There have been some enthralling one-dayers this week. OK, so the first between England and Pakistan was decidedly one-sided, but the second was somewhat closer. Then Zimbabwe pushed New Zealand to the limit in a T20 and of course India and Sri Lanka produced a nail-biting tie, even down to the number of wickets.
What struck me about the latter was some parallels to the World Cup Final. On each occasion, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat. In Mumbai, as in Adelaide, Tharanga fell cheaply but Sangakkara and Jayawardene were in the runs. The new captain may not have delivered a gem of an innings this time around, and it was Chandimal who top-scored, but there were a few similarities. Bear with me! In India's reply, who was it who dominated? Mumbai: Gambhir 97; Adelaide; Gambhir 91. 2011: Dhoni 91 not out; 2012: Dhoni 58 not out. Maybe I'm clutching at statistical straws but it was good to see Gautam back in form. MS, of course, is just a brilliant finisher. Why he is criticised for being too slow, I don't know. His Cup Final innings was scored at well over a run a ball and, alongside a stupendous ODI average of 51 (more than a quarter of his knocks have been not-outs), his career strike rate is a very handy 88, superior to every other member of his side apart from Suresh Raina. There was one notable difference between the two matches: apart from Tendulkar, not one of India's Cup Final bowlers participated this week. Also, I don't recall there being a five-ball over in last April's memorable epic but a tie was the right outcome.
In Abu Dhabi, England seemed to be experiencing Groundhog Day. Alastair Cook scores a hundred? Tick. Ravi Bopara a half-century? Tick. Steve Finn's bowling figures of 10-1-34-4? Identical! Pakistan didn't quite match that for coincidences, although there total was only one digit out - 230 instead of 130 all out. Skipper Misbah and Imran Farhat came close to making fifties but there just wasn't enough firepower to really trouble England, and the twenty-run margin probably flattered the losing team. They just need to continue the improvement and winning the toss will probably be a good start. As would dismissing captain Cook before he gets going!
