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The World Cup 1999 finals at Lords' on Sunday will not be a re-run of the 1996 finals in Lahore. Australia are in after a thrilling match against South Africa. Sri Lanka, the World Champions are back in Colombo after a disappointing exit in the first round. In 1996 it was a different tale with Arjuna Ranatunga and his team of lions mauling the Australian attack and lifting the World Cup.

Thousands of Pakistanis backed Arjuna Ranatunga and the team in the finals, waving the lion flag and urging the Sri Lankans on. In the 1999 World Cup finals, Sri Lankan fans will repay the debt when they go to Lord's to support Wasim Akram and the Pakistani cricketers South Asia's hopes rest with Pakistan now that Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh have been knocked out of the competition. Wasim Akram stands a good chance of lifting the cup and taking over the mantle of World Champions from Sri Lanka, providing the team do not blow it. Much depends on the toss, the Pakistan team have proved fallible chasing runs. A great deal depends on their frontline batsmen. They have a world class batsman in Saeed Anwar - recently Steve Waugh, the Australian captain rated Anwar one of the world's best strokemakers along with Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva.

A few years ago I met Wasim Akram and the entire Pakistan Team at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo. Wasim told me how much he enjoyed touring Sri Lanka. He was in a chirpy mood - he exudes charisma with handsome looks equally that of the great Imran Khan himself. The other Pakistani cricketers were very personable with perhaps the quietest one in the team being old Inzamam. They were very friendly and talked with Sri Lankans at the Galadari - they had come to the hotel to unwind. Akram is a bowler with so much ability - he will swing that ball into the Australian batsmen on Sunday. On the other side Shoaib Akhtar travelling at 90 mph is bound to uproot Australian wickets with those devastating yorkers.

The Pakistanis must take a leaf out of Sri Lanka's victory in Lahore in 1996 against the Australians. Like Arjuna's steady rudder Wasim will need to keep a level head if the Pakistanis have to chase runs. They have the bowling firepower to skittle Australia. But all too often wickets have tumbled and the Australians have McGrath, Shane Warne, Paul Reiffel and others who could cause trouble. This will be a fascinating final but South Asia will be cheering the Pakistanis. Time will stand still in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. All cricket lovers wil be cancelling everything and be seated in front of their televisions. The majority of the Sri Lankan team will be doing the same although Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva are in the USA and the United Kingdom.

There is sadness that this is not a re-run of the 1996 final. The World Cup will be bequeathed to the winner at Lord's on Sunday. Lets hope that Wasim Akram and the team can pull it off and that the Cup stays in South Asia. 'We are going to enjoy our day on Sunday' said Wasim who gave glory to Allah for bringing them this far adding that the whole of Pakistan will be praying for the team. Coupled with those prayers will be the cheers of South Asia who will be urging the Pakistanis to bring the cup back to the Indian sub-continent. This is where it is all happening, this is where cricket is thriving and if the cup returns it will boost cricket even further in the SAARC countries.

It will no doubt encourage the Sri Lankan cricketers who meet Australia in August - it will boost Sri Lanka's confidence once again as the new BCCSL will take cricket into the new millennium with a goal of making Sri Lanka a real power in test cricket and with new blood and a team brimful of talent, going out to give their all for their motherland - in the next World Cup and beyond.