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.
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.
this match can not be campared to Austrilia test!! come on guys get a grip!! they play so well!! it was just not in their kismat this time….. last year bhi mircle howa tha….. aab her dafa tu miracle nahi hoga na!! Pakistan fought and thats what it means…. today they showed potential!! and thats what we want. the team can do it…. if luck is with them. this time they got till here by the help of others…. lets hope they reach and win finals on “apni madad aap”
lets stop being Indian News channels…. and be true Pakistan!!… Support the team! and be proud of the wonderful innigings they played and showed much better fielding and bowling then ever before!!
BE POSITIVE! THINK POSITIVE…. AND YOU WILL GET EVERYTHING WHICH IS POSITIVE!!! :D
Agree with dilsenomad.
The team played with spirit, and showed tremendous fight against a vastly superior, almost clinical outfit. At the end of the day, that’s all fans can ask for. Good job Pakistan, we will get another chance to settle the score with Australia this summer.