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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > ICC Champions Trophy 2002 > Pumped up Indians, Lankan lions square up for final encounter 19.10 IST 28th Sept 2002 By Manish Kumar A fired-up India will seek to achieve on September 29 what the Australians failed to do two days back: to beard the rampaging Sri Lankan lions in their own den. That being the case, the Premadasa stadium in Colombo will host an absorbing encounter to win the ICC Champions Trophy. India had made it to the final of this tournament two years ago also. But on that occasion the Indians lost to New Zealand with Chris Cairns coming up with a brilliant all-round performance. That, however, is history. The present Indian team is in super form. The last ODI final India played they won chasing a mammoth 325 against England at Lord’s. And that is a matter of concern for the Sri Lankans. All Indian batsmen are in top gear. Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Kaif have already hit tons in the tournament, while Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh have chipped in with good knocks consistently. Sachin Tendulkar is a big match player. Though he has not been required to contribute much with bat in recent Indian wins, he can come out with a gem of an innings anytime. The Indian pace attack has been bolstered by the return of Javagal Srinath in place of the injured Ashish Nehra. The match promises to be a nail-biting affair as both India and Sri Lanka have natural and exciting stroke makers. India reached the final beating South Africa in a thrilling encounter, while Sri Lanka easily went past world champions Australia. Playing on home ground, the Lankans are world-beaters. The twin factors give them a psychological edge over India. India and Sri Lanka have played each other 73 times in ODIs, with India winning 39 matches and losing 26. Five matches have produced no result. Sri Lanka have an enviable record on this ground. Out of the 45 matches they have played at Premadasa, the home team has won 32, lost 11, with two no-result matches. The Lankans have also come out victorious in 14 of the past 17 matches there. Since 1996, which saw the first multi-team tournament with a grand final at Premadasa, Sri Lanka, has won six of seven finals played there. Sri Lanka have won a title every year except in 1998, when they lost a thriller to India by six runs. Teams (from): India: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, JP Yadav, Ashish Nehra, VVS Laxman and Javagal Srinath. Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (Captain), Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda De Silva, Upal Chandana, Kumar Sangakkara, Kumar Dharmasena, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Hasantha Fernando, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan and Pulasthi Gunaratne. in-depth coverage > ICC Champions Trophy 2002 > |
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