Opening Statement: The Pakistan squad looks balanced as far as the 15 members are concerned but it is yet to be seen if they take the balance forward into the playing 11 as well. Pakistan has recently had this problem of playing with too many batsmen or all-rounders and sometimes their bowling lacks the capacity the captain would like to have in a certain situation.

Comebacks: With both the Shoaibs back, Pakistan would hope for some decency in the bowling and middle order batting departments, however, comebacks are never easy and especially when you are up against sides like India and SriLanka. Most probably the strategy from both sides would be to hit hard at Shoaib Akhtar in his early matches so that he doesn’t feel at home with his return act. Similar should be the case with Malik, who is a slow starter, and if they bowl good line and length deliveries to him, they can easily shake him up. Another comeback that has almost gone unnoticed is that of Imran Farhat.

New Comers: Although there are a few newcomers in the side, but it is still to be seen how many of them actually get to play on the field considering the short span of the tournament and the format with no margin of error whatsoever. Shahzaib Hassan, Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq have been included on their recent form.

Combination: Now this can be the tricky part with Pakistan. They played too many spinners in the T20 World cup and they might be tempted to play too many batsmen in the Asia cup considering their recent form in the 50 over genre. An ideal combination shall always feature Shoaib Akhtar and Amir balling together – that would be fun to watch. If both are at their best, they would be difficult to handle. Even with the new guys the middle order is strong enough to unsettle any bowling attack on their day. Umar Akmal is in very good form and if he carries this into the Asia cup, it would be an entertaining affair altogether. Shoaib Mailk’s addition in the middle order would be a bonus but I am still confused how Afridi would place himself and Kamran Akmal in the batting order. With three openers selected in a squad of fifteen, one should assume that Kamran would not be opening but you never know with Pakistan and their last minute decisions.

My Playing Eleven: Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hassan , Shoaib Malik , Umar Akmal ,Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal , Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Amir, Shoaib Akhtar & Saeed Ajmal (in the order of batting)

The fielding will be crucial and Sri Lankans have certainly showed a lot more commitment than the Indians have. India have some of the finest fielders in the world including Kohli, Jadeja, Raina and Yuvraj and Dhoni. Gambhir, Harbhajan and Sehwag have safe and good throwing arms but it is in the extra effort or the lack of it at the boundary in the final overs of the innings that India gives away some runs which can be critical in a close game. If India can somehow make more fielding efforts, then they will be a formidable team since their batting and bowling is top class.

Amit Mishra has certainly made a place in team after his crafty bowling in the two games he has played. Dhoni and the Indian selectors have to think about including him into playing XI for the final match.

A leg-spinner can be a match turner in limited overs matches. Dhoni is only worried about Yuvraj Singh as he was dismissed twice playing down the wrong line. Yuvraj is a world class player and just requires a little to get back to form. His bowling is also useful as Dhoni can use him as a part timer.

The most pleasing thing through-out the series has been the form of Virat Kohli. He has grabbed the opportunity after Tendulkar rested for the series. He has performed with batting at the highest caliber. Gambhir has not been so consistent but hard-work can improve his performance as well. India have just a few issues left about their batting. Since Zaheer Khan is back in the bowling line so for the final, the bowling will be in good hands.

An opposition team with players like Dilshan, Sangakara, Samaraweera and Jayewardene, no bowling attack can feel safe. Along with other players, if Tharanga gives some time out in the middle then Sri Lankans can put a huge score on the board. There is Perera in Sri Lankan squad who can tear an attack in the final overs so it does promise to be a great final. Sri Lanka have a better record in a multi-nation tournament than India and the final will finally decide after encounters that which is the better ODI team.

The first match was won by the better team, there is no doubt about that – but it was also won by the team that held its nerve better. Sure, some of the Australian bowlers – notably Shane Watson – seemed to lose it towards the end, but when it mattered, when it came down to the crunch, the Aussies stepped up, while the Indians just couldn’t. If India are to seriously challenge for the Number One ranking, they will have to do what Australia did – grit their way through tough patches but grimly hold on and emerge victorious more often than not.

They have their best chance of coming back into the series in the second match, with several things working in India’s favour:

a) The absence of Brett Lee, James Hopes and possibly Mitchell Johnson. Even if MS Dhoni says (as he should) that the other team’s injuries don’t affect India’s plans, the reality is that with three key men gone, Australia will have become that much easier to beat. If India can’t beat them here, then not only do Australia gain a huge psychological edge at having beaten India with an almost second-strength team (remember Clarke, Haddin, Fergusson and Bracken are also missing), but India will then be faced with the rather unenviable task of winning four out of the remaining five ODIs if they want to win the series.

b) The return of Yuvraj Singh. When on song, as he has been quite often, Yuvraj is a man who can send shivers down the spine of the opposition. Not only is he capable of sending the ball in orbit, he is ideally placed in the middle order to take advantage of the second power-play, when Dhoni decides to take it. Add to that the useful overs he offers with his left-arm spin, and you can see why India have missed having Yuvraj in their ranks.

c) The venue. The stadium has hosted only one match so far, but it was a memorable one. Not only was it a match where India beat Australia to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but it was Sourav Ganguly’s last match, and VVS Laxman’s 100th one. India’s fond memories of this venue will only be rivalled by Australia’s bitter ones.

Australia, meanwhile, have to contend with a missing spearhead, a missing all-rounder and a possibly missing Mitchell Johnson. At least one among Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger will be a part of the playing eleven, and possibly both. The injuries have brought one positive with them and opened up a spot for the talented Shaun Marsh. Marsh had a fabulous run in the IPL 2008, and performed well for Australia until being sidelined by injury. Now that the injuries are with other players, he will do all he can to seize his spot in the side. Peter Siddle bowled a fine last over in the previous match, but his ability to lead an attack on his own is still untested. And faced with a batting line-up that reads Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Raina it will require a very disciplined effort from a relatively inexperienced attack to rein in the Indians. One man who did that very well was Nathan Hauritz, who continues to impress with every outing. Hauritz will need to turn it on – literally and figuratively – once again to give Australia the cushion of a 2-0 lead, rather than the tenterhooks of a 1-1 scoreline.

Trivia:

2 and a half – That was the age of Jon Holland, the youngest member of the Australian squad, when Sachin Tendulkar made his debut in November 1989! Tendulkar is now 83 runs away from scoring 17,000 runs in ODIs and 300 runs away from aggregating a total of 30,000 runs in all international cricket. He has 16,917 runs in ODIs, 12,773 runs in Test matches, and 10 runs in the lone T20 international he has played in.

Soundbytes:

“We are concentrating on areas that can affect us in a direct way. We are not really worried about that (their injuries). They have a squad of 15.” – MS Dhoni speaking about the spate of injuries affecting Australia.

“Brett’s played six one dayers in England, five in the Champions Trophy and then played the Champions League and it is no surprise that he has got an injury.” – Tim Nielsen.

Teams:

India (From): Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Virat Kohli, Sudeep Tyagi

Australia (From): Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting(c), Tim Paine(w), Cameron White, Mike Hussey, Adam Voges, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle, Brett Lee, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Jon Holland