Can Zimbabwe upset Pakistan? - ICC World Cup 2011
On paper the Men-in-Green may seem a very strong opponent against the minnows, but the African team has the potential to repeat what http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 in a Group B match at this year’s tournament.
Pakistan had a very poor 2010, and the team was not considered to be a threat this time around in the mega event. However, the potential of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone, and the team is known for being unpredictable.
Pakistan was the only undefeated team in the tournament until their match against New Zealand. However, a 110-run defeat against the Kiwis might have hurt the confidence of Pakistan badly, which could be a positive sign for Zimbabwe.
Pakistan’s batting has struggled in the last couple of games they have played. The team started off well against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, and posted decent targets for the opposition.
However, things changed after the match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748, in which Pakistan didn’t even manage to reach the 200-run mark. Although Pakistan won the match, their weakness in batting was exposed to the rest of the teams.
The batsmen faced a similar situation in the match against the Kiwis, as they were all-out within 200 in reply to New Zealand’s 302.
Zimbabwe will have to target Pakistan’s middle-order in order to win the match against them. From the outcome of the first few matches, it is clear that when senior members like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325 fail to get going, the team struggles to get past
200.
Openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ahmed-Shehzad-c956 haven’t been able to give a solid start to their team so far in the tournament. This has put immense pressure on some of the senior players in the side.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Razzaq-c41623 conceded 102 runs against New Zealand in the last five overs.
The Africans will have to figure a way to survive http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604 has also been bowling well for his team.
Apart from a few weaknesses in bowling and batting, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 is a poor fielding unit, which was one of the main reasons of their defeat against the Black Caps. Considering this fact, the Zimbabwean batsmen may get a few let offs in the field. However, they
will need to make the most of the chances they get.
Zimbabwe have not posed a serious threat to any of the stronger teams they have played until now, but they have the potential to do so. They restricted http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 to 262 in their opening game of the tournament, but their batsmen let them down in that match,
as Zimbabwe were all-out for 171.
Players like Brendan http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Prosper-Utseya-c82728 will also play a key role in determining
the outcome of the match.
Meanwhile, if Pakistan defeat the minnows, they will make it to the next round easily.
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