Cricket World Cup Final: The ideal platform for Lanka and Aussie Tussle
We finally have the two finalists for this world cup and it’s only a matter of two days before we know who will be the winner. After the semifinals only two teams remain in the fight for the title of world champions. Sri Lanka were the only Asian team left in the tournament after the surprise and early exit of two of the pre-tournament favourites, India and Pakistan. However, both Australia and Sri Lanka have played very well throughout the tournament and rightly deserve a place to play in the final. It is very likely that only the best teams will play against each other for the title of world champions. In order to play in the final, a team has to show their work potential over a period of time and that is why both teams have consistently performed throughout the tournament.
Australia is the only team that has not lost a single match, while Sri Lanka has lost two matches, but what matters is that both teams have reached the final. Reaching the cricket world cup final is an achievement that is not easy to achieve. The semi-finals promised many exciting moments for the fans, but in the end both matches were a complete flop as both Sri Lanka and Australia easily defeated their opponents i.e. New Zealand and South Africa respectively. The other teams that had entered the Super Eight stage of the World Cup and had a chance to reach the Semi-Finals are England, Ireland, Bangladesh and the host West Indies. All these teams did not play at the expected level and missed the golden opportunity to play in the cricket world cup final.
In the first final that was played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand the teams were even on paper. So when Sri Lanka were batting first and they lost two quick wickets it looked as though this would be an even contest. However, that was not to be and Skipper Jayewardene, starting on a slow note, suddenly switched gears and played the innings of his life to lead his side to a competitive total of 289 runs in the allotted 50 overs. The Kiwi chase did not start too well and they never really recovered to pose a threat to the Lankan total. In the end they fell short by 81 runs and ended their campaign at this world cup. New Zealand’s world cup curse continued and this is the fifth time they have fallen out of the semi-finals.
The other semi-final match between reigning world champions Australia and serious title contenders South Africa also proved to be a major hurdle. South Africa, batting first, were able to manage just 149 and given the form they are in, Australia did not face too much trouble racking up the required runs. South Africa’s dismal world cup record continued this time as well and the two losing semi-finalists are probably the two teams that have so much potential but have somehow failed to perform at the highest level. It is only a matter of time before the cricket world cup final is played and a champion emerges. May the best team win the tournament.