Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Preview, Live Score: T20 World Cup 2009 Final

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Pakistan vs Sri Lanka T20 Final Live Updates: 21 June 2009

It is going to be an all-Asia final in the twenty20 world cup 2009 as Sri Lanka and Pakistan are going to face each other in the final of the tournament which will take place on 21 June at Lord’s cricket ground. The interesting thing is that neither Pakistan nor Sri Lanka was among the hot favorites before the tournament kicked off. However, the reality is that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the two finalists of the tournament. What comes to my mind regarding the final is that it is going to be a battle of spinners. Yes, both sides found their spinners playing vital role behind their successful journey so far in the tournament.

Match: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Final, ICC World Twenty20 2009

Date: 21 June 2009

Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground

Kick off: 14:00 GMT (Local 15:00)

A spirited Pakistan caused an upset defeating hot favorite South Africa by 7 runs in the first semi final, before Sri Lanka pulling off an emphatic 57-run victory over West Indies in the other semi final. In both the semi finals, spinners were instrumental behind their success. Sri Lanka has got two world class spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, who along with Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal is the leading wicket taker of the tournament. Moreover, Jayasuria’s left arm spin is a proven weapon for Captain Sangakkara.

Sri Lankan pace attack also looks pretty much impressive in the presence of three in-form pacers: Angelo Mathews, left-arm pacer Isuru Udana and Lasith Malinga. Mathews got 3 wickets in the first over against West Indies in what brining a start that Sri Lankan could not have dreamt of. Udana and Malinga are the kind of pacers who can check run rate producing excellent Yorkers towards the end of the innings which is very important in twenty20 format of cricket.

Sri Lanka has a strong batting line up in the presence of some big hitters like Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayasuria, Mubarak as well as all rounder Mathews. Dilshan is the leading scorer so far and I do not think anyone would be able to overtake the opener as the highest scorer of the tournament. Dilshan smashed a 57-ball 96 against West Indies.

Reuters reported:

Man-of-the-match Tillakaratne Dilshan came within four runs of the first century of the tournament, batting through the innings to finish on 96 not out from 57 balls in Sri Lanka's 158 for five.

There is no doubt, Sri Lankan cricket fans are waiting for another fiery innings from Dilshan against Pakistan in the final. However, I think, Sri Lankan middle order needs to be much more consistent if they are to win the title. In fact, their middle order failed to live up to the expectation against West Indies in the semi final and had Dilshan not played an innings like that, the result of the match could have been different. I think, Sir Lanka should play pacer all rounder Farveez Maharoof who has already proven his effectiveness as an all rounder.

Pakistan’s strongest side is also their spin attack which features Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik. Specially, Ajmal and Afridi have been pretty much consistent throughout the tournament. Ajmal picked up 12 wickets, while Afridi bagged 10 wickets so far in the tournament. Pakistan also has a balanced pace attack in the presence of tournament’s leading wicket taker Umar Gul (shares the first spot with Ajmal and Mendis) with 12 wickets. Pacer all rounder Abdul Razzaq have increased the depth both in bowling as well as in batting line up of Pakistan side. There is no doubt, young pacer Mohammad Aamer has been the biggest prospect for Pakistan side in the tournament and I think, he could be vital for Pakistan in the final too.

Pakistan’s opening problem has been fixed as Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan both have been in good form recently. The only thing Pakistan should worry about is the consistency of their middle order batsmen. Batsmen like Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi need to be at their top if Pakistan wants to win the title. On pen and paper, Pakistan has huge depth in their batting line up as there are at least 8 batsmen in the squad.

Pakistan cricket has been struggling for security reasons over the last few years. Naturally, winning the twenty20 world cup would be a huge boost up for Pakistan cricket. The whole Pakistan team were extremely happy as Pakistan reached the final defeating mighty South Africa. Cricket fans and former cricketers in the country are now delighted with the success of Pakistan side.

AFP reported:

"No doubt the team has given us endless joy by progressing to the final. We have had very little reason to rejoice recently, but this is surely an occasion to be happy," former captain Rashid Latif told AFP on Friday.

"I think the Pakistan team's progress is divine help to answer to all those who have isolated our country," he added.

Batsmen of both sides would face a strong challenge from the opponent spinners and it would not be an easy task to go after the quality spinners. As both Sri Lanka and Pakistan are from South Africa, their batsmen are traditionally very good against spin bowling. From this point view, spinners would also face some challenge from some of the batsmen who are well-known for their ability to dominate the spinners.

Online Live Score and Updates

The match will be telecast live on Star Cricket. However, if you can not watch the match live on television, then you can get the live score and updates of the match from several cricket related websites like Cricinfo, Cricket Next, Cricket Next etc.

I think, both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have equal chances in the match with both sides looking to give their best in the tournament. What cricket fans are expecting is nothing but a competitive final like the final match of inaugural twenty20 world cup two years back in South Africa. There is enough evidence that the final could be a highly competitive match in the presence of some in-from match winners who would not like to lose the chance of lifting the twenty20 world cup title for the first time.