Mr. Cool v The Happening - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482
The second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between Pakistan and India will not be just another cricket match. Apart from being a knockout game of the showpiece event of the ‘gentlemen’s game’, it has a lot more to offer cricket fans all around the world. Some diehard fans in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Pakistan consider it a war and spectators across the borders would not accept anything less than a victory from their respective teams.
It will be a game of nerves and the team which is going to handle the pressure better will end on the right side of the result tomorrow.
Apart from a stiff competition between two very talented cricket teams, there will be many other battles within this big battle. The most important tie will be between Shahid Afridi and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820, as this encounter is surely going to test the leadership skills of both the captains.
Dhoni is a more experienced captain. He took over the leadership of the Indian team back in 2007 and it has been a successful ride for him so far in all three formats of the game. He has been inspirational in the Indian victories as he led his troops from the front ever since he was handed the reins of captaincy by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid.
The wicketkeeper is known for his cool captaincy which has changed the fortunes of Indian cricket in a big way. Very seldom does he show any kind of emotion on the field and his facial expressions remain the same in any circumstances. Dhoni’s calmness has a great effect on the players as it helps them to avoid pressure in nervy situations and as a result the players can focus on the game and on their performance rather than being afraid of the result.
If we talk about Afridi, his captaincy is not much different from the way his bats. Extremely energetic and fiery but he seems to get a little too excited about his job quite often. It would not be wrong to say that he is completely the opposite of Dhoni who is called ‘Mr. Cool’ in the cricketing world.
The Pathan seldom hesitates to express his emotions on the field and in an effort to motivate his men, he crosses the line at times. The was the case before the green shirts visited http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 about his behavior and the way he used to name the players and criticised them during the press conferences, especially after defeats.
However, there is a visible change in Afridi’s behavior since then as he looks more mature and seems to be taking the senior players along with him while making important decisions.
Former Pakistan legends, Imran Khan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292, also criticised the way Afridi has been talking to his bowlers after every ball in the mega event. According to these greats, it is good when the captain shows such keenness but it can fire back if the skipper crosses the line as it can be a distracting factor for the bowlers who are trying to focus on their mark while going back to their run up.
However, there are also many positives about Afridi’s captaincy and the biggest of them is the fact that he has been able to unite a team from the most difficult of circumstances last year when the green shirts were surrounded by some huge controversies off the field.
Both these captains are totally the opposite of each other and it remains to be seen which one of them is able to take their team to glory as there is lot at stake in the second semi-final of the mega event.
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