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!
A great game! I think it was just great that the final was between the two sub continent teams.
It was a thriller and the real winner was cricket.
Pakistan made a few strategic errors and in some cases lost nerve at crucial momments
In my view, we made a mistake by choosing Yasir Arafat over Fawad. This created a long tail. The spinners had been able to contain and provide breakthroughs and we would have had more options. The pace attack was well looked after by Asif, Umar and Tanwir. We should have sent in Afridi up the order and if he had stayed even for 2 overs, Pakistan would have had a head start.Sending Akmal at # 3 was not wise, specially after the fall of the early wicket, He was out of form and under pressure. Why not use Yunus there I think one wicket which was the turning point was the run out of Imran Nazir. He was going great guns. It was not a run they should have risked with his groin injury
Hafeez gave his wicket cheaply – it was a soft dismissal . Seemed as he was giving catching practice to the slip frielder. Yunus played an uncharecterstic shot which was not his game and really not required. When will Afridi learn. He should learn from batsmen like Yuvraj, Pietersen, jaysuria who tempertheir agression and stroke making with some sense – and get results. He is wasting his natural talent and a performance ratio of one in ten is not what we are looking. However he is still an assset with his bowling, fileding and enthusiasm on the field
Msibah, oh Misbah. So near and so far. In both matches he gave a sterling performance but seemed to have lost his cool at the finish. ONE run in two balls and 6 in 4 balls was not a task that was huge or unattaitianable. His shot selection was poor and he succumbed to pressure
On the whole, Shoaib Malik’s captaincy was inspirational and good, he led from the front and seems to have a good cricketing mind and is a thinking captian
A performance that conveys promise for the future. We have to maintain the commitment, energy, team work and spirit, fitness and hard work.
Asif seemed a bit jaded and below par and not up to his usual standard
We have found new talent in Tanwir, and Misbah. The opening slots still are a source of worry
On to the next series, South Africa and then india. We should do well
shahid, kindly don’t bring secularisn vs religionism debate in middle while we Pakistani muslims know well the condition of Indian Muslims in India and how they re treated. Take playground as a field of sport rather politics or worshiping. If pathan played for you then we have Kineria, a Hindu.
What Malik said was not to hurt anyone. This is the month of Ramadan and malik made comments by keeping the month in his mind because that was Ramadan in 1992 as well when Pak won the Worldcup.
Regarding gae, Dhoni’s captaincy really impressed me. Though most of his decision were hit and trial but the chap was lucky plus his team responded well.
I think Malik’s comments about Muslims were in bad taste and showed his lack of understanding. The minorities in Pakistan would be rightfully hurt by what he said.
Also, his assumption that Muslims around the world were praying for the Pakistan team is foolish to say the least. I am an Indian Muslim and I can’t even think of supporting any other team other than India.
Please don’t forget that Irfan Pathan, who was the chief architect of India’s victory, is a devout Muslim.
One look at the composition of the Indian team will make you realize the true secular ethos of India.
I think these are some things that Pakistan could learn from us.
I think Pakistani middle order got a bit nervous after they lost the openers quickly. The shots played by Younas, Malik and Afridi demonstrated that nerves had got a better of them. Misbah and Gul were brilliant and Sohail Tanvir was a real surprise package with his lusty blows of the bowling of Srisanth. All in all it was an excellant exhibition of spirited cricket where Misbah almost snatched the victory out of the jaws of the Indians but a slightest misjuedgement and we were deprived of what would have been a greatest moment for Pakistan after 1992. We should be proud of this youthful Pakistan side and hope they will find the missing final touches in the games to come. Go well Pakistan team!
We watched the match on a big screen in my office with nearly a crowd of 500 watching on & we had people applauding some fantastic deliveries when Pakistan were bowling.Both countries have true fans of the game who appreciate good cricket. I think finally over the years most of both countries (there are always exceptions) have finally learnt its the spirit of the game & the way our team played that matters.. not just the final result!