After India vs Pakistan- A Look At the Final

The epic Semi Final Clash has drifted off into our memories with India progressing to face Sri Lanka in the Final and Pakistan coming up short. Here is the wash up of the clash

Decisive Factors in the Match1,The FieldingThis was the deciding factor in India winning by all the runs that were gifted to India through Pakistan’s terrible fielding. Sachin was dropped on 4 different occasions which cost Pakistan around 60 odd runs.Then behind the stumps Kamran Akmal was at his incompetent best. You can feel sorry for Pakistan, but this is an area in their game that has remained unaddressed for as long as 50 years. They drop the catches and dropped the cup too.2,India’s Bowling UnitThrough out this tournament, we have been critical of the Indian bowling unit. At the start of this match, we were aghast at the inclusion of Ashish Nehra over the impressive Ravi Ashwin. But the bowling unit was so impressive in every regard with every member of it making a compelling contribution last night. In all regards of the game, they were stellar and if can hold their form will be hard to beat in the Final.3,Pakistan’s Greatest Strength in Umar Gul-ImplodedSadly for this big hearted quick bowler who had an exceptional World Cup, in the biggest game in his career he couldn’t deal with the pressure and was sub standard to be kind.4,Pressure Plays a Huge Role260 on that pitch and outfield was basically 20 runs short. So Pakistan should have chased it down. With due respect to the Indian bowlers the pressure of the clash was intense and decisive for it played with the Pakistani minds and with the Indian bowlers being so stellar, the blowtorch was too hot for them and they came up 29 runs short of the win.

Going Forward

India’s final clash will be against a Team that is so similar to Pakistan. Sri Lanka, like the Pakistan, rely heavily on their bowling. But Sri Lanka’s batting might is undoubtedly better than that of the Pakistan. With tournament top-scorer Sangakara in the side the batting of Lanka can resist the Indian bowling in a better way than the way Pakistani batters handled it.Keys To the Match1. Batting First Will Be A Huge Advantage!I say this considering the intense pressure of such clashes generate on the chasing side even if you get a mediocre total batting first. The intense pressure to chase in the Final will make chasing very very difficult. The pressure of expectations and national pride create the extra burden for the players.2. Both Teams FieldingAs the semi-final game showed, fielding is a crucial factor. In the Final too the importance of fielding will be huge.3. Lasith Malinga versus Sachin Tendulkar and Virender SehwagThis will arguably be the key clash in the Final match. Whoever gets the upper hand in this clash will gain his Team a decisive edge.4. Zaheer Khan versus Dilshan and TharangaThe Sri Lankan openers have been exceptional. So India need to get them quickly and cheaply to win the match.5,India’s Batsmen versus Sri Lanka’s SpinnersThis will be epic with the undoubted kings of playing spin in the Indian line up against the marvellous Sri Lankan spinners led by legend Murali.6,Sri Lanka will say win for Murali….India will say win for Sachin….Both icons are playing their last World Cups. Inevitably their team mates will try to lift the cup for these two legends in their teams. You can’t discount this factor in the clash.

Whatever the result be, one thing can be assured about this final match: the match will be a thriller and provide quality cricketing entertainment to the fans. Good luck to both the teams.

unaddressed