Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Australia blow Sri Lanka away……..

Swish, swoosh, zoom, whiz, thump, slam, bang. That’s all the noise the menacing blade of Adam Gilchrist (still a wooden bat) made as it thumped the Sri Lankan bowling to all parts of the ground. After the carnage was over, when Gilchrist finally got out to an unforgettable 149, there was only one question remaining. Why was Mahela Jayawardene smiling after the toss?

The Sri Lankan skipper might have gone out for toss expecting a good day. After all it was the world cup final and they were the second best team in the tournament. But for all the talk about the pitch and its bounce, Jayawardene actually didn’t know what to do. In reality, it was more like he wanted to lose the toss and let Australia decide. His wish came true and one wonders now, is he regretting wishing that?

Of course he is. Take a look at these statistics. First ten overs yielded 46 runs for no loss as Australia batted first in a rain curtailed 38 over game after Ricky Ponting won the toss. There were only two power plays to be executed and the Sri Lankans delayed the second one for nine overs after the first one. End result? Those 9 overs were smashed for 89 runs. No Sri Lankan bowler gave away less than 6 runs an over. Everything they tried went waste. The ball did not swing in the hands of Vaas, Malinga or Fernando. Neither did it spin in the hands of Murali or Dilshan. All it did was visit the boundary in quick succession as the Australian wicket-keeper launched the most brutal attack this (otherwise boring) tournament has seen. Inspite of his indifferent form in the tournament, only he could do it on such a grand stage, what Adam Gilchrist did. He scored a majestic ton of only 72 balls. His first ever century in three world cups played. He ended with 149 runs off 104 balls with 13 fours and 8 sixes. A savage batting display indeed.

The Sri Lankans didn’t do much wrong though. They fielded well and even bowled well. The simple fact that Hayden who has notched over 600 runs in the tournament struggled is testimony enough. Or that Ponting and Symonds failed to score at a run-a-ball only shows that it was the special magic of Gilly that failed the Sri Lankans. Not that they could do anything about it. Or that it wasn’t enough to win Australia its third straight world cup.

The only thing that stood between Australia and glory was well, their mental strength. And we know this side is mentally as well as physically tough. But it had been done before. Remember the best ODI ever played? South Africa doing the unimaginable and what bigger stage than the world cup final to do the same but by Sri Lanka. It all depended on how Jayasuriya would play and the support he would be getting from the other batsmen. Well they tried and for a moment, when Sangakkara and Sanath were batting, they were actually ahead of the Aussies on score comparison. However it wasn’t to be. The rain gods intervened and so did the D/L method, virtually putting the match beyond the reach of the Lankans. Almost as if even the Gods wanted Australia to lift the trophy too, such has been their domination.

And so it ended, but not without another twist. This time a farce being played out after the Sri Lankans had accepted bad light. What it shows is that the players have more knowledge about the game than the officials governing it. But let’s leave it to that and look at the positive side. The Australians got to celebrate twice. And if you do think about it, wasn’t it deserved?

Another stalwart of the game walks away into the shade. Glenn McGrath bid farewell to the game and what a farewell it was. A third straight world cup win, four consecutive appearances in the world cup finals, above 500 test wickets, he’s done it all. And to top it up, he was voted the man-of-the-series. We will miss you Pigeon.

29 matches, that’s how long this unbeaten run in the world cups has lasted. The Australians were last beaten in the 1999 world cup by Pakistan in a league match. When the next defeat will come, only God knows. Can we bet on it to be in 2011?