Lankans can do it

They must believe in themselves:

Today could well be another Red Letter Day in the annals of Sri Lanka sport as Kumara Sangakkara and his men gear up to conquer the Mount Everest in cricket and emulate the feats of Arjuna Ranatunga's 1996 team.

Will Sri Lanka be able to create history and win the World Cup after 15 long years? This will be the question and the answer would be known only after today's grand finale of the ICC World Cup between Sri Lanka and India in Mumbai today. This will be only the third time that Sri Lanka is figuring in a World Cup final in the 37-year-old history of the ICC World Cup.

This is also Sri Lanka's second successive World Cup final, having lost to Australia in the final of the last tournament played in the West Indies.

Whoever who wins the richest price in world cricket one thing is certain and that is the ICC World Cup will go to an Asian team after 15 years. The three Asian cricketing giants - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each won the World Cup once and the last time that the World Cup was won by an Asian team was when Ranatunga's men humbled Australia by seven wickets in the final of the 1996 tournament played in Lahore on March 17, 1996.

Since then, it has been the mighty Australians who have been dominating in the international arena, winning the last three ICC World Cup tournaments in-a-row, twice under the leadership of Rickey Ponting. But Indians shattered Australia's dream of winning the World Cup on a record fourth successive time when they topped Ponting's men in the quarter finals. That paved the way for an all-Asian shown down in the ICC World Cup 2011 final that would be played before a packed stadium in the city which is better known for its famous Bollywood cinema.

When Sri Lanka beat the Kiwis by five wickets in the first semi final, the big question here before the second semi final was on the team which Lanka prefers to be its opponents in the final. Many here felt that India would be a tougher opponent than Pakistan. There is a truth in that up to some extent because Indian team looks stronger than Pakistan man to man.

Though India's batting looks rock solid with Vivendra Sehwag, Sachin Tenkar, Gauthan Ghambir and Yuvaraj Singh in good form, the same cannot be said about their bowling. Though many Sri Lanka supporters fell that the India would enjoy home advantage, that was not an absolute belied. If the final had been played in Sri Lanka, one could have confidently said that Sri Lanka has the full home advantage because the fans here are a well-behaved lot. But the same cannot be said about Indian supporters who have often resorted to unruly acts when their dream team is at the receiving end. This was clearly evident when the Indians were made to eat humble pie in their 1996 World Cup semi final against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens.

In this context, I feel that the asking would be extremely high from the Indian team and playing before their die-hard home fans would not be an easy task.

In contrast, Sri Lanka has nothing to lose and that Sangakkara's men would not feel any undue pressure from home supporters. Hence, they could well concentrate on their normal game. If Sri Lanka team play true to their abilities, they could well turn the final in their favour. At the same time, they cannot afford to make too many mistakes against a rock-solid team such as India. Playing before their 'demanding' home fans, the Indian team will have to face a do or die situation.

Nevertheless, it will be a tough asking for Sri Lanka if India bats and put a challenging total on the board. There is depth in the Indian batting line up and they could turn extremely dangerous when in fully cry.

The toss will play a crucial role and the captain who calls right this afternoon will have a huge bonus. But it all depends on the quality of cricket they play. Sri Lanka could beat all odds and turn the game in their favour if they play quality cricket.

Sri Lanka has a well-knit side that is capable of upsetting the Indians before their home supporters. But Sangakkara and men should keep in mind that they are playing against one of the best teams in the business which has a proven track record. The mighty Indians mercilessly shattered the World Cup hopes of Australians and the Pakistanis and they could well inflict the same to Sri Lankans as well.

Hence, Sri Lanka should play in a highly professional manner and try not to take any chances against the Indians. Sri Lanka has a superior bowling department and even if spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan fails to pass his fitness test, Sri Lanka could still be in a position to challenge India. Lasith Malinga, the quickie who has been going great guns in the 14-nation tournament, holds the key and if he could get a couple of early wickets, the Lankan slow bowlers are capable of capitalizing on that.

It has been a long wait for both Sri Lanka and India without a World Cup win. After those back to back World Cup triumphs by Clive Lloyd's West Indians in 1975 and 1979 in the first two World Cup tournaments, it was Kapil Dev's Indians who sprang the surprise at the 1983 final at Lord's and prevented the Caribbean going for a hat-trick of wins.

When Roger Binny became the leading wicket taker of the 1983 tournament with 18 wickets, our own left-arm quick bowler Chaminda Vaas had 17 scalps to his credit.

It was Sri Lanka which invented the art of pinch hitting during the 1996 World Cup. Dashing openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana took one day cricket by storm with their magical pinch hitting which made a revolution in batting. Jayasuriya's cracking form enabled him to be adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament at the 1996 World Cup.

When the success story of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup is spoken about, one cannot forget the contributions made by Aravinda de Silva, the current chairman of selectors, who made a blistering century in the final to win the Man of the final award. Asanka Gurusinha too made a valuable contribution as Ranatunga's men reached the pinnacle of world cricket.

Millions of Sri Lankans across the lengths and breadths of the country would be dreaming of a similar performance from Sangakkara and his Sri Lanka team. It may look a tall order to humble Indians before their home fans.

But nothing is impossible if Sri Lankans believe in themselves.

They have the ability and talent to beat any team in the world, provided they give out their brilliant best.