We’ll see.
We have, after all, surprised the world in T20 cricket before. And we could do it again.
Yesterday I read a small statement by a small leader in a small newspaper and it made me laugh out loud. But I kind of agreed with it. The statement went like this.
Pakistan has reached the Semi Finals because of prayers (dua) of the whole Nation but from here onwards the team will have to play cricket to win the title.
So far Pakistan and Australia have played four T-20 Internationals with each other and both teams have won 2 matches each. Overall Pakistan has 70% wins from 35 T20 Internationals and Australia has 62.12% wins from 34. While this set of statisitics favour a Pakistan victory, the cricket team will have to do more.
Following is the summary of road taken by both teams to the Semi Finals.
Pakistan’s Road to Semi Finals:
v Bangladesh: won by 21 runs
v Australia: lost by 34 runs
v England: lost by 6 wickets
v New Zealand: lost by 1 run
v South Africa: won by 11 runs
Australia’s Road to Semi Finals:
v Pakistan: won by 34 runs
v Bangladesh: won by 27 runs
v India: won by 49 runs
v Sri Lanka: won by 81 runs
v West Indies: won by 6 wickets
Before I key-off, enjoy this heading that the daily jang has put as a curtain-raiser to tomorrow’s big game. The ‘jaal’ they are mentioning here means Pakistan’s spin bowling capabilities which worked quite well in the last game against South Africa.
I agree with the article, it was a freakish performance by the Hussey.
A lovely piece on cricinfo
http://www.cricinfo.com/world-twenty20-2010/content/current/story/459718.html
The game was not less thrilling than the match between AUS and SA at Wanders when SA chased the higest ever ODI total
I wish I had bought a lottery :) Cracking cricket is what I asked for and that is exactly what I got. Good game, good cricket. No harm done to Pakistan’s reputation. In the history books, I am sure this game will be remembered more than the final :)
Again, good luck to England and Australia for the final
The tournament was still going on and the board leaked some highly negative remarks by Intikhab Alam regarding the players.The timing of this left a very bad taste in the mouth.Seems the board wants to absolve itself of all responsibility.Players have been banned and fined,but board officials have remained unscathed.
Even if Pakistan had won this game and the final as well,there is no denying the fact that there is a deep rooted malaise afflicting Pakistan cricket.Since winning the 2009 World Cup,Pakistan lost heavily in Sri Lanka,was saved by the rain in New Zealand and lost all matches on its tour of Australia.On top of that,there have been too many controversies off the field and the cricket boards’s handling of the whole situation has left a lot to be desired.
This match reminded me of the fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. While in every round Foreman looked like aggressive boxer, in the end Ali knocked him out to show the world who the true champion was.
The difference between the two teams was the death overs. While Pakistan did not score a single boundary in their last 10 balls even though Umar Akmal and Razzak were batting with several wickets in hand. On the contrary Australia thrashed Pakistan with 3 sixes and two fours in the last 6 balls! Another 20-25 runs in the death overs by Pakistan would have made the match out of Australian reach. In fact if one analyzes the death over scoring, Pakistan did not do well in this tournament.
However, this was a great match and Pakistan gave all it had but the better team with the more scientific approach won.