Cricket Tournaments

Yet another final, yet another defeat. The surprise victory in the Asia Cup final notwithstanding, the Indians continue to struggle at the final hurdle.

Momentum hasn’t made its presence felt at the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka. It has either been everything or nothing for all the three teams in each of the games.

Okay, for a change we aren’t discussing about an India-Sri Lanka game in the Emerald nation. Still, the India-New Zealand clash on Wednesday will be a highly significant affair in the context of the ongoing tri-series. As aptly pointed out by Indian skipper MS Dhoni, the game will be a virtual semi-final, with the winner joining the home team in the finals.

Zimbabwe may have gone down tamely to Sri Lanka in the tri-series final. But, that should not, for a moment, dishearten either the team or its supporters.

So here we go again… It’s India versus (no need to guess) Sri Lanka in a must-win game. But wait, there’s a twist for a change. Both the team have come here with under-strength sides, and have had mixed results.

A collapse from 58 for no loss to 95 for 5 is often associated with weak, inexperienced sides like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya.

The second match of the Micromax Cup in Zimbabwe between India and Sri Lanka has a lot to offer. Although the rivalry between the two sides has been intense, so much so that the players must be tired of seeing each other’s faces again and again, yet the contest promises to be entertaining.

When India embarked on the Zimbabwean sojourn with a new look side, it was clear that their aim was to test out the bench strength in the team.