Another finals with two sub - Continental teams. I vouched for the Windies yesterday but sadly they were blown away by the brilliance of Dilshan. In the finals I'm betting on Pakistan. i know this sounds crazy as all logic points to Sri Lanka and also since so many cricket experts such as Harsha, Srinath, Ganguly are for the men from the emerald isles. But I justify my prediction that it will Pakistan who will emerge as winners tomorrow in the following points.
1.) Pakistan have a strong batting line up unlike the Sri Lankans. They bat all the way down while the batting for the Lankans rests on the shoulders of the top four.
2.) Among the top four of the Sri Lankan batting, only Dilshan and Sangakara have produced runs in the tournament so far. Jayasuria (other than the one innings against the Gayle and Co. in the group stage) and Jayawardena are yet to open their account. These are the main batsman who carry the task for scoring runs.
3.) The Pakistan bowling is strong just like the Sri Lankans, but the Pakistanis have Umer Gul who gets the ball to reverse swing so early in the innings. Also the variety of Shahid Afridi is just as lethal as the carom bowler, Mendis. Muralitharan will be threat for Pakistan. Slinger Malinga not in the best of colour can be juiced for runs while the 8 overs from Angelo Mathews and Udana are the weak link for Sri Lanka.
4.) The Pakistan team has a more experienced and balanced side compared to the Sri Lankan outfit. While Sri Lanka has a lot of younger faces, Pakistan have only 2 or 3 new boys. In a finals where nerves will be shaking, the team that will win will be the team that can contain those nerves.
5.) Though Pakistan fielding continues to be ordinary, it has improved over the course of the tournament.
6.) The peaking of Afridi - the batsman adds fangs to an already powerful batting lineup.
7.) History repeats itself. So Pakistan is bound to win like they did in 1992 when the Aussies exited in the group stages.
Therefore I believe it is Pakistan who will emerge as the champions.
5 Comments:
Its going to be a close match I think.. for some reason I am not as tense abt it as I was for Pakistan's semi final.
Cricket has won, and it will remain a winner, not matter who wins on Sunday :-)
Good prediction!. Looks like almost all your analysis came right!
@ Q,
Well it was a one sided affair...sadly..
:(
@ Krish,
Thank you.
Not all comes right but majority of my predictions do com true.
Hey guys its time for some Champion Trophy fun. Lets see who is going to make it. All the team appear very strong. Am eagerly waiting for the inaugural match.
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