ICC World Cup 2011 - Semi Finals 2: India Vs Pakistan

Funny that Dhoni needs a leggie who can pick wickets and Afridi needs a wk who can hold on to the ball. Eh?

   The tournament has had its highs, lows, Canada et al. But, cricket fantasy is set to come true in Mohali during the second semi-final of the ICC World Cup with the mother, father, Godzilla of all battles!! Arch rivals India-Pakistan to battle it out for pride, glory, world peace and tumbling stock markets. This is what the whole world umm.. Shiv Sena ummm... Hon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ummm... cricket crazy fans have been expecting. Its an early Christmas for the sponsors, their prayers have come true. This match is "HUGE", for most people across the borders of the two countries winning this match means more than winning the World Cup. No wonder if the productivity dips by a few levels during the match, the players will have to pay back in blood and tears.

TEAM NEWS:
   PAKISTAN
   They blew the Windies out the competition in the QF. Afridi has been their strike bowler. He has done nothing wrong with the ball , which has been compensated by doing nothing right with the bat. Gul has been top notch, both with the new ball as well as the old one. Pakistan's batting has been a bit wobbly with the reliability of Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi. Umar "Leprechaun" Akmal has been their 'go-to' man. Razzaq has gone un-noticed with the bat/ball this time, Afridi has used him only as a stock bowler. Afridi will be tempted to play Akthar in place of Razzaq to hurt the Indians. Its good to see Akthar tone down his bowling as well as his attitude and play with the team rather than playing against them which he is always used to. He would like to peak in against India like any other guy in the team . Their fielding has been mediocre, thanks to the one man army behind the wickets.

   INDIA 
   India started off their campaign as favorites and  then they were the punching bag for most critics. But, in the QF they knocked out the defending champions Australia, ending their 12 year old reign over the World Cup. With the heroic win against Aussies, hopes of 1billion + hearts stay afloat. India's bowling was their main weakness, no one except for Zaheer standing up to the occasion. Now with the entry of Ashwin, it seems to have got a combination going for them. Though, MSD would be tempted to play Nehra/Sree in Mohali, he would  play the same winning combination against the Stanis. After all, his dil-logical  decisions have been successful. Indian batting has looked good, except in the batting powerplay where they seem to get a "brain freeze". Those maddening 5 overs have cost them a lot. Again Raina's entry as the finisher has helped them stabilize. Indian fielding, though it was looking rough in the group stages improved exponentially against the Aussies. Or as MSD says, they could do no better.

Head-to-Head 

Sachin                Hafeez
Sehwag              K Akmal
Gambhir             Shafiq
Kohli                  Younis
Yuvraj                Misbah
Dhoni                 U Akmal
Raina                 Afridi
Harbhajan          Gul
Zaheer               Riaz
Ashwin               Ajmal
Munaf                Akhtar
Nehra*(12th)      Razzaq* (12th)

  Man to man the teams look well balanced. Although, the tons and tons of runs and experience of the Indian top-order and the depth and variety in Pakistani bowling will be the key battle to win the war.

Key Encounters:

• Sachin-Viru Vs Akthar-Gul

    Mouth watering clash on the cards, if the Pakistani think tank decide to bring Shoaib out of the wilderness. He may have announced his retirement plans but, Sachin n Sehwag will be eager to make him pay!

• Gambhir Vs Afridi 

   Gambhir and Afridi have history. Afridi has picked 21 victims already. Gambhir has been among the runs. These two on the field would spark emotions as easy as butter melting on a hot pan.

• Zaheer-Ashwin Vs Pakistan Openers

   Zaheer has been the strike bowler whenever MSD needs a wicket. Ashwin has been the answer to India's bowling woes. Akmal, Hafeez know to play in only one gear, attack! It will be exciting to see this mini-battle among the several high voltage conflicts on the centre stage.

• Yuvraj Vs Umar

   Umar Akmal's green sunscreen should come handy when he faces UV's rays!

Not so much Trivia
-Yuvraj has won 4 m.o.m awards so far in the world cup.
-Pakistan have never beaten India in world cup competitions.
-India have never beaten Pakistan at Mohali.
-India has never crossed the Semis in world cups held in India (sub-continent).
-SRT is on 99 international centuries & yet to win a world cup (in case you missed. haha!).

   Both India and Pakistan will be on a high beating some good teams and reaching the WC semis. It's "war time" for the 22 players, do-or-die would never have sound more apt. Its not just a "game" for the two countries,  its a question of superiority, pride, everlasting glory and endorsement deals. Well of course!

ICC World Cup 2011 - Quarter Finals 1: Pakistan Vs West Indies

   Finally, the suspense ends the quarter finals are set to start and game 1 see's two time former world champions West Indies face off with the former world champions Pakistan. Easily a mouth watering clash considering the history between the two sides.With both teams possessing players who have the caliber to win matches on their own potential, it will be one contest even neutral fans will look forward to.

West Indies Report :
   Windies have been branded the "Minnow Slayers" this world cup. They thrashed them and stamped their authority, which luckily helped get through to semis over hosts Bangladesh. The only test playing team they managed to beat in the league stage. The reason I am saying this is, Pakistan can be worse than 'minnows' some days and if that happens tomorrow, Windies will have a feast. Jokes apart, Windies have been close to winning their last two matches . They bowled well to restrict their opponents to a low total. Their batting is solely dependent on their top order. None of them seem to stand up from the middle order excepting a few strokes of genius from Darren Lara Bravo. A lot more is expected from the likes of Sarwan, Pollard and their 'once upon a time anchor' Chanders (if he plays). The return of Gayle and Roach should give them a boost. Pakistan's batting has been their weak link too. They have struggled against quality bowling. You never know what to expect from their team. Infact , the players themselves aren't aware. Windies should somehow send the news that its the birthday of their top 5 batsmen. This is the 'CHEATCODE'  to activate the Jumping Monkey aka Kamran Akmal.  Windies have the potential to beat Pakistan. They just need get everything intact and play normally instead of screwing up things themselves. 

Pakistan Report :
   On paper easily Pakistan have the edge, the edge is so big that you could have Shoaib Akhtar mark his run up on it. Pakistani outfit would definitely believe this to be a walk in the park. Considering, there is no real opposition in this Windies outfit. Windies lost all their games to the teams that have qualified in the quarters from Group B. Afridi's boys have gone from strength to strength topping the list in Group A. Their bowling has looked solid. Except for one wild innings from Ross Taylor, every other time bowlers have delivered for Afridi and he has been the most boisterous, picking 17 wickets so far, leading the wickets tally in the tournament. Batting has really been a mixed bag, you never know what to get from the Stanis on a given day. Clearly, bowling is going to be their strength once again. Not much to fear from the opposition. Chris Gayle is more like a self-timed bomb, more often blowing up his own game(avg 32 vs Pak). Kieron Pollard another Gayle clone, only batting lower down the order. Middle order has time and again collapsed as seen in the games vs England and India respectively. Playing Benn, Bishoo/Miller will not be a pre-match concern for batsmen bred in these conditions. Umar Akmal has been playing the finishers role and will look to continue to deliver for his captain.

Watch out for:

• Gayle Vs Afridi
• Benn Vs Akmal(s)
• Pollard Vs Gul

   Playing in Dhaka, Windies will have fresh memories of thrashing the home team and then facing the wrath of the crowd. Pakistan will be the front-runners, playing in not so new conditions and with momentum behind them. But, if both the team look to play cricket for 100 overs we may witness yet another run-feast and the teams need to compromise with what they get. Everybody is looking forward to the first game of the quarter-finals and expect no less than a cracker of a contest.

ICC World Cup 2011 - SWOT Analysis : PAKISTAN

   Even God can't predict the outcome of the match, when Pakistan is playing. They can thrash Goliath convincingly and get whacked by David at the same time . Entertainment is guaranteed when the  team is on the field and nowadays, off the field issues have overshadowed their on-field performance. Fitness issues , disciplinary issues have haunted the team for long. PCB is the most active board among all the countries as they are always in action.This country has tonnes and tonnes of talent and its a sad to see  players falling prey to unethical issues. Keeping them aside, the board has finally decided the final 15 but the captain hasn't been announced. Wonder what's the issue with them again! The bowling attack looks strong, would have liked to see Md. Sami. The batting has just been pieces put together, Md. Yusuf again left out and no genuine opener as well. There is Younis, Misbah, to provide the solidity followed by Umar Akmal who has impressed one and all with his sheer talent, and then there are Afridi, Razzaq to go bezerk. So the final 15 looks like this :

 Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad.

STRENGTHS:

• The team is a good mixture of experience and youth.
• Their bowling has always been their strength and this time its not a different story either . They have a good vareity of pace and probably the strongest spin attack at present.
• Razzaq and Afridi.Period.
• Very well aware of the sub-continent pitches.  

WEAKNESS:

•  Their strengths can prove to be the weakness too, you never know.
• In the sub-continent teams will depend heavily on the start the openers provide. In Hafeez and Kamran this doesn't seem to be a confident bet in any circumstance. 
• They have showed enough faith on Kamran Akmal and he has flopped big time behind the wickets. Lack of a backup might hurt them. Only, backup being the other Akmal donning the gloves. 

OPPORTUNITIES:

• Misbah might be handed over the captaincy from Boom Boom Afridi, and its a very good opportunity for him to lead the team .
• Return of Tanvir, seems to be positive. Most players take a while in understanding his variations.
• Saeed Ajmal is one of the best spinners at the moment. Add to that Afridi, Hafeez and Rehman will make life miserable for most batsmen in spin friendly conditions. Gul is almost always at his miserly best.

THREATS:

• Shoaib Akhtar. Period.
• Who's the captain???  Less than 4 weeks away from the WC and the team doesn't know who's going to lead them.
• Hate to say this, with MATCH FIXING and player controversies it will be difficult for this Pakistani team to focus on the game. Hopefully, they finish the tournament without any black marks.

   This team has all the requirements to make it to the top. With Pakistan you can never predict anything. So, we zip our mouths and wait for time to say if they are good enough or not .

Quick Updates : India Vs Pakistan ODI#4

Phew! Its been  hours since the match ended and I am yet to get over it . What a finish !! No wonder Pakistan Vs India gather so many spectators around the world . I can definitely say that Indo Pak rivalry is more than the Oz-Poms ( Cricket rivalry , No Politics here ). The rivalry was truly showcased on the field today when Gauti got hyper yet another time with Kamran 'Butter' Akmal. It reminded me of the Styris -Johnson head bang . Talking of rivalry, how can you keep Bhajji and Akthar out of the scene  . Both of them were involved in an altercation just before the match ended . and There is so much patriotism involved when these two teams meet head to head . So this was the 4th match of the Asia Cup and it was a knock match for the Stanis. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat . Imran Farhat and Salman Butt took strike . Farhat departed early . Malik and Butt steadied the ship. Butt has scored 5 of his 8 centuries against India ( Phew!!) and was looking good for another one . Both of them fell in quick succession and then wickets kept falling , though Afridi did play a cameo scoring 32(25) . It was  Mr. 'Butter'Akmal 51(41) who made use of the batting power play and boosted the score . Eventually,Pakistan were bowled out for 267. It was a tricky target for India ,considering the Poor Lights @ Dambulla . Viru and Gauti opened for India . Viru was looking a fish out of the water. He was struggling to get the ball away . It was a very Un-Sehwag innings . Can you believe it , he scored 10 runs of 32 balls :O.Kohli didn't make a big either . MSD and Gauti put on yet another brilliant partnership of 98 runs . When Indians were looking to seal a comfortable victory , they lost 4 wickets for less than 40 runs , requiring 45+ of the last 5. Raina and Bhajji stole the match away from them. It was a gem of an innings from Raina. He proved that he can bat at any position. The winning shot , the six over the leg side, bought back the images of Javed Miandad and Chetan Sharma . Wonderful innings by Bhajji too , under pressure. He reiterated the fact that SINGH IS KING! Thus, Indians have  successfully butt-kicked Pakistan and Bangladesh out of the series. Its India V SriLanka in the finals.

Match Summary 
Pakistan 267/10 (49.3 overs)
Salman Butt  74(85)                               Praveen Kumar 3/53
Kamran Akmal 51(41)

India 271/7 (49.5 overs)
Gautam Gambhir 83(97)                        Saeed Ajmal 3/56
Mahendra Singh Dhoni 56(71)

India bt Pakistan by 3 wickets

ICC World T20 - Super 8 Group E preview

When the top 8 teams are the ones playing the super 8 games expect, fire crackers! It's top-notch at its top-notch best. Very difficult to choose right now. When I say, Kiwis the only team unbeaten in this group that says it all. With bad weather and two gentlemen, Mr. Duck-worthless and Mr. Lew-ass one has to be brave and call out predictions. So, here is the Group E for you.

Pakistan - *Defending Champions*

Carrying the burden of being the best team in T20's. Losing finalists in '07 and one big step in '09. Undoubtedly expectations are high, so far have played on expected lines. They tend to be slow starters (lost to Ind in 07 & Eng in 09 in grp stage).
But, this is where Pakistan lifts their game and probably takes it to ionosphere. The Super 8's. Team has looked mixed so far. Kamran Akmal opening not my ideal choice same for Hafeez playing at crucial 1-down(no.3). Umar Akmal yet to live to expectations. Razzaq, Md. Asif left out!

Wah say, "Not this time folks." No.3 finish

New Zealand - *Kiwi Fresh*

The one team who is unaware of their own potential. Smooth sailing so far, beat Lankans in a closely fought group match. Baz Mc'Kill-em yet to fire since the aus-kiwi game(IPL included). Bro Nathan Mc'Kill-em can't seem to put a foot wrong. Bond has been getting the stick treatment too long.
With Jesse back, Rosco, Baz+Bro, Guptill, Scotty 2 hotty, Oram, Dan the man team looks good.. might give Poms a run for their money. But, the black caps wont be favorites to go the distance.

Wah say, "Bottoms-up" No. 4 finish

South Africa - *Chokers*

Not fair to call them chockers already, the side looks good but, depending on Big Jake(Kallis) for too long will hurt them. Not used spin as their weapon unlike other teams. Struggled to keep India low in their first game will want to send some strong signals to potential rivals.
Langeveldt hasn't been played.. Albie Morkel is way past his fake-prime, thats 4 overs of buffet bowling to the opposition. Gibbs warming the benches as Bosman takes all the Loot!

Wah say, "Still have time to choke"  No.1 finish

England - *Pretty Poms*

Potential "Dark Horses" this year no matter how fair Stewy Broad or Eoin Morgan are. Eoin Morgan the "Deshdrohi" of the west. Rain has played bigger part than cricket has in England coming in to the super 8's.
Most likely that will continue and the Poms will be singing "Rain, Rain go away..".

Wah say, "English is a funny language."  No. 2 finish

Zimbabwe Beat Pakistan. WOW!

Lo' and behold! Zimbabwe on a roll. This time its the defending champs, Pakistan! yes, you saw it right.You never know with the Stanis, they may lose to Zim and beat the top team the next day. Anyways, coming to this match, Zim piled on 143 in their 20 overs. Chigumbura was the hero again scoring 49(35). Coventry and Masakadza also chipped in with handy runs. Boom Boom was the star with the ball picking 4/24. The target seemed pretty easy but not to be .Except for Kamran Akmal, Alam and Misbah , no one even reached double digits. They were "BOWLED OUT" for 131. Prosper Utseya really prospered with the ball , picking up 4 wickets. Chigumbura cleaned up the tail, picking up 3 wickets. Mind blowing performance. Its good to seem them taking these practice matches seriously. It would be nice to see them giving a tough competition in the league matches. The advantage is they seem to have the right bowling . Slow medium pace and spin is the need of the hour and that is helping them big time. Way to go ZIM! WAH! WAH!!

In the other matches, Chokers lost to Poms and Australia butt-kicked Windward Islands. WTF!

Ijaz Butt & the 7 Dwarfs

Well, if you thought only the Pakistan Cricket team was unpredictable,hold on! Their cricket board is a step ahead. Ijaz Butt's decision has shook the cricket team and others concerned. Agreed Paki cricket was not doing well, but its nothing new. Its been happening for ages now. Every team goes through a slump. Lets look at the fellows who faced Butt's fart..oops wrath!

1) Kamran'Butterfingers'Akmal: Well, he single-handedly won the game for Australia. He dropped catches which came his way and helped Aussies win it easily. Rs. 3 million fine and under probation.

2)Umar'Poor Acting'Akmal : He alleged to have feigned an injury in order to miss the test for his dear brother who had been dropped.He did ended up playing the match though. His mom would have been proud of this act, but not the PCB. Rs 2 million fine and under probation.

3)Shahid 'Once Bit Twice Punished'Afridi: If Adam bit the forbidden apple, our Boom Boom bhai bit the cherry umm... ball. Satan hit both of them. ICC banned him with a heavy sum and a 2 T20 match ban. Ijaz went a step higher and fined him Rs.3million and is also under probation for 6 months.

4)Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik: On disciplinary grounds. Banned for a year from the national side from all the formats of the game and a sum of 2 million.

Here's the shocker :
5) MoYo & his accomplice, Younis Khan: Final nail in the coffin for both of them. Seems their attitude let the team down. Well, I do agree in the case of Younis, who , whenever he needs, takes rest citing stress and too much cricket, when they play once in a blue-moon. He stated that 20-20 was a fun game... maybe for him! That statement surely raised a few eyebrows. Luckily, they went on to win the WCT20 else he would have been doomed long back.

Well, with T20 WC coming up shortly, I don't see it as a wise decision by the PCB. Could have checked their performance in the T20WC. With the ban of these players,the Pakistan team is like a human being with just a head and legs and nothing in between. Its gonna take a long time to come over from this disaster.

P.S: I hope WICB doesn't take it seriously and dissolve the whole team considering the way they are performing!! :)

P.P.S: All above mentioned nominations are in PKR currency - Pakistani Rupee.

Quick Update: Aus Pak T20 match

It was a nail-biting finish to what should have been an easy affair. Aussies elected to bat after winning the toss. They lost Twatto early, guess his muscles were still stiff. “Lloyd” Warner and Capt. Pup gave a solid start and they were 50/1 after 6 overs. Then wickets tumbled with White doing his massacre in style. DJ Hussey(40*) was the mainstay of the batting and steered them to a miserable score of 127. Pakistan bowling and fielding was top-notch and showed why they simply love this format of the game and why they are the T20 World Champions at the moment. Right from the wicket of Watson, the fielders were charged up. Wickets of White , Pup and Nannes can prove it. Bowling, after 6 overs was right on the money. Shoaib“I’m the Capt. Haha”Malik, Umer“I luv T20”Gul and Saeed“Side 2 Side”Ajmal tightened the screws.

Then came Pakistan batting. The openers were erratic and were out cheaply. It was nice to see Shaun"Sloon"Tait back in the side. His opening spell was just breathtaking. The line, length, pace everything was excellent. He was well supported by Dirty Dirk Nannes from the other end who was also pacy. Then came in Kamran"Butterfingers"Akmal and counter-attacked really well. Kamran stuck onto Johnson in his first over and then he came back nicely. It was a swashbuckling innings of 64 from just 34 deliveries. He almost led Pakistan to victory. He was dropped on 64 and unfortunately he was out the next ball. Wickets started tumbling from then on. The Australian bowling was just fantastic... Watson was useful too. The young lad, Steven Peter Devereux Smith was pretty impressive with his leggies. MOM was Sloon Tait for his 3/13 from 4 breathtaking overs.

Turning Point: Many may say that the turning point was the wicket of Kamran Akmal, but according to me, the 17th over bowled by Mitch Johnson, was the turning point. Rana Naved ate all the balls and got out the next over.

So, it’s been a " DEFINETELY FORGETTABLE TOUR " for the visitors. They must feel like eating cricket balls right now (If you know what I mean..) White washed !!

• 3-0 in Tests


• 5-0 in ODIs


• 1-0 in T20