Murali and Malinga can unhinge India
Looking ahead to the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, Geoffrey Boycott in The Telegraph writes that while India are not a team that play well under pressure he believes they are capable of handling the hype to become the
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Looking ahead to the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, Geoffrey Boycott in The Telegraph writes that while India are not a team that play well under pressure he believes they are capable of handling the hype to become the first team to win the World Cup in their own country. While India enjoy a stronger batting line-up they need to guard against the wiles of Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga.
That is the key match-up in the game. Murali has pulled a hamstring but he will bowl OK on one leg because it is his last match for Sri Lanka. It is amazing what that can do for handling pain. His off-spinner and doosra both turn a lot and unless the Indian batsmen pick him well they are not going to score off him. If he is allowed to tie them down they have got a problem.
‘Slinger’ Malinger is bowling fantastically well. Although his arm is low he delivers the ball from over the top of the stumps so that he is bowling wicket to wicket and that doesn’t give the batsmen any angles to play with. Even when he bowls length he is a good bowler and his yorkers are fantastic. With the old ball he can reverse swing it in at pace. Batsmen know what they are going to get but they can’t always play it
Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald writes that Sri Lanka's achievement of reaching the World Cup final is welcome because they field the most original and entertaining team to emerge since Charles Dickens put down his pen.
Several of the players could not have survived the scrutiny of orthodox-minded coaches. Luckily they grew up in a land without fixed ideas about bowling and batting, a country that has not read the rule book, and a nation that plays by its own lights.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo