On to the Compaq Cup final
Right. So we have a one-day final tomorrow. The Compaq Cup (which features a pretty digital trophy, like totally 21st century, if you know what I mean).
India have a chance to do two things: take back the No. 1 spot, which they held for some 24 hours (at least, I think they get it back, but I'm not sure), and more to the point, they have a chance to try and get over the "finals jinx", because they have this really bad habit of losing in anything that ends with the word "Final."
Sri Lanka have the chance to just continue smacking India around the Park like they did on Saturday (can someone confirm if that was the same pitch on which India clobbered New Zealand? I'm serious).
Despite all my recent snarkiness about the one-day game, I'm genuinely interested in this game. I would like to see: Tendulkar and Dravid bat; the Indian trio of Nehra/RP Singh/Sharma fire; Dilshan/Jaya/Sanga batting; Mendis/Malinga bowling. I still like ODIs when the stakes are "high." This isn't a big deal as far as tournaments go, but there is always some national pride at stake. And importantly, Sri Lanka is playing at home, so the atmosphere should be have a crackle and pop to it. The one-day final, with a big crowd behind it, is still a marquee international cricket event. Fingers crossed, we'll get a good game.
Oh, and the times are good. The games start at 5 AM, and thanks to a pesky back injury, I haven't had any trouble waking up then!
India have a chance to do two things: take back the No. 1 spot, which they held for some 24 hours (at least, I think they get it back, but I'm not sure), and more to the point, they have a chance to try and get over the "finals jinx", because they have this really bad habit of losing in anything that ends with the word "Final."
Sri Lanka have the chance to just continue smacking India around the Park like they did on Saturday (can someone confirm if that was the same pitch on which India clobbered New Zealand? I'm serious).
Despite all my recent snarkiness about the one-day game, I'm genuinely interested in this game. I would like to see: Tendulkar and Dravid bat; the Indian trio of Nehra/RP Singh/Sharma fire; Dilshan/Jaya/Sanga batting; Mendis/Malinga bowling. I still like ODIs when the stakes are "high." This isn't a big deal as far as tournaments go, but there is always some national pride at stake. And importantly, Sri Lanka is playing at home, so the atmosphere should be have a crackle and pop to it. The one-day final, with a big crowd behind it, is still a marquee international cricket event. Fingers crossed, we'll get a good game.
Oh, and the times are good. The games start at 5 AM, and thanks to a pesky back injury, I haven't had any trouble waking up then!
Labels: Ajantha Mendis, Ashish Nehra, India, Ishant Sharma, Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, one-day internationals, Rahul Dravid, RP Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka
posted by Samir Chopra at 9:05 PM
6 Comments:
Actually we've slipped to third, and have 125pts to South Africa's 127. I think we needed a clean sweep to remain Number 1 from what I remember reading at Cricinfo before the tournament, so at the very best we can at least go back to number 2.
Should be exciting, can't wait to watch the Malinga-Sachin/Malinga-Dravid battle all over again.
Yeah, we needed a clean sweep to remain on top.
Samir, they did use a different pitch..it was noticeable because you could see the white on the grass near the start of the bowler's run up where there previously was compaq's logo..hope they keep the same pitch for 2day's final!
Watch the match here
Live LInk
India vs Sri Lanka Live Streaming
Compaq Cup Final Live Streaming
Ach: Thanks, I wasn't keeping a close enough eye on the world rankings table obviously! Dravid-SRT are batting very well at the moment with Sachin verging on magical at times!
Goutham: Thanks!
CT: Thanks for confirming that - I was reasonably sure, but still.
I like the Yamaha FZ that Harbhajan Singh won for being the 'Most Stylish Player' of the day. He took 5 for 56 in the Compaq Cup final. Well Done! India had an amazing year.
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