Article: Asia Cup Final India v Sri Lanka ....... A final run fest
The tournament reaches a climax with this final. The bat has dominated throughout and I once again expect the same story at the National Stadium, Karachi .
Current prices:
India 1.7
Sri Lanka 2.4
India will obviously be confident after their convincing six wicket win on Friday, however the Sri Lankans will welcome back the veteran Vaas and the new spin sensation Mendis for this final and therefore their bowling will be much stronger.
With Murali also in the side, I consider Sri Lanka to have the superior attack here, but once again I think this will be a batsmen's paradise of a pitch again and the side with the strongest batting line-up will win.
Sri Lanka have a decent batting side with Jayasarua, Sangakarra, Jayawardne all in good form at the top of the order, as well as the middle order of Silva, Kapugedera and Dilshan to follow. Jayasarua is the key again, if he hangs around for long a massive Lankan total could be on the cards.
Sri Lanka are again capable of scoring 300 on this pitch, but the big question is, will that be enough against this formidable Indian batting line-up. On the evidence of this pitch so far, even 300 may not be enough.
India 's scores at Karachi so far in this tournament have been 374-4, 301-4, 284-3, 308-7 and 310-4 in that win over Sri Lanka on Friday.
The opening partnership of Gambhir and Sehwag have been in scintillating form as has the middle order of Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. On this pitch the chances of there not being a very big partnership or two between these Indian batsmen is remote and once again I think a score of well over 300 is within their capabilities.
So what's the bet?
We already have 4 points on India @ 2.25 to win the trophy outright market and so will stick with that. But if you're not on that bet, then I still consider this 1.7 on India as outstanding value.
Its all about batting on this pitch, India have, arguably, the best batting line-up in world cricket and the equation for this match is simple. It's a case of whatever Sri Lanka score, India will score more.
Bigjoe


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