Zaheer, Mahela had contrasting approaches

Zaheer Khan and Mahela Jayawardene had contrasting approaches in spearheading their respective team's cause in yesterday's final at Wankhede

It was a game of cat and mouse all through the Sri Lankan innings. While there was a method to Zaheer Khan's approach, Mahela Jayawardene hit top gear from the outset in the World Cup final on Saturday.


Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and India's Zaheer Khan during
Saturday's World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
India won by six wickets. PHOTO/ATUL KAMBLE

Eight years ago, in the final against Australia, Zaheer had been over enthusiastic, rushing through his run-up and sledging openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden in an attempt to unsettle them.

At the Wanderers, the left-arm pacer conceded 28 runs from his first three overs with the new ball whereas at the Wankhede yesterday, he began with three maidens bowling from a shortened run-up.

Zaheer averaged close to 12 minutes to finish each of those overs in the first spell.u00a0 Also, he kept egging on fellow pacers S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.

India's bowlers took close to 85 minutes to bowl the first 14 overs, when drinks were called. At that juncture, India should have bowled a minimum of 18 overs.

The slow over-rate was mainly because Zaheer tried to slow down the pace. Don't be surprised if skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is penalised for the slow over-rate.

Former England opener David Lloyd, who also witnessed the 2003 final, said that Zaheer had come of age. "You could tell that from the way he was running in. There was a definite attempt to ensure his team-mates didn't get carried away with the occasion. He must have learnt a lot from that battering at the hands of Hayden and Gilchrist eight years ago," Lloyd told MiD DAY.

Former Sri Lanka batsman Russell Arnold paid tribute to Jayawardene, who almost single-handedly took the visitors to an imposing 274-6. "Like the saying goes, cometh the hour, cometh the man. I have seen him (Jayawardene) play many a great knock in pressure situations."