Bats do the talking for India

Sri Lanka fought hard enough in Thursday8217;s decisive match against India at the National Stadium in Karachi to suggest...

Sri Lanka fought hard enough in Thursday8217;s decisive match against India at the National Stadium in Karachi to suggest that they weren8217;t too keen on playing Mahendra Singh Dhoni8217;s team in the final. But that is how it is going to be. Sri Lanka did almost everything right 8212; they won the toss, took first strike, and put up a big total on the board but at the end of the day, a 308-run mountain proved to be too small a challenge for an Indian line-up that carries bludgeons on to the field these days.

Agreed, the track was flat as the flattest of pancakes 8212; spectators milling around the ground suggested even 350 wasn8217;t safe 8212; but the authority with which India chased the total, getting there with 3.1 overs and six wickets to spare, will give Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene something to think about ahead of the final. With the exception of Muttiah Muralitharan, every bowler in the Lankan attack paid 8212; a few of them for poor bowling, but most of them to the sheer confidence that the Indian batsmen displayed.

One isn8217;t sure of how many in Karachi spent their Thursday evening glued to the television sets, but when Yuvraj Singh scored the winning runs, a cloud of despair had spread over the port city. For, with this win, India had knocked Pakistan out of contention in the tournament. Pakistan8217;s match against Bangladesh, scheduled for Friday, has now been rendered inconsequential.

Do or die, almost

It was practically a do-or-die game for India, as a loss would have considerably brightened Pakistan8217;s chances of making it to the final. And when play started, Sanath Jayasuriya threatened to run away with the game with a 37-ball 43 that set the ball rolling for the Lankan batsmen. After Jayasuriya left 8212; caught behind off Ishant Sharma 8212; Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedera and Chamara Silva prolonged the Lankan party. As a result, Lanka raced to 308 for the loss of eight wickets.

Only RP Singh, coming back into the XI after being rested against Pakistan, impressed. Fresh after a day8217;s rest, he gave away just 27 runs in the first eight overs before 17 in his last two spoilt the numbers. The rest of the bowlers 8212; apart from Piyush Chawla8217;s replacement Pragyan Ojha who only gave away a noteworthy 55 8212; went for close to seven an over, with Pathan topping the list with 80 from his quota of 10.

In reply, India came up with a top-notch team effort. Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag got them off to a solid start, with Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking charge in the middle. Picking a Man of the Match effort among those might have presented a problem, but the jury eventually went with Gambhir, for his 61-ball 68 that got the chase going.

The final, to be played on Sunday, will not only decide the Asian champions, but also give the winning side some confidence ahead of India8217;s gruelling tour of Sri Lanka later this month.