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The two strongest teams in the 2011 Cricket World Cup – Sri Lanka and India – will lock horns with each other in today’s final.
Each team has played eight matches in the current CWC, winning six and losing one: India losing to South Africa and Sri Lanka to Pakistan.
India tied with England, and Sri Lanka’s match against Australia was rained off. So each team has won 6 of the 7 games completed – a win percent of 85.71.
Also, it is for the first time that two teams from Asia – India and Sri Lanka – will meet in the CWC Final.
Each country has won the CWC once (India in 1983, Sri Lanka in 1996), and entered the Final three times (India in 1983, 2003 and 2011; Sri Lanka in 1996, 2007 and 2011).
Apart from Australia entering the Final six times (in 1975, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007; winning in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007) and West Indies storming into the Final three times (1975, 1979 and 1983; winning the first two), no other country has entered the Final three times.
The Final in Mumbai will attract over 50,000 spectators and a global TV audience of close to a quarter billion.
The star of the show will be master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, on the verge of his 100th international century. Although he was lucky and far from faultless in the semi-final against Pakistan on Wednesday, he stood like the boy on a burning deck (in this case a seaming, spinning pitch) when other batsmen fell.
Four chances notwithstanding, he top-scored with 85, took India to the Final, and was a worthy Man of the Match.
Against his 99 hundreds in 629 internationals, Australia’s Ricky Ponting has 69 centuries in 511 internationals to his name – a whopping 30 tons behind.
In these internationals, Sachin has aggregated 32,785 runs at 49.82, Ricky coming next with 25,651 runs at 47.24.
In the history of CWC, Sachin is the only one to top 2000 runs, smacking 2260 runs at 57.94 in 44 matches. Ricky is second best, but over 500 runs behind (1743 runs at 45.86 in 46 matches). The two are top century makers: Sachin with 6 and Ricky 5.
In the 2011 CWC, Sachin (464 at 58.00 in 8 games) is three runs behind Sri Lankan opener Tillekeratne Dilshan (467 at 66.71 also in 8 games).
Sri Lanka’s captain Kumar Sangakkara is the fourth batsman to top 400 runs (417 at a century average of 104.25 in 8 matches) after England’s Jonathan Trott (422 at 60.28 in 7).
India’s all-rounder Yuvraj has become the fourth player to perform the double of 300 runs and 10 wickets in a single CWC. The other three are India’s Kapil Dev (303 runs at 60.60 and 12 wickets at 20.42 in 8 matches in England, 1983), Zimbabwe’s Neil Johnson (367 runs at 52.43 and 12 wickets at 19.42 also in 8 matches in England, 1999), and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (321 runs at 40.13 and 10 wickets at 31.50 in 10 matches in South Africa, 2003).
So far Yuvraj has scored 341 runs at 85.25 and taken 13 wickets at 25.23. He has to score only 29 runs in the Final today to become the only player to top 370 runs and take 13 wickets in the same CWC.
Cricket’s controversial legend Muttiah Muralitharan will bid farewell to international cricket in today’s Final. He still has to pass the fitness test, but he is one bowler who has troubled Tendulkar.
Murali needs four wickets in the Final to overtake Australian great Glenn McGrath’s record of 71 scalps at 18.19 in 39 matches in CWC.
So far Murali has taken 68 at 19.05 also in 39 matches.
His record of 1334 wickets in 482 internationals will perhaps never be broken. He holds records in both Tests (only one to capture 800 wickets) and in one-day internationals, 534. The only other bowler to top 500 ODI wickets is Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (502).
So, statistically, Tendulkar and Murali hold almost all records in international cricket. What contrasting characters: controversy-free Tendulkar and highly controversial Murali!
The more versatile bowling of Sri Lanka gives them an edge over India. Whatever the result of the Final, the enigmatic Murali will be missed.