Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
I think a better analogy is that Australia are like Roger Federer of cricket. They can lose, but its highly unlikely.
It reminds me more of Jehangir Khan who did not lose a game let alone a match for five years. Nostalgia.
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
what if Australia loses the final 
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
I think a better analogy is that Australia are like Roger Federer of cricket. They can lose, but its highly unlikely.
Federer has a huge weakness on clay. Australia have no such weakness.
SL should bat first. If they put on 250. it''ll be competitive. If they get 275, then I think they will choke Australia out.
The only concern for SL is their batting. If Jayasuriya get loose though, that problem is pretty much solved. But SL have improved to the point where, even if Jayasuriya fails, Sangakarra or Jaayawardene can help put on a competitive total. That said, it'll be a huge loss if he gets p=out early.
If Aus bat first, then there is a problem. With their line-up, score of 300+ is more than likely. I don't have much faith in SL chasing large or even competitive totals as they have no late order hitters. AS we saw in the NZ match, for SL to score heavily in the last 10, they need one of their top five batsmen already established at the crease.
So, hopefully SL can pull it off. But Aus are red-hot favourites.
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Than S/L will be the champions. 
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
^^ 
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
It will be a repeat of 1983 world cup final. The stage is set. Go Srilanka !
Edit: Inshallah
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Bucknor has already been nominated for the final and I think Dar would be the other umpire
Nah..its gonna be Rudi.
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Einstein uncle 
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Heavily in support of Australia. They have already claimed the trophy as rightfully theirs.
You mean the time and age when a batsman will have to wait a century before the finger finally goes up?
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Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Sl beat Aussies ,a miraculous or a mountainous effort is needed from the lankans .I can just hear the heart beats of the Lankans .especially that of Vaas ,Malinga and Murli 
.the mere thought of Ponting and Hayden make any strong hearted person a kid and pee in his pants. Man i won’t say it is impossible for Srilanka .But it is almost impossible.
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Sri Lanka will win.
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Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
^^ I wonder how many blocks of Scarborough will burn down if Sri Lanka wins
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Okay guys…I have read it all so far…
My support is for Sri Lanka because the SL captain is in good shape as well as the management and Muralithran, Malinga, Chamara Silva (God, if this guy could shake the innings + Aussies 
)…and most probably this is Jayasuriya’s last WC…he should leave some footprints… plus Sangakkara should still make some amount of good runs…voilá :k:
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Hmmmmmmmmmm. Voilá (raise to the power of two), indeed. The only things missing is a double triple hat-trick, some odd 180 runs (saving the all-time record, of course), hitting twenty-six sixes in a record twenty-six balls and blind-hitting by a tail-ender before the last wicket falls. There is still place for all these, tell?
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
^^ I simply cruise beyond...where no one has been so far...howzaaaaaat... :D
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Some people might say that Ponting is being cocky here but he has an excellent record as captain to back his words, a simply brilliant record of 115 wins and only 25 defeats. That’s a success ratio of 81.69!
http://www.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/ODIS/INDIVIDUAL/ODI_CAPTAIN_APPEARANCES.html
Australia ‘do not fear Sri Lanka’
Captain Ricky Ponting insists Australia have no fear of Sri Lanka in Saturday’s World Cup final despite not having faced their three leading bowlers**.**
Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga - who have 52 wickets between them - were rested in the seven-wicket Super 8 defeat.
"They had a chance to make a statement in that game but chose not to.
“They played some very good cricket on Tuesday but I really like the match-up,” said Ponting. “We know that Murali will do what he does, we know that Vaas is a very good bowler with the new ball but we have a couple of days to look at them and prepare.”
Australia cruised into the final with a seven-wicket win over South Africa and are now unbeaten in 28 World Cup matches.
They have bowled every side out except Bangladesh, as that game was reduced to 20 overs.
“From everything we’ve done in the last seven weeks, winning our games as comprehensively as we have gives us a lot of confidence,” Ponting continued. “We’ve got a lot of momentum, a lot of class players who are all in good form at the moment and we’re looking forward to the final.”
Sri Lanka have in-form batsmen in veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya and captain Mahela Jayawardene, whose semi-final century took them past New Zealand.
But Ponting believes the extra bounce in the wicket at the Kensington Oval in Barbados will favour Australia’s pacemen, who bowled Sri Lanka out for 226 in Grenada last week.
“We executed really well against them last time. They had their bowlers out but they had their full complement of batsmen and we restricted them,” Ponting added. “We just have to pick them to pieces again.”
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292506.html
Muralitharan aims for career-best moment
Muttiah Muralitharan says a victory in the World Cup final against Australia on Saturday would be the biggest moment of his career, surpassing the 1996 World Cup triumph and all of his personal records.
“I had moments in 1996, I was very young and I didn’t know much about it,” he told AFP. “Now I know what it takes to win a World Cup. This may be my last World Cup so if we can win it will be the greatest moment in my life rather than my individual records.”
Muralitharan, along with Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya, was part of the team that beat Australia in the final of the 1996 World Cup. He said the batsmen held the key to defeating Australia, who are unbeaten in the Caribbean.
“We have batsmen of the calibre of Jayasuriya, [Mahela] Jayawardene, [Kumar] Sangakkara, and [Upul] Tharanga,” Muralitharan said. “If they click, the way we played in England [Sri Lanka won the one-day series 5-0 in 2006], we had total domination and I only played in two matches. If our batsmen get set we will be more dangerous than any other team in the world because we can play more shots than any other players.”
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292514.html
Moody tells Australia to mind their own business
Tom Moody, the Sri Lanka coach, says Australia should keep out of the debate over Sri Lanka resting three bowlers during the Super Eights to keep them fresh for the finals. Ricky Ponting said Sri Lanka, who face Australia in the decider on Saturday, missed a chance to maintain their momentum when they left out Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga for the match on April 16, but Moody said the issue had nothing to do with Australia.
“The return shot is why does Sri Lanka have to be told who to play against Australia?” Moody, who won two World Cups with Australia, said in the Courier-Mail. "What is it to do with Australia who we play in a game which is essentially a dead rubber?
“The cricket world did not stick their nose into the fact that half the Australian team didn’t tour New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee Series. That was Australia’s choice. It is the way you prepare your players for a long World Cup.” Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting had games off during the CB Series while Ponting and Adam Gilchrist did not tour New Zealand for the Chappell-Hadlee Series.
Moody was confident Sri Lanka could spring an upset in the final, despite predictions the pacy and bouncy pitch would suit the Australians. “I think we can win,” he said. "What Australia has done has no relevance to Saturday. If Sri Lanka bring their A game it is good enough to beat Australia.
“The Sri Lankans have a huge amount of respect for Australia but are not in awe of the contest. They actually welcome that. During my time with the team it has never seemed they were in fear or starstruck about Australia.”
Re: WC2007 Final: SL v AUS
Murali’s new plan for Aussies!
SRI Lankan spin wizard Muthiah Muralitharan yesterday revealed he had devised a simple but new tactic which he hopes will bamboozle Australia in the World Cup final tomorrow night.
Muralitharan, who sits equal second with Shaun Tait for most wickets (23) in the Caribbean tournament, says he will spend more time bowling around the wicket which he feels makes it harder for batsmen to read deliveries out his hand. “I’m bowling really well around the wicket a lot at the moment and that’s a new tactic that can help me,” he said.
"It seems that way you can’t see which way the ball is going, so that makes it harder. So hopefully that helps me in the future and I’ll take more wickets.
“People are getting ready for the spin, so if I bowl the ‘doosra’ I might get a top edge.”
Murali – along with pace kings Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga – was held back from facing the Australians last week in their Super Eights clash in Grenada.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21624878-5003413,00.html