Cricket is a religion in the subcontinent & people are fanatical about it. Don't belive me?? Just take a look @ how people were behaving yesterday before, during and after the India - Pakistan cricket match....
Indians & Pakistanis have always been emotional people, we wear our emotions on our sleeves are not afraid of showing it to the world. India & Pakistan have not met on the cricket field since the relations between the two countries were suspended as an aftermath of the 11/9 attack on Mumbai....
The stage was set, the prize was a place in finals & an rivalry that was in hibernation for over 2 years just exploded on the stage. The entire world was waiting breathlessly for this spectacle to happen ever since India sent the Aussies packing out of the world cup.
Pakistan were never expected to make it this far in the Cup, with a team that was in doldrums and not in the best of forms, groups & internal bickering tearing the fabric of the team apart, Pakistan was expected to be a pushover. But the mercurial side made it's mark on the Cup when they beat the co-hosts and home favortites Sri Lanka. Since then Pakistan have played some of the best cricket of their lives. Lead by the enigmatic Shahid Afridi, the team played out of their skins to set the stage by topping the Group. Named as the captian of Pakistan just 2 weeks before the event, Shahid Afridi was written off by many in his ability to handle the talented but fragmented side, but the swashbuckling Pathan proved people wrong, he lead his team from the front; this time with the ball, to emerge as a formidable leader of men and also the leading wicket taker in the World Cup so far.
In contrast India were considered the tournament favorites, they appeared to a formidable team on paper, the 2nd best side in the world with a plethora of stars & match winners in the team. Their journey through this world cup has hardly been easy. They were made to tough out every match, they qualified for the quaters by the skin of their teeth and some bad luck on the side of the other teams. The team was made to tough out each of it's matches barring those against Bangladesh, Ireland & Netherlands. They never appeared comfortable or settled on the field. Batting - which was considered the forte of the team let them down in many of the crunch matches with the team getting bowled inside of the 50 overs. The bowling appeared to lack sting and penetration with only Zaheer Khan proving his versatality aided by Yuvraj Singh who stepped up to bring on his big game. The team got starts but could not covert them into big scores. They bowled well in patches but were not convincing in their victories. Dhoni's tactical awareness and keen strategy saved them a lot of time. He proved to be a cool customer under fire & the team learnt the art of keeping their nerves from their charismatic captain.
Pakistan coasted into the Semi's with an easy win over the out of form West Indies. India on the other hand had to face the 4 times champs Australia who were reluctant to let go of their grip on the World Cup. But it was here that you could see the changes in the Indian Team, the bowlers started bowling with some rhythm, the fielders started throwing themselves at the ball, the batsmen became patient rather than go all out. The inclusion of Suresh Raina in place of Yusuf Pathan was a bold move & a master stroke. India's problem was not quick runs, but their ability to play through the 50 overs. The strategy paid bold dividends when Raina kept Yuvraj company under pressure to chase down 261, when the Aussies had their tail up.
The platform for the semi's was set, the pressure on both the teams were huge. The expectations were tremendous, a lot of political, social & economic angles were attached to the game. It was a question of holding the nerves. The streets were deserted across both the nations when the match was being played. Every run was cheered, every wicket made the crowd go beserk. Coincidentally, India chased 261 against Australia after losing the toss & bowling first; they set the exact same target to Pakistan after winning the toss and batting first.
Virender Sehwag got India off to a flier. He tore the Pakistan attack to shreds, taking apart Umar Gul who has been the mainstay of Pakistan seam bowling for 21 runs in 1 over. The Indians went beserk in the stands, but just as it appeared that India were going to bat Pakistan out of the game, like they always threatened in the other games; the brakes were put on them. Young Wahab Riaz playing ahead of Shoaib Akhtar, caught Sehwag on his crease for a beautiful lbw. Pakistan then tightened the screws effectively with their spinners operating effectively. Saaed Ajmal deserves a special mention, the way he bamboozled Tendulkar (argubaly the best batsman of this generation) was nothing short amazing.
Tendulkar had a torrid time against him and was forced to work very hard for his runs. But amazingly the Pakistani's dropped 4 catches of Tendulkar, 3 of them off Afridi & Kamral Akmal made hash of a stumping chance. It was not an effortless innings as many of Tendulkar's innings are; but it was a gritty one. He made the most of all the lives given to him by the Pakistani's. Even though he found the going tough as the pitch has started to slow down and the ball was not coming on to the bat, he stayed around, hanging in their for as long as he could keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Gautam Gambhir got a start but threw it all way while meandering down the track to a Mohammed Hafeez delivery. Virat Kohli too got a start but was undone by a seaming Wahab Riaz delivery. What followed next was the best delivery of the match. Yuvraj Singh - India's mainstay this world cup, their MVP of the tournament got bowled off the first ball to a reverse swinging full toss yorker. There was nothing he could have done. Pakistan were back in the game big time.
Tendulkar soon followed finally falling to Ajmal & Shahid Afridi showing his team how to take a catch. When it looked like India were going to fold up cheap again, Suresh Raina showed why he was brought into the team. With the help of tail enders Harbhajan Singh & Zaheer Khan he added 51 runs in the last 7 overs of the match to push India to a repectable 260-9. The Indians still felt that they were 20 runs too short of a good score.
Pakistan's start was good & steady. Hafeez & Akmal gave them a good start, putting away the bad balls and rotating the strike. The run-rate was kept under control. Zaheer Khan was taken for a few & many Indians started wondering if not playing Ashwin was going to cost them the match. Kamran Akmal got off to a loose shot and just like Pakistan did to the India, Munaf & Nehra suffocated Hafeez & Shafiq from scoring. This payed off when Hafeez got out to a premeditated scoop shot outside the off stump, offering a nice catch to Dhoni.
Yuvraj Singh stepped up again when it looked like Shaqib was steadying the innings by bowling him. What followed was a stifing of runs by the Indians which Pakistan not scoring more than 1 or 2 runs an over. Younis Khan & Misbah-ul-Haq were guilty of allowing too many dot balls to be bowled allowing the required rate to ballon. Finally Younis Khan scooped a straight catch to Raina & was put out of his misery.
Umar Akmal played a gem of an innings trying to bring down the run rate. He attacked Yuvraj Singh and forced Dhoni to make fielding changes. Dhoni brough Harbhajan in response to Akmal taking 12 runs off an Yuvraj over. Harbhajan has not been in good form in this World Cup with his bowling lacking sting. Dhoni needed Bhajji to give him a good break through, the strategy paid off as Akmal was bowled off Harbhajan's first ball over the wicket, as he failed to read the delivery.
Munaf wrapped up Abdur Razzak quickly & the onus was on Shahid Afridi to deliver something special. Afridi's arrival changed the pace of the innings which had dropped again after the dismissal of U Akmal. He took quick singles, converted the 1's to 2's and played some pretty lofty shots. But he was living dangerously. A lucky escape where the ball did not carry to Ashish Nehra was futile as he was caught off Harbhajan by Sehwag trying to force the pace.
From there it was curtains for Pakistan. Misbah made a last ditch attempt in the batting powerplay to play some good shots, but it was too little too late for Pakistan and they were bundled out for 231 in the last over handing India a 21 run victory.
Some of Pakistan's decisions were absolutely baffling, taking the batting powerplay early could have helped them when they were struggling against the Indian bowling & would have given Dhoni some food for thought. But instead he was allowed to bowl-off his spinners before the mandatory powerplay kicked in at the 45th over, leaving only Zaheer, Munaf & Nehra to bowl. The bowlers bowled very well, the quality of the bowling was very high. Consider this India did not give away a single extra until the 37th over. This goes to show the discipline in the bowling in this match.
Nehra was a absolutely changed bowler in this match. Hounded for his giving away of 15 runs in the match against SA, he gave a good performance after being brought in place of Ashwin who had been working well for India. He kept the pace off the ball bowled with a lot of control & variety picking up 2 wickets at the fag end of the game.
All in all the game was worth a semi-final contest. With India winning & entering the final it has setup an exciting match against Sri Lanka. Both the teams are evenly matched, with Sri Lanka holding a slight edge on the bowling and fielding departments. That said the Sri Lankan batting looks fragile once inroads are made into the top order with the middle order looking out of sorts.
What with both Murali & Sachin playing their last World Cups both the teams will look forward to winning the event as a fitting send off for their icons.
Till then Bleeding Blue....
Indians & Pakistanis have always been emotional people, we wear our emotions on our sleeves are not afraid of showing it to the world. India & Pakistan have not met on the cricket field since the relations between the two countries were suspended as an aftermath of the 11/9 attack on Mumbai....
The stage was set, the prize was a place in finals & an rivalry that was in hibernation for over 2 years just exploded on the stage. The entire world was waiting breathlessly for this spectacle to happen ever since India sent the Aussies packing out of the world cup.
Pakistan were never expected to make it this far in the Cup, with a team that was in doldrums and not in the best of forms, groups & internal bickering tearing the fabric of the team apart, Pakistan was expected to be a pushover. But the mercurial side made it's mark on the Cup when they beat the co-hosts and home favortites Sri Lanka. Since then Pakistan have played some of the best cricket of their lives. Lead by the enigmatic Shahid Afridi, the team played out of their skins to set the stage by topping the Group. Named as the captian of Pakistan just 2 weeks before the event, Shahid Afridi was written off by many in his ability to handle the talented but fragmented side, but the swashbuckling Pathan proved people wrong, he lead his team from the front; this time with the ball, to emerge as a formidable leader of men and also the leading wicket taker in the World Cup so far.
In contrast India were considered the tournament favorites, they appeared to a formidable team on paper, the 2nd best side in the world with a plethora of stars & match winners in the team. Their journey through this world cup has hardly been easy. They were made to tough out every match, they qualified for the quaters by the skin of their teeth and some bad luck on the side of the other teams. The team was made to tough out each of it's matches barring those against Bangladesh, Ireland & Netherlands. They never appeared comfortable or settled on the field. Batting - which was considered the forte of the team let them down in many of the crunch matches with the team getting bowled inside of the 50 overs. The bowling appeared to lack sting and penetration with only Zaheer Khan proving his versatality aided by Yuvraj Singh who stepped up to bring on his big game. The team got starts but could not covert them into big scores. They bowled well in patches but were not convincing in their victories. Dhoni's tactical awareness and keen strategy saved them a lot of time. He proved to be a cool customer under fire & the team learnt the art of keeping their nerves from their charismatic captain.
Pakistan coasted into the Semi's with an easy win over the out of form West Indies. India on the other hand had to face the 4 times champs Australia who were reluctant to let go of their grip on the World Cup. But it was here that you could see the changes in the Indian Team, the bowlers started bowling with some rhythm, the fielders started throwing themselves at the ball, the batsmen became patient rather than go all out. The inclusion of Suresh Raina in place of Yusuf Pathan was a bold move & a master stroke. India's problem was not quick runs, but their ability to play through the 50 overs. The strategy paid bold dividends when Raina kept Yuvraj company under pressure to chase down 261, when the Aussies had their tail up.
The platform for the semi's was set, the pressure on both the teams were huge. The expectations were tremendous, a lot of political, social & economic angles were attached to the game. It was a question of holding the nerves. The streets were deserted across both the nations when the match was being played. Every run was cheered, every wicket made the crowd go beserk. Coincidentally, India chased 261 against Australia after losing the toss & bowling first; they set the exact same target to Pakistan after winning the toss and batting first.
Virender Sehwag got India off to a flier. He tore the Pakistan attack to shreds, taking apart Umar Gul who has been the mainstay of Pakistan seam bowling for 21 runs in 1 over. The Indians went beserk in the stands, but just as it appeared that India were going to bat Pakistan out of the game, like they always threatened in the other games; the brakes were put on them. Young Wahab Riaz playing ahead of Shoaib Akhtar, caught Sehwag on his crease for a beautiful lbw. Pakistan then tightened the screws effectively with their spinners operating effectively. Saaed Ajmal deserves a special mention, the way he bamboozled Tendulkar (argubaly the best batsman of this generation) was nothing short amazing.
Tendulkar had a torrid time against him and was forced to work very hard for his runs. But amazingly the Pakistani's dropped 4 catches of Tendulkar, 3 of them off Afridi & Kamral Akmal made hash of a stumping chance. It was not an effortless innings as many of Tendulkar's innings are; but it was a gritty one. He made the most of all the lives given to him by the Pakistani's. Even though he found the going tough as the pitch has started to slow down and the ball was not coming on to the bat, he stayed around, hanging in their for as long as he could keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Gautam Gambhir got a start but threw it all way while meandering down the track to a Mohammed Hafeez delivery. Virat Kohli too got a start but was undone by a seaming Wahab Riaz delivery. What followed next was the best delivery of the match. Yuvraj Singh - India's mainstay this world cup, their MVP of the tournament got bowled off the first ball to a reverse swinging full toss yorker. There was nothing he could have done. Pakistan were back in the game big time.
Tendulkar soon followed finally falling to Ajmal & Shahid Afridi showing his team how to take a catch. When it looked like India were going to fold up cheap again, Suresh Raina showed why he was brought into the team. With the help of tail enders Harbhajan Singh & Zaheer Khan he added 51 runs in the last 7 overs of the match to push India to a repectable 260-9. The Indians still felt that they were 20 runs too short of a good score.
Pakistan's start was good & steady. Hafeez & Akmal gave them a good start, putting away the bad balls and rotating the strike. The run-rate was kept under control. Zaheer Khan was taken for a few & many Indians started wondering if not playing Ashwin was going to cost them the match. Kamran Akmal got off to a loose shot and just like Pakistan did to the India, Munaf & Nehra suffocated Hafeez & Shafiq from scoring. This payed off when Hafeez got out to a premeditated scoop shot outside the off stump, offering a nice catch to Dhoni.
Yuvraj Singh stepped up again when it looked like Shaqib was steadying the innings by bowling him. What followed was a stifing of runs by the Indians which Pakistan not scoring more than 1 or 2 runs an over. Younis Khan & Misbah-ul-Haq were guilty of allowing too many dot balls to be bowled allowing the required rate to ballon. Finally Younis Khan scooped a straight catch to Raina & was put out of his misery.
Umar Akmal played a gem of an innings trying to bring down the run rate. He attacked Yuvraj Singh and forced Dhoni to make fielding changes. Dhoni brough Harbhajan in response to Akmal taking 12 runs off an Yuvraj over. Harbhajan has not been in good form in this World Cup with his bowling lacking sting. Dhoni needed Bhajji to give him a good break through, the strategy paid off as Akmal was bowled off Harbhajan's first ball over the wicket, as he failed to read the delivery.
Munaf wrapped up Abdur Razzak quickly & the onus was on Shahid Afridi to deliver something special. Afridi's arrival changed the pace of the innings which had dropped again after the dismissal of U Akmal. He took quick singles, converted the 1's to 2's and played some pretty lofty shots. But he was living dangerously. A lucky escape where the ball did not carry to Ashish Nehra was futile as he was caught off Harbhajan by Sehwag trying to force the pace.
From there it was curtains for Pakistan. Misbah made a last ditch attempt in the batting powerplay to play some good shots, but it was too little too late for Pakistan and they were bundled out for 231 in the last over handing India a 21 run victory.
Some of Pakistan's decisions were absolutely baffling, taking the batting powerplay early could have helped them when they were struggling against the Indian bowling & would have given Dhoni some food for thought. But instead he was allowed to bowl-off his spinners before the mandatory powerplay kicked in at the 45th over, leaving only Zaheer, Munaf & Nehra to bowl. The bowlers bowled very well, the quality of the bowling was very high. Consider this India did not give away a single extra until the 37th over. This goes to show the discipline in the bowling in this match.
Nehra was a absolutely changed bowler in this match. Hounded for his giving away of 15 runs in the match against SA, he gave a good performance after being brought in place of Ashwin who had been working well for India. He kept the pace off the ball bowled with a lot of control & variety picking up 2 wickets at the fag end of the game.
All in all the game was worth a semi-final contest. With India winning & entering the final it has setup an exciting match against Sri Lanka. Both the teams are evenly matched, with Sri Lanka holding a slight edge on the bowling and fielding departments. That said the Sri Lankan batting looks fragile once inroads are made into the top order with the middle order looking out of sorts.
What with both Murali & Sachin playing their last World Cups both the teams will look forward to winning the event as a fitting send off for their icons.
Till then Bleeding Blue....
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