Shoaib Mohammed - Former Test cricketer
Toss Pakistan should bat first on a hard, fast Lord's pitch. Batting first you can always play without pressure and if you manage to put up a decent total you're always in with a chance.
Pakistan team The same eleven.
Key player(s) for Pakistan Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik
Winner Pakistan
Pakistan probably lacked the conviction at the beginning of the event. I think they started believing in themselves after a couple of wins. It took a few individual performances for them to get going and slowly as they gathered momentum, the team started gelling as a unit. It just shows the impact an individual performance, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, can have on the confidence of a team. The Pakistani team would have watched the Sri Lanka-West Indies semi-final together to discuss the finer details. But it would also disturbed their psyche a little bit watching Tilakaratene Dilshan rescue his side from such a precarious situation and then putting on a brilliant performance in the field to score a crushing win. The Sri Lankans are a balanced side, not particularly stronger in any one department. They are confident in their ability and would desperately need a win in a major event to stamp their class on world cricket. To Pakistan's advantage is, however, the fact that they have experienced the pressure a final can bring with it and would want to go one better this year.
I would keep the same eleven for the final and would probably stick with the batting and bowling combinations Pakistan has gone in with so far. Experimentations with spinners in the first six overs would have been advisable only if Younus Khan had tried it earlier in the tournament. I back Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to come big in the final. I will be watching the game with my dad who regularly points out the dos and don'ts even in this format.
Kamran Abbasi - Dawn cricket expert
Toss Bat first. It is much harder to chase in a final and if we get 150-plus on the board, the bowlers should be able to defend it.
Pakistan team I wouldn't change the winning combination.
Key player(s) for Pakistan Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi
Winner Pakistan
The Sri Lankans are on-song right now but I am very confident that we can beat them in the final. Both teams have played each other on several occasions recently and know each other very well. The Pakistan team has achieved more than what was expected of them so they should not be too worried about the result. But obviously the boys are going to be nervous. They are playing in a final at Lord's, after all!
Although Mendis and Murali are the two players all teams have been threatened by, I think the Pakistani batsmen can handle them pretty well. In Malik and Younus, we have two good players of spin bowling and Afridi is the kind of player who can attack the spinners. The real threat, for me, is Lasith Malinga. Our batsmen fell trying to play big shots off him in the Super Eight match. If they stay calm and try to work him around, it should be good enough.
Besides, our bowling is very strong. If you look at Gul, Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, we have 12 good overs there. Young Aamer has been very impressive throughout the tournament. I am slightly concerned about Abdul Razzaq bowling to the Sri Lankan openers, but he is an experienced fellow and let us hope he is able to keep it together.
Saad Shafqat - Dawn cricket analyst
Toss Bowl first
Pakistan team Bring in Ahmed Shehzad for Shahzaib Hasan
Key player(s) for Pakistan Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal
Winner Pakistan
I am going to make a bold prediction here and say Pakistan will win the match in a one-sided encounter. This was a team that was totally down and out of the tournament and now the boys have turned it around. Their biggest hurdle was beating South Africa and now that they have done it, I think they will be fearless.
Having said that, the Sri Lankan batsmen are very aggressive and Abdul Razzaq will have to use all his confidence to keep their openers down in the first few overs. Young Aamer has improved tremendously as the tournament has progressed and I hope he will be confident enough to deliver once again. And then you have the trio of Afridi, Ajmal and Gul, who have done it so many times. As far as Pakistan's batting is concerned, I think if Kamran Akmal has a good day, it will be very good for Pakistan. Also, Misbahul Haq is due a big innings and although he has been out of form during the tournament, if he gets away with a shot or two, he can be really effective as he is the most naturally talented batsman we have.
Osman Samiduddin - Pakistan editor of Cricinfo
Toss Bat first as we have been good at setting targets in the tournament.
Pakistan team Unchanged
Key player(s) for Pakistan Could really be anyone
Winner Either Sri Lanka or Pakistan
Having spoken to some of the guys, I think they are quite relaxed and confident. Younus Khan has played a great role in calming them down, keeping them up and not allowing too much pressure to seep in.
As far as crowd support is concerned, I think on sheer numbers there are probably more Pakistani origin fans there so they will likely make lots of noise. There will be a lot of Indian fans at the ground, so it will be interesting to see which side they will be on.
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