|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Sports | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Asia Cup final: Toss vital to both teams by Sa'adi Thawfeeq The toss will play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the eight edition of the Asia Cup final when host Sri Lanka play the favourite for the title India in a day-night game at the R. Premadasa Stadium tomorrow commencing 2.45 p.m. History shows that of the 39 occasions where teams have won the toss and batted first in a day-night game at this venue, 25 times they have won and on 14 other instances they have lost. In the current Asia Cup tournament, the five matches played at the R. Premadasa Stadium has seen batting first, two instances of teams winning and three instances of teams losing. Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu said that he preferred to bat first because batting second under lights was difficult if the ball seams and spins. No doubt his vis-a-vis Sourav Ganguly of India will also have the same thoughts. The contests between Sri Lanka and India in this competition have produced some of the best brand of one-day cricket. Both teams are evenly matched with Sri Lanka having won the first round by 12 runs and India the second by four runs. The margins of victory give an idea that there is not so much to choose between the two sides. "There are two good sides playing well at the moment. I expect the final to be a close contest. The team that makes the lesser number of mistakes will win," said Atapattu. Sri Lanka will be at full strength with the return of their two key bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. They missed Tuesday's game against India, which Sri Lanka lost by four runs. Vaas is coming back from fighting off a viral flu, which laid him low while Muralitharan had to attend the funeral of his paternal grandfather in Kandy. One of the pleasing aspects of Sri Lanka's batting has been the return to form of dashing opener Sanath Jayasuriya who has made back-to-back centuries against Bangladesh and India. He seems to be at the zenith of his batting powers. The batting powerhouse is causing sleepless nights to Indian bowlers after his majestic 130 in the second round game last Tuesday. Another encore from the left-hander on Sunday would surely put India on the mat in the final and decide which way the contest is going to finish. India too will be strengthened in their batting with the return of VVS Laxman who had to sit out the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to a leg injury. In his absence India were one batsman short in their line up and had to play an extra bowler in one game and wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel in the other. Sri Lanka has an outstanding record in the Asia Cup tournament having figured in the finals of the last six tournaments. But despite their impressive record Sri Lanka have gone onto win the Cup only twice - in 1986 under Duleep Mendis and in 1997 under Arjuna Ranatunga. On both occasions Sri Lanka were the hosts. Whether Marvan Atapattu can follow in the footsteps of his two predecessors will be known by Sunday night. India on the other hand has lost only once the five occasions they have qualified for the final. That was in 1997 when they were beaten by eight wickets by Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Defending champions Pakistan and Bangladesh along with first round losers UAE and Hongkong failed to qualify. Of the total figure of US$180,00 which was on offer as prize money for the tournament, already US$ 72,000 have been won leaving the balance US$108,000 to be distributed after the final. The winning team will receive US$60,000 and the Indian Oil Asia Cup, and the runner up US$ 40,000. There are also individual awards of US$ 7,000 and Maruti Esteem Car to the Man of the Series, and US$ 1000 to the Man of the Final. Indian Oil Corporation who is the title sponsor makes all awards. The teams: SRI LANKA (from): Marvan Atapattu (captain), Avishka Gunawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Saman Jayantha. INDIA (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Vangipurappu Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Parthiv Patel. UMPIRES: David Shepherd (England) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand), TV umpire: Akthar-ud-Din (Bangladesh), Match Referee: Mike Procter (South Africa). |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
