wicket, his 800th. The final ball of his international caree
Tendulkar has never been as effusive by nature but, from all accounts, young players are drawn to him. Unlike some of his predecessors whose presence was intimidating, Tendulkar has been a calming influence in the dressing room, leading not merely by example but by doing little things to put at ease younger players who might have otherwise been star-struck by him.
If there is anything lacking between them, it's the absence of the kind of rivalry forged between either Tendullkar and Warne, and Murali and Lara. Leave aside a grand series, or full innings or a spell, it's hard to remember a moment of magic involving them. And remarkably, even though India and Sri Lanka have played each other incessantly in the last few years, our ball-by-ball records show only 91 balls in ODIs and 366 balls in Tests between Tendulkar and Murali.
ying positions from No. 7, and that would be dangerous. It must be a worry, too, that neither Thilan Samaraweera nor Chamara Silva has looked in good form. Sri Lanka look vulnerable if someone can penetrate their excellent top order early.
Hopefully Muttiah Muralitharan will be ready for the big day. He has had an extraordinary sense of drama to his life, picking up wickets with the last balls he bowled in Tests and in one-dayers in his country. Winning a World Cup and retiring would be a dream come true. In the home dressing room, too, they will be aware that the best present they can give Tendulkar is a World Cup medal. There will be some emotion in both camps.
Hopefully it will be a match worthy of a final, but even if it isn't - an
The World Cup can have only one winner tomorrow. Neither Tendulkar nor Murali would mind personal failure in their final World Cup match if their team ends up on the winner's podium. For cricket's sake, though, let's pray that these two titans rouse each other to a battle worthy of them.
