Lee Or Tendulkar?

We have got the World Cup final we wanted. We have the best two teams on form -- Australia with the reputation as thebest in the world, and one of the best-ever, while India is the emerging powerhouse.

The battle at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday could be decided on the outcome of the duel between Brett Leeand Sachin Tendulkar. Lee will be the key for Australia as much as Tendulkar will be the key for India.

The winner of this game within a game may well decide the outcome of this World Cup final.

This final will also be the litmus test for Saurav Ganguly and the new-look Indian team. For the past six weeksthey have made steady progress as they have built their confidence upon the foundation of winning cricket matches onceagain.

The fact that most of these wins have been easy victories over some eminently beatable teams is not necessarily aconcern for them. Winning needs to be practiced as much as any other element of the game. 

The blending of youthful exuberance with the experience of the senior players gives the Indian team a look of soliditythat has not been evident too often in recent times. On form it may well be the best team in the competition at thismoment. This is good timing!

The strength of the Indian team will always be built around Sachin Tendulkar as he is one of the most damagingplayers ever to have played the game. What is different about this team is that Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VirenderSehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif have all shown some form through the tournament.

Despite this depth, I believe Tendulkar will need to play one of his imposing innings at the top of the order to neutralise the danger of Brett Lee. As the pre-eminent player of fast bowling in the world today, Tendulkar has the abilityto tame Lee and make the job of the other batsmen that much easier.

Unless conditions are slewed so far in favour of bowling, I don't believe any of the other Australian bowlers pose thesame threat to India that Lee does. No doubt they will bowl well, they always do, but, none of them has the explosive pacethat can sort the men from the boys quite as definitely as Brett can.

Wanderers will offer all bowlers some pace and bounce, but that can work just as much in favour of the batsman ifbowlers only rely on pace. We saw what happened to Shoaib Akthar and Waqar Younis when they played India at CenturionPark in the first round of this tournament.

Good players can handle pace -- they find it much more difficult when it is allied to good line and length. Lee isthe premier exponent of this destructive triumvirate in the world of cricket at this moment in time.

If Tendulkar can negate the potency of Lee, India has the batting talent to make an imposing total. Australia has,seemingly, covered the loss of Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne from their line-up, but this final may be the proving groundfor how well they have really done so.

Andy Bichel and Brad Hogg are honest performers, but they do not have the big match experience that Gillespie andWarne possess. Hogg, in particular, will have the glare of the spotlight more acutely upon him in this game than at any othertime in this tournament. How well he responds could be a defining moment in the final.

Indian batsmen play spin bowling as well as anyone, better than most. They use their feet well and are not afraidto loft the ball over the infield. Hogg puts a lot of top-spin on the ball so he does not spin the ball as much as Warnedoes, nor does he have his variety -- to be fair not many do -- so if he can be unsettled from his length he can be takendown.

The balance of the Australian attack will depend on whether Damien Martyn is considered fit to play. If he is, Harvey may be the one to miss out. Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds and Martyn will share the final ten overs if Lee,McGrath, Bichel and Hogg bowl their full quota.

This is another area of vulnerability for the Indian batsmen to exploit.

Lehmann has done well with his nude left-arm spin in the lead-up games, but should be put under more pressure by thisIndian line-up. Symonds is also gettable whether bowling his mediums or his off-spin.

If they can survive the Lee holocaust, Bichel, Hogg and the part-time bowlers are the ones for India to target.

Australia on the other hand will want a greater return from their top three batsmen than they have had so far in thetournament. Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting will be disappointed with their return thus far so will belooking to play a decisive hand in the final.

India's pace attack is second only to the Australian's in this tournament and may even have the edge on them. JavagalSrinath is a proven performer. How his less experienced partners handle the pressure of the big occasion could welldecide the contest.

Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have both grown considerably as this event has unfolded, but, knowing the Australians, theywill be targeted by Gilchrist and Hayden in particular. If they can hold their nerve, Nehra and Zaheer can do much forthe Indian cause.

Australia has relied on their middle and lower order to get them out of trouble a number of times lately, but will notwant to rely too heavily on them here if they can avoid it.

Bevan has done well on occasions, as he is prone to, while Symonds has come of age in this tournament. Bichel hasalso been a bonus with his batting and fielding since coming in as a replacement for the injured Gillespie.

Australia would like to have Martyn, if fit, to bolster the shaky top order while Lehmann is as solid as anyone goingaround. Lehmann, Bevan and Symonds have been the engine room of the Australian batting effort so far.

With the two best teams reaching the final, will we see a possible changing of the guard here or will Australia justconfirm their position as the best team in either form of the game?

Only time will tell!

Or will that be Lee or Tendulkar?

PTI