New ATP Poll: Who do you think will win?
Video Highlights added to the post
Just this very minute in the T20 World Cup being played in Nottingham, the Pakistan (149-4) team has beaten South Africa (142-5) by 7 runs to reach the Finals of the Twenty-20 World Cup. Congratulations Pakistan.
I believe everyone who comes to this blog has already got the match details so I don’t need to delve on what happened when, except to say that Pakistan played superbly and they are now in the finals. Score Card here. Shahid Afridi has been declared as man of the match for his all round performance.
Pakistan will face either Sri Lanka in the finals on Sunday.
Here are the highlights of Pakistan vs South Africa Semi Final
(i) Pakistan innings
(ii) South Africa innings
Prize Ceremony:
Following is our earlier post after Pakistan’s qualified for the Semi Finals:
Just few minutes ago Pakistan has comprehensively beaten Ireland by 39 runs to qualify for the Semi Finals of the Twenty20 World Cup. Score Card here. Points Table here.
What do our readers think about Pakistan’s chances in the remaining World Cup? In semi finals they’ll be facing off against South Africa which has remained unbeaten so far in the tournament (5 wins out of 5 matches). But today, we just wanted to wish good luck to Pakistani cricket team and offer congratualtions on their performance.
Blogs and Cricket analysis are calling Pakistan Cricket Team, ‘the Mercurial Pakistan’. We hope it continues to prove right against South Africa in the semis.
What do Stats Say?
Well if statistics is any worth in Cricket, then stars do seem to align in favour of Pakistan. Do you know that Pakistan has the highest Winning Percentage in Twenty-20 Internationals in the world. Yes, Pakistan’s record is 75% wins out of 22 matches they’ve played so far. They are followed by Sri Lanks at 72.22% from 18 matches.
Complete list of ranking in terms of win% in Twenty-20 Internationals is as follows. It is valid up to and including Pak v/s SA semi final of the world cup.
(Following list is updated as of November 13, 2009)
1. Pakistan 79.62% (27 matches)
2. South Africa 64% (25 matches)
3. Sri Lanka 60.86% (23 matches)
4. Netherlands 60% (6 matches)
5. India 55.88% (18 matches)
6. Ireland 50% (9 matches)
7. West Indies 50% (18 matches)
8. Australia 47.82% (23 matches)
9. New Zealand 43.33% (30 matches)
10. England 42.85% (20 matches)
11. Canada 35.71 % (7 matches)
Zimbabwe 35.71% (7 matches)
13. Scotland 28.57% (8 matches)
14. Bangladesh 23.07% (13 matches)
15. Kenya 12.50% (12 matches)
16. Bermuda 0% (3 matches)
Photo Credits: Dawn
WI 1/3 off 1.2 overs. Looks like it is going to be Pak vs SL final
“Its such a good finish to the tournament. The last 3 teams have so much to play for…West Indies – for the future of cricket in Carribean and to forget Stanford fiasco; Sri Lanka – To bring back the country together after recent fighting; and Pakistan – To tell the Terrorists in Lahore where to go,” says Hugh on cricinfo
Yes, those Terrorists should go to Hell!
Early on in the Pakistani innings after a few Kamran Akmal and Afridi boundaries, one of the TV commentators said we have got it
worked out which of their two sides Pakistan are coming out with today, and it
Congrats to all! A critical analysis is still in order though.
Razzak:
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Razzak was the weak link in bowling, batting and fielding. He was especially awful in fielding. There were occasions where he could have dived to save a boundary but he did not bother. His bowling was rather unspectacular as well. His batting lacked the fireworks required of him. Misbah should’ve been sent in his place.
Younis Khan’s captaincy
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Younis Khan made several reckless moves. He handed he bowl to a rookie part-time bowler, Fawad Alam. Razzak or Shoaib could not have bowled wore than Fawad Alam.
He should be sending Misbah to bat at one down or two-down. Misbah, may be having a rough patch, but he is the best batsman in the team. Send him at one-down or two-down and he’ll start clicking. Shoaib Malik does not have the class of Misbah and he scores slowly at a strike rate of less than 100.
Younis Khan seems to be neglecting Misbah out of fear of him doing well and staking a claim to captaincy. As a captain, Younis Khan utilize the talent in the team more judiciously, he needs to play people on merit.
This is rare good news for Pak cricket fans, and Pakistanis in general, amidst a constant stream of bad news. Hope it helps our national psyche and makes us all feel better as a nation.
If Afridi, Akmal and Gul continue their form, I am confident Pakistanis can beat any team in the final…be it Lankans or Windies.