April 28, 2007
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World Cup Final Is Here!
Aussies vs Sri Lanka
Well, the final match I was predicting from the start was here (not counting the unrealistic Bangladesh vs Australia that I was secretly hoping for). Unfortunately, rain has delayed play but it hasn’t dampened anyone’s spirits, my own included. I still think this is gonna be an incredible match–with Sri Lanka edging out the victor, of course. 
It’s Ponting vs Jayawardene, Tait vs Malinga, Gilchrist vs Tharanga… Australia’s been in brilliant form the entire tournament, steamrolling everyone and not having a single off-day–I hate to say it, but they really deserve to be where they are now. Sri Lanka, even given a few rough spots, are the most enjoyable cricket team to watch. And it’s on account of their enthusiasm and their skill that they’re my favorite team (besides B’Desh).
So first you have captain Jayawardene. A brilliant batsman and great at strategy, especially with keeping a pace with his team so that they don’t take too many early risks, and don’t burn out towards the end. 
Then you have Muttiah Muralitharan, perhaps one of the best bowlers in the game. But… Lastly, you have my favorite player of the game: Lasith Malinga. It’s not often my favorite player at something is someone associated with the defense. But in cricket, your defense is centered around your bowler, and offering up an “offensive” defense is a great strategy that Sri Lanka is always in a position to do. Not just Malinga, but they have three other top-notch bowlers (including Muralitharan above), which is one of the many reasons they’ve been doing so well. 
Besides that, in their match against South Africa, Malinga over here pulled off the unprecedented feat of four wickets off four consecutive balls. Meaning, he steps up to bowl, and knocks out one batsman. Very next ball, he knocks out another batsman. The next time the ball touches Malinga’s hand, he bowls out a third batsman, and a fourth. In the span of ten minutes he completely turned the game around and gave Sri Lanka a shot at winning, when before then it seemed to be a lost cause.
It’s that never-say-die thing that marks a great team. Even though they did eventually lose that match to South Africa, by just one wicket, it was an amazing performance. Let’s hope that they can put the pressure on Australia just the same way, and come out the winner of the 2007 World Cup! KF
