Friday, April 1, 2011

India vs Sri Lanka Final Live at Mumbai

Watch India vs Sri Lanka Live Streaming World Cup 2011 Final online for free. The live cricket streaming of the match is live telecast by Star Cricket and Espn Star. Sangakkara is a fiercely ambitious man. Arjuna Ranatunga was almost the freedom fighter, infusing self-respect and clearing the colonial hangover, Mahela Jayawardene was the astute captain who brought so much tactical nous and cricketing intelligence, and Sangakkara is trying to add ruthlessness. Ranatunga pushed the boys to become men, Jayawardene made the men self-aware, and Sangakkara is trying to turn them ruthless. The evolutionary journey has produced a World Cup triumph, a runners-up finish and now, a chance to win it for the second time.

Sangakkara's dream, however, has been hit a nightmarish blow with the injury to Angelo Mathews. Even Muttiah Muralitharan won't be 100% fit. Mathews' absence severely affects the balance of the team and adds huge pressure on an already brittle lower-middle order, where Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera haven't exactly set the tournament alight. Silva, who dazzled in the 2007 edition, has proved combustible in this tournament. Samaraweera is there to manage a collapse, and he did that really well in the curtailed game against Australia. Neither has Mathews' talent to turn a 225 score into 275.

To state the obvious, Sri Lanka will now heavily depend on Tillakaratane Dilshan, the captain and Mahela Jayawardene if they are to put up or chase down a daunting target. They will now have to bat with the knowledge that the lower middle order might not withstand a top-order collapse. Dilshan, though, is in great form, Sangakkara has looked as gritty as ever and while Jayawardene is yet to really flow, he can be always be counted on to come good in pressure games. And Sri Lanka have a varied bowling attack to defend even relatively unsafe totals and the ability to restrict the opposition from piling up too much.

MS Dhoni is a quietly ambitious man. Sourav Ganguly was passionate, Rahul Dravid was process driven, Anil Kumble led from the front with his grit, while Dhoni has been an intuitive captain. He is level-headed, and shrewd enough to marry passion and process. He has soaked up the pressure of being India's captain, is smart enough to know the value of his own brand, and keeps his star-heavy team rolling smoothly with the aid of Gary Kirsten. India's previous two victories, against Australia and Pakistan, have ironed out many of the flaws seen earlier in the tournament. However, those two wins also raise the question of India being emotionally drained. Do they have fuel left in them to raise their game one final time?

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth/Ashwin, Munaf Patel.

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv/Rangana Herath.