Gilly show all the way

The game that was said to be a clash between the best bowling attack and the best batting line-up proved to be a meaningless match because one man thought of suddenly raising the standard of his game that added to the collective muscle of his team.

With his long-time partner Matthew Hayden in fine form and topping the batting charts, Gilchrist had taken a back seat. He was seen as the sidekick in this hit pairng. But many saw this coming as a number of Aussie fans that one met on the streets, who frequently confuse the large Indian media contingent to Sri Lankan supporters, say “if it’s the final, it has to be Gilly.”

It was the same opinion even former cricketers had. South African wicket-keeper of yesteryears Dave Richardson had seen it coming.

“I suppose some of the teams are grateful that he has not come to the party every time. His form is, I suppose, by his standards a little bit patchy, but you have to marvel at these guys who bat in the top order and then keep 50 overs because you need a high level of fitness, to keep wickets and then score a big hundred. It takes a lot out of you physically and mentally,” he said.

But Gilchrist didn’t seem to mind any physical effort or mental exhaustion today. As he walked in with Hayden they seem to have decided upon the same plan they so successfully adopted against the Indians. In 2003 Gilchrist scored 28 in the first 50 he and Hayden complied, today he made 37. In South Africa he scored 55 in the century partnership, today it was 74.

Despite his attacking approach today, considering it is a 38-over game, he had a rather regular start. He just scored 31 from 30 balls but his next 69 came from 42 balls. The clear demarcation of his innings showed how he jogged a while before sprinting.

Gilchrist did attack Chaminda Vaas initially, but he was a bit circumspect about the Lasith Malinga’s unusual action.

The degree of respect that Gilchrist showed to the different Sri Lankan bowlers can be gauged from the eight sixes he scored. Malinga conceded none, Murali and Vaas were hit once each while there were a couple for Fernando, Jayasuriya and Dilshan. This shows a systematic attack with a clear idea about the form and hierarchy of the rivals.

But there happens to be an interesting off-shoot to Australia’s amazing opening in the two straight World Cup finals. They blamed Indian new ball bowler Zaheer Khan for ticking off Hayden by staring at him in the very first over. Those few seconds were seen at the turning point of the final. Today not once did Vaas stare or Malinga back-talked. All they did was run in and bowl as best they could.

SCOREBOARD

Australia: A Gilchrist c Silva b Fernando 149, M Hayden c Jayawardene b Malinga 38, R Ponting run out 37, A Symonds not out 23, S Watson b Malinga 3, M Clarke not out 8

Extras ( w 16, nb 3, lb 4): 23; Total (for 4 wkts, 38 overs): 281

Fall of wickets: 1-172, 2-224 3-261, 4-266

Bowling: Vaas 8-0-54-0, Malinga 8-1-49-2, Fernando 8-0- 74-1, Muralitharan 7-0-44-0 , Dilshan 2-0-23-0, Jayasuriya 5-0-33-0.