This one is a cricket fan’s delight. And a security personnel’s nightmare. All said and done, an India-Pakistan ICC World Cup semi-final at Mohali on Wednesday promises to be a spectacle that not too many would want to miss. India’s path to the semi-final was tricky but the batting bailed them out in their quarter-final against Australia. One thought that the track at Ahmedabad would have made life difficult for India after Australia set them a target of 261. However, a concerted effort from the bats of all but their captain made the semi-final berth theirs. Pakistan have looked charged in this World Cup. After an abysmal 2010, where everything that could go wrong for the side, did go wrong, Pakistan topped their group in the first round of the World Cup. This allowed them a chance to play West Indies in the quarter-finals, who were brushed aside with nonchalance. A ten-wicket win sent Pakistan to the World Cup semi-finals. If one were to look at this tournament alone, it will be difficult to decide the winner. And if one considers the record between the two sides in recent times, it could almost get impossible to separate the two sides, the ten games between the two give out a 5-5 scoreline. Then, it could just be a matter of India’s batting against Pakistan’s bowling in this World Cup semi-final.
There have been three collapses when India batted in the first round of the tournament but those seem to have been offset by their batting in the quarter-finals. Sachin Tendulkar provided the side with that customary start, though he would still be gunning for his century of international hundred in this game. Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, was edgy but managed a half-century against Australia. He has an excellent record against Pakistan and will look to get his adrenaline flowing again.
However, there are two other batsmen who have been having a tournament that is as different from each other as chalk is from cheese. Yuvraj Singh has already picked up four man-of-the-match awards while MS Dhoni is the only batsman yet to get to a half-century. They will be the two to look out for then. It had been a gamble to pick Raina over Pathan but it paid off very well for the Men in Blue as he had been very impressive with his ground fielding and held his nerve when he came to bat. Sehwag has kept his world cup dream innings reserved for semis it looks like and if he can find his mastery touch and timing.
Pakistan’s bowling has been their definite strength but the inclusion of Asad Shafiq has made some difference to the fortunes of the side. He has provided the solidity in the middle-order while allowing Kamran Akmal to open the innings and providing the starts that Ahmed Shehzad could not. Salman Butt will be missed on this occasion given his record against the Indians with Mohammad Hafeez will be happy to get back into form with his first half-century of the tournament in the quarter-final.
There have been starts for the Pakistani batsmen throughout the tournament but none of them have got to a century. As Misbah ul Haq proclaimed in the press conference, it is not a matter of getting to centuries but winning games and that is something that they have been doing well in the tournament. Afridi has been inspiring captain for the men in green and he has been outstanding with ball and if he can shine with his willow in the upcoming semis he’d make it tough for the Indian batters to match. Difficult call to make but one would like to believe that the pressure on Pakistan will be far lesser than that on India.
Teams
India (possible): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Yusuf Pathan / R Ashwin, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.
Pakistan (possible): 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Saeed Ajmal / Abdur Rehman, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Wahab Riaz / Shoaib Akthar.
Match Timings: Mar 30, 2011 (14:30 local | 09:00 GMT | 14:30 IST)
