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| Sunday, 23 March 2003 |
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Clash of the Titans - Australia meet India for richest cricket prize Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from South Africa and Kenya JOHANNESBURG, March 22 - Australia's domination of world cricket is about to be tested when they face a confident Indian side in the US$ 2,000,000 World Cup cricket final which will take place in front of a 30,000 full house at the Wanderers here tomorrow. The losing team stands to collect US$ 800,000. It is the biggest prize money on offer for any international cricket tournament. While defending champs Australia have swept aside all opposition in the World Cup to register 10 straight wins, India have been the only team who have shown the capabilities of halting their advance in what has been a rollercoaster ride for Ricky Ponting's men. It is true that Australia outplayed India by nine wickets dismissing them for 125 in a pool 'B' match played at the Centurion. But since then India has improved in leaps and bounds and had a successful run of eight consecutive wins leading up to tomorrow's final. If at all the Australians have need for concern it will be on the outstanding batting form of the world's leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar and the way the Indian three-pronged pace attack of Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra have bowled. "The biggest threat as we see it is probably Sachin and their opening bowlers. They have been the ones who have done particularly well for them right through this tournament. Their two opening bowlers, Nehra and Khan have been very good and Sachin has been as good as he has ever been," said Ponting. "We did a pretty good job on Sachin last time. Obviously it helped because we had taken wickets at the other end as well. He couldn't probably be as free-flowing in that game as he would have liked. Hopefully, that will workout against him this time," he said. Ponting said that his side had got some good plans worked out for all the players and it was a matter of trying to exploit them wherever they could. "If it's a quite quick and bouncy wicket, then we'll try and make the most of those conditions. That will probably mean a fair bit of short stuff and a fair bit of quick stuff as much as we can to certain players. "Some of them cope with it OK but others don't cope with it that well. As I said, it's about exploiting their weaknesses wherever they may be. They're out their to win a World Cup final and they'll do whatever it takes to do that," Ponting said. Aussies - flat out "Whatever we do on Sunday is going to be for the whole of Australia, every Australian person. If we happen to play well and win a game, then hopefully that puts a smile on every person back home. "We have been tested on certain occasions, we have been under fairly intense pressure of late. The good thing is we have come through really well and got ourselves out of those tight periods and ended winning the game very comprehensively. "Our batting hasn't been as consistent as we would have liked, especially our top-order batting. But hopefully back on a fast and bouncy wicket our top-order will do the job for us in the final," said Ponting. Australia have done very well to come this far without the services of Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Steve Waugh. India's confidence stems from the form of Tendulkar and the success of their three seamers who have bowled in tandem and should prove a handful under helpful conditions. The little Indian Master who is already in line for the man-of-the-series award is the leading run-getter in the 2003 World Cup with an aggregate of 669 from 10 innings, which includes one century and six fifties. He has been dismissed below 10 only once in the first meeting with Kenya. Apart from playing a major role on the field, he has been the motivating factor in the team, helping out each individual to sort out whatever problems they have. Tendulkar has been in three unsuccessful World Cups before since 1992 and is determined to make certain that this will be the winning one. Tendulkar determined He also has a point to prove to his detractors who have accused him of not winning a final with his bat. But little do they realise that it is because of his contributions in the lead up games that India have reached the final. After all, what stands out in one's memory are performances in a final, not the matches that lead up to it. So Tendulkar has something to prove. The three seamers have a combined total of 49 wickets amongst them. Left-armers Zaheer and Nehra have 18 and 15 respectively and Srinath 16. What has made them so successful is that Zaheer has developed an inswinger to the right-hander, Nehra bowls the one that goes away and Srinath has been accurate bowling wicket to wicket that his economy rate is 3.65. The other factor that has contributed to their success is that Mohammad Kaif has fitted in well at No. 4, a position previously occupied by Tendulkar. Sourav Ganguly's men are also hurt and angry that some former Indian cricketers have not given them due credit for what they have done in the current tournament so far. "We have to realise that we are just one game away from being world champions. We need to give everything we have for this game tomorrow," said Ganguly. "The young boys have done very well. I am happy for them the way they played in the tournament. It is the last hurdle tomorrow and if we can play the way we played I think we will be through. But Australia is a tough side and we'll have to be up for our game," he said. "We have done all the disciplines well so far - batting, bowling and fielding. I don't see we need to do anything different tomorrow. We must stick to the basics and focus on the job at hand," Ganguly said. The Indian captain said that since India won the World Cup in 1983 it has always inspired cricketers to repeat that feat. "But it's a long time back, 20 years. We are in a World Cup final now and I hope we can repeat the performance. Definitely, it means a lot to cricket in India after 1983 and 1985 (when India won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia)," said Ganguly. Big achievement "It is a big achievement for any sporting nation to enter a World Cup final. It is no difference for me and my team. On the day, you have to be on the winning side. That means more to me than anything," he said. Ganguly said the pitch at present was damp and the way his fast bowlers had bowled it would be a difficult task to leave anyone out. For umpires David Shepherd and Steve Bucknor this is their third successive World Cup final. The ICC's General Manager-Cricket, David Richardson said the pair had fully justified their selection, based on the extremely high standards they had shown throughout the World Cup. "David and Steve have both had outstanding tournaments, confirming their standing as two of the best and most experienced umpires in the game. Together with Rudi Koertzen, Billy Bowden and Ranjan Madugalle as Referee, they will form an excellent team for the final," he said. From Sri Lanka's point former captain and chief ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle has the honour of officiating the final. He also officiated the 1999 World Cup final between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's. Teams India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Anil Kumble. Australia (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Andrew Bichel, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn. Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Steve Bucknor (West Indies), TV umpire: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa), Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).
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