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| April 29, 2007 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1428 |
Intriguing showdowns in grand final
BRIDGETOWN, April 28: Saturday's World Cup final between Australia and Sri Lanka has the potential for some intriguing head-to-head duels.
Opening batsmen: Matthew Hayden v Sanath Jayasuriya
Beauty and the beast? The silky stroke-play of Jayasuriya combined with his explosive hitting contrasts markedly with the brutal blows of the barrel-chested Australian. Both men are in the twilight of their one-day careers and probably playing at their last World Cup. Hayden is 35 and Jayasuriya 37.
Captains: Mahela Jayawardene v Ricky Ponting
Two players at the peak of their careers. Both are deep thinking cricketers and stunning batsmen. Jayawardene is second in the batting table behind Hayden, with 529 from 10 innings, while Ponting has 502 from eight. Both have scored a century each. Jayawardene's patient performance against New Zealand got Sri Lanka into the final. Ponting's was against Scotland.
Wicket-keepers: Adam Gilchrist v Kumar Sangakkara
Two of the finest exponents of the wicket-keeper/batsmen concept that has made the specialist wicket-keeper outmoded in one-day, and often, Test cricket. Gilchrist opens for Australia and Sangakkara bats at three. Both men have performed moderately with the bat in the Caribbean, Sangakkara scoring 296 and Gilchrist 304.
Fast bowlers: Chaminda Vaas v Glenn McGrath
After carrying bowling attacks for years, both of these formidable cricketers are nearing the end of their careers. McGrath, at 37, will retire after Saturday's final, while the left-armer Vaas, 34, plans to continue playing.
Spinners: Brad Hogg v Muttiah Muralitharan
No contest. It would have been a contest if Shane Warne was still playing for Australia but Muralitharan is now far and away the world's best spinner.—AP
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