Srilanka vs India in World Cup 2011 finals

Yesterday, India won semi-finals against Pakistan at Mohali and enter into finals. Earlier to this, first semi-finals was played between Srilanka and Newzealand. Srilanka won the match and they were the first team to enter into the finals of World Cup 2011. Now India will be playing against its sub-continent Srilanka in the finals of the World Cup on Saturday at Wankhede pitch, Mumbai.

The 2 two teams a similar kind of background,
India have won 1 world cup so far, So is Srilanka.
India have entered 2 finals and 3rd time they are appearing, So is Srilanka.
In the very first finals, India has won the World Cup, So is Srilanka.
In the second finals, India lost to Australia, So is Srilanka.

Apart from this, the only advantage Srilanka have is that they have a well balanced team. Their bowling performance is just brilliant so far. This is lacking in India side. But India has a luck factor with them.

Let us see, what happens in finals. My cheers will always be to India. India India....... Dhak Dhak go...... :-)

The cricketer's who might be playing their last world cup: Part1

Shoaib Akhtar, 35: Once the fastest bowler in the world, his career has always been on the brink of an abrupt end due to injuries and misdemeanours. But he has surprisingly hung on. Shoaib was runners-up in the 1999 World cup and bowled a delivery at 161 KMPH in the 2003 event. He's now one of the fading stars of a once brilliant team.

Jacques Kallis, 35: The finest all-rounder this side of the 1990s, Kallis has seen many World Cup heart-breaks: the quarterfinal in 1996, semi-finals in 1999 and 2007, and the rain-rule blunder of 2003. His team has a point to prove in 2011.

Muttiah Muralitharan, 38: Murali is the most successful bowler ever in international cricket. He retired from Tests last year with a mind-boggling 800 wickets and will retire from ODIs after the World Cup. Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup with him, reached the 2003 semis and the 2007 final. Playing at home again, can they do an encore for Murali?

Tillakaratne Dilshan, 34: He started his international career at 23, but blossomed late. He is one of the most destructive openers on sub-continental flatbeds and has also invented the ‘Dilscoop’. Sri Lanka is an aging side with lots of senior batsmen in their mid-30s. Dilshan might not be around in 2015.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 36: Chanders will be playing his fifth World Cup. In 1996, he almost took West Indies in to the final but his wicket triggered a collapse leading to an Australian win. Since then, the two-time champs have performed poorly at the World cup. Will this time be different?

Zaheer Khan, 32: Fast bowlers tend to have a shorter shelf-life than other cricketers. Given Zaheer's work-load and injury record, he would do well to stay fit for the 2015 World Cup. It's a difficult task, but let's hope India’s best pacer is still around taking loads of wickets.

The cricketer's who might be playing their last world cup: Part2

Here are some predictions for the cricketer's in which i think this might be their last World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar, 37: He owns nearly every batting record there is but World Cup glory has eluded him. He single-handedly took India to the semis in 1996 and the final in 2003. This is his sixth World Cup and he will be 42 by the time the next World Cup comes around. In all probability, this is his last chance to wear the winner's medal.

Steve Tikolo, 39: He’s been the rock of Kenyan cricket ever since they started playing ODI cricket in 1996. A fluent middle-order batsman and an off-spinner, Tikolo astonishingly lead the minnows to the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. 2011 is his fifth World Cup, and he’ll be plotting some upsets.

Ricky Ponting, 36: The Australia captain has been a middle-order force since the late 90s. But his poor form with the bat has coincided with Australia's worst slump in many years. Ponting has tasted World Cup success in 1999, 2003 and 2007 but this could be his final shot at the title.

Brett Lee, 35: Once the fastest bowler in the world alongside Shoaib Akhtar, Lee's career has been curtailed by recurring injuries. He's fought back into the team, but it will be a struggle for him to remain there for long. He's won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007.

Paul Collingwood, 34: He holds the distinction of leading England to their first world title, the World T20 in 2010. He's been England's blue-collared hero --- a hard-working batsman, attacking fielder and useful seamer --- but this may be his last chance to end his team's World Cup jinx.

Scott Styris, 35: He's a dependable middle-order batsman and an annoyingly good seamer. Styris will be 40 by the time the next World Cup happens in 2015. He has a good cup record, averaging 69.2 in just 18 matches. His experience will be much needed if this Kiwi team has to reverse its losing trend.

1st Test Day four: India vs Srilanka

Yesterday morning i had given update on the 3rd day of the first test match which is being played between India and Srilanka. At that point of time, India after 32.1 overs, had scored a total of 152/3. India was on trial of 368 runs. Virender Sehwag was batting on 95 runs and VVS Laxman on 20 runs. 

Virender Sehwag added one more century to his test match centuries list and got out scoring 109 runs. Soon VVS Laxman followed Sehwag by getting out when he reached 22 runs. Indian skipper MS Dhoni and Yuvaraj Singh some how managed to add 74 runs to the total. After the breakage of this partnership, Srilankans easily removed remaining wickets in quick succession thereby restricting Indians to 276 runs in total and took all 10 wickets. India opened their second batting innings due to follow on.

Again Gautam Gambhir did not play well as he got out in the second ball of the innings. Soon followed by Virender Sehwag. 119 runs partnership between Rahul Dravid and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar helped team India to get some relief. But both departed scoring 44 runs and 84 runs respectively. Yuvaraj Singh too did not bet well in this innings. India are into real trouble now as they have lost 5 wickets. India has to save its wickets for the entire day so that the match can be drawn. At the end of 4th day, India landed up with a score of 181/5.


Hope rain comes and the match gets stopped so that my team will survive from defeat :-)