Adil Najam
UPDATE:
India won the TwentyTwenty final in a thriller, after setting Pakistan 158 to win and then bowling Pakistan out (with three balls to spare) for 152. IK Pathan from India was names Man of the Match for very tidy bowling (3/16 from 4 overs) while Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi was named Man of the Series.
ORIGINAL POST:
I have resisted writing about the Twenty20 Cricket Tournament in South Africa till now. But now I can resist no more. All is set for a thriller final game against India.
What more could one ask for… well, actually, one could ask for Pakistan’s TwentyTwenty winning streak to continue into the Final game against India in Johannesburg on Monday!
Pakistan is on a roll. And this is no fluke. The victories against Australia and Sri Lanka were brilliant and breezing past New Zealand in the semi-final today proved that this is not just a lucky streak.
The young team under a young captain and a new coach seems to have finally found its stride. And it is about time…
Much of our cricket coverage this last year has been depressing. Umpire controversies, a disastrous World Cup Exit, death of a coach, players misbehaving, and more. So, this good news is very welcome. It is all the more welcome because other news these days is much less than welcome.
India, too, has had a spectacular T20 tournament. In fact, the most memorable moments of the tournament till now were the 6 sixes in an over by Yuvraj against England.
That the game between India and Pakistan in the T20 tournament had ended in a tie will make the anticipation about the final even more nail-biting.
Neither team goes in as favorites. Both go in on a roll. Its should be one great game!
What an exciting finish….no one could have scripted it better.
My hats off to the Indian team.
Pakistani tailenders left their hearts on the field.
A great performance by the bowlers wasted by batsmen. I’m glad they came this far but fell just short yet again.
On another note, instead of wasting so much money on foreign coaches, Pakistan team should employ a full-time psychiatrist……and I’m not talking about a sport psychologist here. I mean a real therapist with the couch who can find out what goes on inside the heads of some of our batsmen: Younis taking a suicide single two balls after Imran Nazir pulls a hamstring, Afridi being Afridi and lasting one ball, and finally Misbah bringing the team to the verge of victory and then playing the most ridiculous shot to get out with four balls to spare. Boggles the cricketing mind !
Oh well, at least they reached the final. Indians will be insufferable for some months now.
yaar.. hum phir haar gaye India ke saamne? We need to break the shackles of losing against India in the world cup. It’s such a shame to not win a match in world cup agains India.
Don’t expect anything good from Pakistan cricket team. They are all by-chance players with no professionalism. If we’ll loose it’ll be our batsmen.
Latest, I think Pakistan’s team after loosing 20 20 should be stored in the open refrigerator like the one of your front page photos.
Let there be a thrilling contest. Either team can win against the other. It doesn’t prove anything. In a 20-20 format, unless there is best of five or seven games, it is difficult to establish which team is better.
Pakistan will win … (inshallah)!