da bet vitoria： Despite the stunning comeback into the Coca-Cola Cup triangular oneday series in Colombo, the big question facing India is whether theycan break their losing streak in the last four final appearances whenthey take on Sri Lanka on Sunday
04-Aug-2001Despite the stunning comeback into the Coca-Cola Cup triangular oneday series in Colombo, the big question facing India is whether theycan break their losing streak in the last four final appearances whenthey take on Sri Lanka on Sunday.India booked their place in the final from the brink of elimination.Having won three pressure games, India look to be better placed thanever to put a stop to their habit of faltering at the last hurdle.They have lost the last four finals they have played in – the slidestarting with the defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Knock-outtournament in October last year – but Sourav Ganguly and his men aredetermined to halt the trend.The confidence stems from the way they have played in the last threematches and also from the brilliant individual performances ofVirendra Shewag and Yuvraj Singh, who almost single-handedly won thelast two games for India.Shewag and Yuvraj must be giving headaches to the Sri Lankan camp butIndia would need contributions from all the players in order to winthe cup tomorrow, considering the hosts would be all charged up toavenge two successive losses to India in the league phase.Sri Lanka had started as favourites to win the tournament and they hadproved their top billing by winning their first three matches,including one against India, with relative ease. But they lost theirnext two matches to India comprehensively.The 2-1 advantage in the series does give a psychological edge to theIndians but they must be wary of the Sri Lankans who are capable ofbouncing back especially since they are playing on home soil.After their sterling performances, Shewag and Yuvraj will featureprominently in the Indian scheme of things. Shewag, whose 69-ball 100against New Zealand in the last league encounter was the seventhfastest century in one-day history, will most probably open theinnings again with Ganguly who is slowly coming back to play hisnatural innings.In fact, a lot will depend on the opening partnership. India had lostearly wickets in each of their league matches except the last oneagainst New Zealand where Shewag and Ganguly shared a 143-run stand.The opening pair will once again be required to put up a good scoreeven if it is not in the hurricane manner it was compiled against NewZealand.Rahul Dravid has been the most consistent of Indian batsmen in thisseries and he can be expected to build upon the solid foundation. TheIndian vice-captain has looked as solid as ever and his performancewill be vital for the team’s fortunes.As will be that of Yuvraj Singh who is beaming with confidence afterhis career-best unbeaten knock of 98 against Sri Lanka. The bowlerswill be on the backfoot against him and the Punjab youngster mustcapitalise on the situation. He has shown his tremendous potential onnumerous occasions but has perished while trying to be too flashy. Itis time Yuvraj realises that he needs to play more responsible knockslike the one against Sri Lanka.VVS Laxman is another batsman who can turn the match around. Thestylish right-hander from Hyderabad has had a mixed series with hisunbeaten match-winning 87 against Sri Lanka standing out for its sheerbrilliance. Laxman has been undone on many a occasion due to his habitof playing away from his body and he needs to restrain suchtendencies.Another Punjab youngster Reetinder Singh Sodhi has also shown a lot ofpromise especially under pressure situations. Coming at number six, hedoesn’t get much opportunity but he has been chipping in with quicktwenties and thirties.Hemang Badani has struggled in this tournament though he looked goodin his 35-ball unbeaten 37 in the last match. The team has reposed alot of faith in him and Badani will be looking to start from where heleft off on Thursday.The Indian batting line-up is suddenly having a lot of depth after thethree victories but it will be put to the real test only tomorrow.The Indian bowling has been pretty consistent and with the exceptionof Thursday’s match against New Zealand, the bowlers have done theirjob admirably. Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan have developed into apotent force and a lot will depend on their performance in the final.Harbhajan Singh has also been among the wickets and his role in themiddle overs has been crucial for India’s fortunes. The part-timerslike Ganguly, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Badani have also done a fine job andcan be expected to come up with a similar good performance.Sri Lanka had inflicted one-day cricket’s worst-ever defeat on Indiain Sharjah in the two teams’ previous meeting in a final last October.And the hosts are aiming for a similar result this time in the wake oftheir two successive losses.They have a very balanced side with Sanath Jayasuriya leading anexplosive batting line-up that includes the likes of RomeshKaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold.All of them have been in fine form in this tournament – withJayawardene too getting runs in the previous two matches – and arecapable of producing match-winning innings. They have come outsuccessful from sticky situations, amply exemplified in their fivewicket win over New Zealand after reeling at 27 for four at one stage.With a partisan home crowd expected to fully occupy the PremadasaStadium on a Sunday, Sri Lanka could make things difficult for theIndians. Muthiah Muralitharan, who claimed a world record 7-30 in thatSharjah final, will once again be at the helm of the Sri Lankanbowling to haunt the Indians. He will have able company in ChamindaVaas, Dilhara Fernando and Kumar Dharmasena who have been troublingthe opposition batsman a lot in this series.Both teams will announce their final eleven tomorrow.The teams (from):India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, VirenderShewag, Hemang Badani, Yuvraj Singh, Amay Khurasia, Reetinder SinghSodhi, Sameer Dighe, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, AjitAgarkar and Rahul Sanghvi.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, MahelaJayawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold,Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Dulip Liyanage,Avishka Gunawardene, Suresh Perera, Dilhara Fernando and DinushaFernando.