Mumbai set for Tendulkar's dream final
A billion hearts will beat for Sachin Tendulkar as India bid for
their second World Cup title in the all-Asian final against buoyant Sri
Lanka on Saturday.
Tendulkar returns to his home turf at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai
determined to add the only silverware missing from the collection of the
most celebrated cricketer of the modern era.
The
Indian star, who turns 38 next month, holds almost all coveted batting
records, but not even his individual brilliance could win the ultimate
prize in a team sport like cricket.
In five previous appearances in cricket's showpiece event, Tendulkar
helped India reach the semi-final at home in 1996 and finish runners-up
to Australia in 2003 in South Africa.
Not born
When India won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, Tendulkar was
10 years old, but five of his current team-mates - Ravichandran Ashwin,
Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel - were not even
born.
Playing in his sixth and possibly last World Cup, a record he shares
with Pakistan great Javed Miandad, Tendulkar has led from the front to
lift India into the final.
His 464 runs in the tournament are just three behind Sri Lankan
Tillakaratne Dilshan's 467, and he goes into the title clash one ton
away from recording an unprecedented 100 international centuries.
Tendulkar's lucky 85 in Wednesday's semi-final against Pakistan, when
he was dropped four times and survived close leg-before and stumping
decisions, suggests he was destined to play the final.
"It will be a fantastic occasion," Tendulkar said of the match in his
home city. "We will focus on the job in hand and try to get the job
done."
Even the International Cricket Council will be delighted how the
tournament has panned out.
Fairytale
"Can you imagine a fairytale ending with Tendulkar getting a hundred
in the final and India wins at Wankhede which is his home ground?," ICC
CEO Haroon Lorgat had said last week.
The task ahead will not be easy against a supremely confident Sri
Lanka, who have marched into their second successive final after losing
just one match out of eight in the tournament.
Kumar Sangakkara's men, playing at home in Colombo, thrashed England
by 10 wickets in the quarter-final before delivering a five-wicket blow
to New Zealand in the semi-final. Sri Lanka, like India, are also
seeking their second World Cup title after winning in 1996 when Arjuna
Ranatunga's team stunned Australia in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Power-packed
Dilshan has led a power-packed display by the batsmen to become the
tournament's leading scorer, while Sangakkara has notched up 417 runs
and young opener Upul Tharanga has made 393 runs.
World bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan, who will make his
farewell international appearance on Saturday, has been his team's most
successful bowler with 15 wickets.
Sri Lanka enjoy a formidable bowling attack with sling-arm fast
bowler Lasith Malinga (11 wickets) and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis
(seven) complimenting off-spinner Muralitharan.
Indian seamer Zaheer Khan, who will also play on his home ground in
Mumbai, goes into the final with 19 wickets, second behind Pakistani
captain Shahid Afridi's tally of 21.
Sri Lanka have prevailed in recent one-dayers against India, winning
six of the 10 matches played last year in Dhaka, Harare, Bulawayo and
Dambulla.
But India have won five of seven matches against the Islanders on
home soil over the last five years.
India will be playing at the refurbished 33,000-capacity Wankhede
stadium for the first time, while Sri Lanka know what awaits them having
beaten New Zealand by 112 runs in a league match at the ground on March
18. MUMBAI, Friday AFP |