The 2010 Micromax Cup - sandwiched between the Twenty20 World Cup and the Asia Cup for no real reason - has proven to be far more interesting than initially planned. While early bets were placed on a Sri Lanka vs. India final, Zimbabwe played confident, positive and impressive cricket to knock India out of the tournament and give Sri Lanka plenty to think about. Zimbabwe will now face Sri Lanka in a final that not many would have predicted, but most will welcome.
Zimbabwe's performances in the Micromax Cup have been the progression of an unsteady stream of improvement that's been taking place over the past few years. With both India and Sri Lanka sending depleted teams to the tournament, Zimbabwe seized the opportunity. Every victory they've achieved has been comfortable and authoritative - beating India by six wickets, India again by seven wickets, and Sri Lanka by eight wickets. If the trend continues, they'll win the final with only one wicket down. Impressive as though they've been, Zimbabwe haven't yet been really tested in this tournament. If they find themselves in a tight position against the Sri Lankan bowlers, do the Zimbabwean batsmen have the experience and steel to hold their nerve? Their one loss in the series begs the question of how well they will perform under pressure. Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor have been outstanding with the bat, and the spinners - Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Greg Lamb and Prosper Utseya - have strangled singles and taken wickets. On their own home turf - and after capping off a brilliant league stage with a resounding victory over Sri Lanka - Zimbabwe have every reason to feel confident.
Sri Lanka will be relieved that, after a disappointing Twenty20 World Cup campaign and a first-game loss to India in this tournament, they've come back well to secure a place in the finals. Tillekeratne Dilshan has rediscovered his form, and showed that should an attacking approach be ill-advised, he can adapt his game to fit the situation of a match. Dinesh Chandimal struck a glorious maiden ODI century (against India), but his failure in the following game against Zimbabwe puts pressure on him to deliver. Ajantha Mendis has been mostly decoded by the rest of the world, but Zimbabwe haven't seen much of him, and their relative inexperience in playing bowlers of his caliber might prove key. Nuwan Kulasekera has been firing on all cylinders, and Suraj Randiv has continued to make his case for full inclusion into the team. With both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka suffering one defeat to each other in the league stages, it sets the scene up for what should be a (surprisingly) interesting final.