World Cup 2011 - Sri Lanka stands before 83 repeat - Part I

After the Mini Grand-Final and Mother of all battles, comes the Grand-Final itself.

Consider these statistics of how India and Sri Lanka fare against each other?

• After their last match in 2007 World Cup, both the teams have met in 33 matches. India holds the advantage 18-13.
• At home, India's advantage over Sri Lanka is even more obvious but the matches played (since the last World Cup) has been far less - 3-1
• Overall, at home, India has a big advantage over Sri Lanka - 28-11 
• India vs Sri Lanka in competitions that have more than 5 teams - Sri Lanka heads the count 8-7. A very close statistic that does not convey much. 
• India vs Sri Lanka in World Cup - India have won their contests against Sri Lanka in 1999 (England) and 2003 (Sri Lanka) but lost their battles in 1979, 1996 (twice), 2007. One match was washed out (1992). 4-2 for Sri Lanka once again. 
• Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar, the best umpires in world cricket, will officiate in the World Cup final. How has India fared when Taufel officiated? 21-24 - not so favorable, though the Indians won the last match he stood in. How has India fared when Aleem Dar officiated? 11-9. The only match both officiated was in Johannesburg when India played West Indies. Verdict - India won.

Geoff Boycott in his article mentions that India have to handle Malinga and Murali well in the final to take advantage. How have the duo fared against India? Not so great - check the stats below.

• Record of Lasith Malinga against India is not so great - 18 wickets in 18 matches with an average of 45+, Economy of 5.6+ and a strike rate of 47 balls per wicket.
• Record of Muralitharan against India is the worst compared to his numbers against all other nations - average of 31+ and a strike rate of 44 balls per wicket. His best in ODI though came against India in Sharjah.

In the current edition, what has been the performance of the two teams in batting and bowling?

• India have five players in the Top-50 batsmen - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli while Sri Lanka have four - Tilakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene. 5 hundreds and 11 fifties for India while Sri Lankans have scored 6 hundreds and 7 fifties.
• In the bowling department, Sri Lanka have six in the Top-50 bowlers in the tournament - Muralitharan, Malinga, Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis, Perera, Angelo Mathews. India have four in the Top-50 - Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh. 1 five-wicket haul for both teams while Sri Lanka have one more four-wicket haul than India's one.

Gary Kirsten and Trevor Bayliss are stepping down from their current positions after the final match. How has India and Sri Lanka performed under these coaches?

• India's record from December 2007 after Gary Kirsten became coach - 61-32. Impressive.
• Sri Lanka's record from June 2007 when Bayliss became coach - 54-35. Not bad but not so impressive as that of Kirsten.

World Cup 2011 - Sri Lanka favorites vs England

    Key Player 
179-153 says Castrol Index, reflecting the difference between England and Sri Lanka. Quite a big difference, one can say, that has been justified by the inconsistent performances by the English team during this tournament. The Quarter-final match is being held in the backyard of the Sri Lankans, which will boost their confidence further.

Murali has been declared fit by his team - knowing him, he would have played if he was even 50% fit. Further, if he was not in the team also, the other spinners would be a handful  for the English team. It is a fact that England have played well against the test-playing nations, faltering against the minnows - the inconsistency of the batting lineup must be haunting both the Andys.

Strauss must stay as the anchor of the lineup so that the others can bat around him. Swann and Tredwell proved their prowess last match - will they do it again this match? The Sri Lankans are much better batsmen of spin and can negate the threat easily. Anderson will make a comeback but again, he is not much of a threat on these pitches.

Muralidharan, Mendis and Herath will play in all likelihood with Dilshan providing the part-time option. Malinga and Matthews can open the bowling with the new ball. Sangakkara and Jayawardene will be the key batsmen for the Lankans who will be expected to provide the strength. It has been a while that Dilshan has put up a big score - if he and Tharanga can put up a solid base, the others can take on from there. The middler order is suspect and might come apart just like the Proteas did against the Black Caps in their quarter-final.

The Emerald Isle team have the ability to put it across the English team easily, if they play as per their reputation. Will the English finally regain their Ashes-winning form?