As India and Sri Lanka gear up for Sunday's grand finale, we take a look at the past performances of these two teams. Sunday's game will provide the tenth instance of an India-Sri Lanka final clash in a tournament.
In nine previous such meetings India have an edge over Sri Lanka, winning 5 and losing 3. The trophy had to be shared once as rain gods did not allow the final to be completed not even on the reserve day!
Things are pretty much close though in last five encounters between the two teams with both India and Sri Lanka registering two title wins each.
| Season | Venue | Championship | Result | Man of the Match |
| 1988-89 | Dhaka | Wills Asia Cup | India won by 6 wkts | NS Sidhu |
| 1990-91 | Calcutta | Videocon Asia Cup | India won by 7 wkts | M Azharuddin |
| 1994-95 | Colombo SSC | Singer World Series | India won by 6 wkts | M Azharuddin |
| 1994-95 | Sharjah | Pepsi Asia Cup | India won by 8 wkts | M Azharuddin |
| 1997-98 | Colombo RPS | Pepsi Asia Cup | Sri Lanka won by 8 wkts | MS Atapattu |
| 1997-98 | Colombo RPS | Singer Akai Trophy | India won by 6 runs | SR Tendulkar |
| 2000-01 | Sharjah | ICC Champions Trophy | Sri Lanka won by 245 runs | ST Jayasuriya |
| 2001-02 | Colombo RPS | Coca Cola Series | Sri Lanka won by 121 runs | RP Arnold |
| 2002-03 | Colombo RPS | ICC Champions Trophy | No Result | - |
Sachin Tendulkar is the most successful Indian batsman. In 7 innings of 8 finals he has appeared in, Tendulkar has aggregated 287 runs at an average of 47.83 and a scoring rate of 83.43. Ganguly has 147 runs from 4 outings. Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvraj, Laxman and Kaif did not play enough matches to make a comment.
Sanath Jayasuriya is the man for Sri Lanka. He did not play in the 1988-89 Asia Cup. In nine matches of the remaining 8 finals, he has aggregated 485 runs at an average of 53.89 and a scoring rate of 103.41. Apart from a mammoth 189 he has also scored three fifties. In fact, Jayasuriya's run-aggregate is the highest by any batsman in finals against India with Pakistan's Saeed Anwar second with 319 runs from 6 appearances. India's chances lie in getting Jayasuriya dismissed early. India have never won a final where Jayasuriya has crossed fifty.
On the bowling front, Harbhajan Singh is India's best bet. With 7 wickets in 4 finals at an average of 21 and an economy rate of 3.68 runs per over, he should be man Ganguly needs to rely upon. However, Kumble and Zaheer's past performances will be a cause of concern for Ganguly as the two striking bowlers have performed below par against Sri Lanka in finals. Kumble's five wickets in five finals have come at the cost of 44.80 runs per wicket and at an economy rate of 5.27. Zaheer's five wickets came with a price tag of 39.60 runs for every wicket and at an economy rate of 5.35.
Nehra has played only one final against Sri Lanka in which he went for 65 runs in his 9 overs without taking any wicket. Pathan and Balaji haven't played in any final against Sri Lanka before. Sehwag may play an important role with the ball as his economy rate of 4.48 runs per over is better than many of the teammates.
Chaminda Vaas, with 13 wickets at an average of 13.77 and an economy rate of 3.85 runs per over, clearly spearheads the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Muttiah Muralitharan has taken 7 wickets in 7 outings at a reasonable rate. But Sri Lanka do not seem to have any back-up bowlers. In the current team, the third most successful bowler is Sanath Jayasuriya with 2 wickets at an average of 90 and an economy rate of 5 runs per over.
The Premadasa Stadium is a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka. After the eight tournament finals played on this ground, Sri Lankan captains have clinched the trophy on as many as six occasions. Indians, however, can take solace from the fact that the only defeat for hosts was imposed by India.
Toss will also be crucial in this final. Premadasa has a reputation of assisting the side batting first. In fact out of the seven decisive tournament finals, five were won by side batting first.
So stage is set for yet another exhilarating contest. Watch it out!
