Semi-final Preview: Pakistan takes on India in the match of the World Cup

By Suneer Chowdhary

 

Of all the games that India and Pakistan have played in World Cup cricket, that this game is the most vital is no-brainer. Not only it is a semi-final, but the socio-political environment has changed so drastically that it is difficult to see this game as just a cricket match.

By Suneer Chowdhary

 

Mohali: Mar 29, 2011

 

Of all the games that India and Pakistan have played in World Cup cricket, that this game is the most vital is no-brainer. Not only it is a semi-final, but the socio-political environment has changed so drastically that it is difficult to see this game as just a cricket match.

 

The two teams have had contrasting paths to this stage and they have been contrasting to what the experts would have thought at the start of the World Cup. Pakistan have been dangerous but not unpredictable, the bowling has continued to remain their strength and controversies have remained as far from them as near they had been in 2010. All of this would have surprised their own fans.

 

India’s route has been slightly more convoluted. The batting was an obvious strength while the bowling was to struggle, especially at the start of the tournament. Bangladesh and England took full toll of the attack. Then, the batting floundered, the bowling improved and that meant that they needed to take on and beat Australia in the quarter-finals. They squeaked past the Aussies thanks to the man who has suddenly found his mojo in this tournament – Yuvraj Singh.

 

Apart from the stalling of off-field shenanigans, Pakistan have shown marked improvement with their on-field play as well. The middle-order has taken the pressure off the batsmen and with the promotion of Kamran Akmal to the opening slot, there is much more stability in the entire order than there has been after the end of the Imran Khan-Javed Miandad era.

 

Having two bowlers in the top ten list have also helped, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul. Afridi’s strength lies in his ability to run through his overs and line-ups once he has a wicket under his belt. But given India’s obvious liking for spin, the onus will be on Gul. Afridi averages 55 with the ball against India, but what is rather surprising is that Gul has conceded 42 for each of his wicket against India. Gul’s form with the new ball in this tournament has been a revelation as he will look to carve out the Indian top-order.

 

Abdul Razzaq could hold some part of the key. Despite his innocuous looks with the ball, Razzaq has done well against India, especially in India where he makes scoring difficult for the Indians.

 

India would have taken home a hard fact from their game against Australia; their fielding helped them save 20 runs and was essentially the difference between the two sides. Suresh Raina was probably the reason for that. And with his cameo at the end, he made a huge difference to the fortunes of the side. Interestingly, one thought that Australia bowled far too many short balls to him knowing his weakness against the bounce. Raina had looked ready on his backfoot and pulled clumsily but effectively to guide the side to a win.

 

Of course, the main acts in the play would be the top three, Sachin Tendulkar, who will want the Indian win to be a byproduct of a 100th international century, Virender Sehwag, who seems to have forgotten that his self-defined role at the start of the tournament was to bat through the 50 overs and Gautam Gambhir, who has been edgier than usual in this tournament.

 

Zaheer Khan has not yet been collared in this tournament – one of the few across all teams – which is rather huge coming from an Indian pace bowler in years. How Pakistan handle him will be crucial, as will be the bowling of the out of form Harbhajan Singh.

 

Teams:

 

India (Probable): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt&wk), Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Munaf Patel

 

Pakistan (Probable): Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar, Shahid Afridi (captain), Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz.

 

Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Ian Gould (England)

 

Time: 14.30 local (09.00 GMT)

 

(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here: @suneerchowdhary)

 

Pictures © Getty Images

• 
• 
•