World Cup flashback: Adam Gilchrist rocks Sri Lanka in Barbados

Australia's Adam Gilchrist during the 2007 World Cup final

World Cup memory
Gilchrist rocks SL in Barbados

SRI Lanka's hopes of clinching their second World Cup title were brutally crushed by Adam Gilchrist (149 off 104 balls) as Australia clinched the final of the 2007 edition at Barbados by 53 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis method. Before Gilchrist blazed away, there were doubts whether the final could be held on that day with heavy showers delaying the start of the match. Eventually, it was decided to play a 38-over final.

Opting to bat, Australia was restricted to 46-0 in 10 overs, despite Gilchrist threatening to cut loose. The southpaw did not look back once Dilhara Fernando was introduced into the attack and the pacer conceded 74 runs in his eight overs. Such was Gilchrist's dominance that in the 172-run opening stand, Matthew Hayden could manage only 38 runs. Sri Lanka's response was cautious after losing opener Upul Tharanga early.

Sanath Jayasuriya (63) and Kumar Sangakkara (54) stitched a 116-run second wicket partnership to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt. But their dismissals resulted in a collapse as Sri Lanka caved in the under pressure of the mounting asking rate. While the light started to deteriorate, rain revised the target to 269 from 36 overs.

The final witnessed a farcical finish as the light faded and the moon had come out too. In order to complete the formality, Jayawardene and Ponting arrived at a consensus that Australia would use their slow bowlers while Chaminda Vaas and Fernando would just play out the remaining four overs. Sri Lanka finished with 215-8.

Figured out
AB De Villiers has a special liking for West Indies. He has scored centuries against them in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups. In the 2007 edition, he scored 146 at Grenada. It was followed by an unbeaten 107 in SA's opening clash at the Kotla. In 2015, De Villiers smashed an unbeaten 162 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Did you know?
The last ball of the 2011 World Cup was bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara, who also delivered the first ball of the 2015 edition. Craig McDermott did something similar when he bowled the first ball of the 1992 World Cup after delivering the final ball of the 1987 edition in Kolkata.

Player to watch
Soumya Sarkar

The Bangladeshi opener warmed up well for the forthcoming World Cup with an impressive double century last week in Dhaka during a Super League 50-over match. Soumya Sarkar's captain Mashrafe Mortaza would expect similar performances from the southpaw in the forthcoming World Cup. It is also a perfect stage for Sarkar to prove his talent by being consistent in dishing out top performances. but England can always hand the big gloves to their opening batsman in an emergency.

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