India loses final for 17th time

By Mohandas Menon

** India, which appeared in a tournament final for the 33rd time on Sunday, has now lost a final of a tournament involving three or more teams on 17 occasions, including eight final defeats in a row from April 1999. India last won a tournament in November 13, 1998 when it beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in the Champions Trophy at Sharjah.

** Sri Lanka, meanwhile, recorded its 12th tournament victory, involving three or more teams. Sri Lanka's last won a tournament three and half months back when it defeated Pakistan in the ARY Gold Cup final at Sharjah.

** Ganguly, who was appearing in his 26th LOI match on Sri Lankan soil, now joins fellow Indians Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar of having played in maximum matches in Sri Lanka by a visiting batsman. For the record, Arjuna Ranatunga has appeared in most matches (68) at home.

** Sanath Jayasuriya became the second Sri Lankan, after Romesh Kaluwitharana (v Zimbabwe at Harare, 18-12-1999) and the 14th batsman in LOIs to miss a hundred by just one run.

** Interestingly, Jayasuriya has now become the fourth batsman in LOIs to score a 99 against India, the maximum against any team in LOIs. The other three batsmen to miss a hundred against India by a run are New Zealand's Bruce Edgar at Auckland on 14-2-1981 (remained unbeaten), England's Allan Lamb at The Oval on 4-6-1982 and Australian Matthew Hayden at Bangalore on 25-3-2001.

** Jayasuriya also became the first captain in LOI history to record a 99. The previous highest score by a captain not recording a three-figure mark is 98, achieved by three captains: West Indian Viv Richards against Sri Lanka at Brisbane on 12-1- 1985, Sri Lankan Arjuna Ranatunga against India at Hyderabad on 18-2-1994 and Australian Adam Gilchrist against West Indies at Brisbane on 14-1-2001.

** The wicket of Harbhajan Singh was Muthiah Muralitharan's 250th of his career in 174th match. He became the eighth bowler in LOI history to reach his landmark.

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