Inevitable but unpredictable, India and Australia have been two trains on a collision course - ESPN

Nothing is inevitable in sport, and in that lies its appeal. The tension, the knots in the tummy, the anticipation, the hope and the foreboding, and the final euphoria or heartbreak, all come from deep longing for an outcome but not knowing if it will come to pass. There can be no spoilers in sport; no match is over until it's over.

You might argue, with hindsight, that this World Cup final has bowed to the inevitable by bringing the two pre-tournament favourites together in the summit clash. In that, it is a departure from the norm. Starting from 1983, when India defied 66-1 odds to dethrone West Indies, World Cup finals have provided a joyous deviation from the script: Sri Lanka have made it to three finals and won once, New Zealand to two, and Australia and Pakistan were far from being the favourites when they won in 1987 and 1992. This year, apart from the truth that India and Australia were the soundest bets for the final when the tournament began, very little about their paths here has been predictable.

It feels like a lifetime has passed since their first encounter in this tournament. Having called that game the final before the final before it was played, I was feeling sheepish within a week as Australia, after two resounding losses, appeared underprepared and undercooked and unsure about their best XI. By the second game, they had ditched their first-choice keeper-batter; their main spinner, on whom lay massive middle-over responsibilities, was looking lost; two of their pace-bowling allrounders, the ones who gave the team the appearance of mighty depth, had mostly looked unable to buy a run all year; their game-breaking opener was still recovering from injury; and their captain felt like the weakest link in