Pakistan and South Africa on last chances at World Twenty20
Defending champions Pakistan are one loss away from bowing out of the World Twenty20 following losses to England and New Zealand in their opening two matches of the Super Eight stage.
Today’s Group E match between Shahid Afridi’s team and South Africa will go a long way to determining the fate of both teams, as the Proteas seek to rebound from their 39-run loss to England on Saturday.
It all comes down to whether a team that has a reputation as being about the most unpredictable in international cricket can produce a measured performance against one that is known for choking in ICC competitions.
For South Africa, who have one win and one loss so far in the Super Eight stage, it’s not as simple as win and welcome the semi-finals either. Assuming they do defeat Pakistan, Graeme Smith and company will, for a few hours at least, be throwing their support behind England: the same team that left them in this precarious position in the Caribbean and over the 2009/10 winter denied South Africa the chance to regain the No. 1 Test ranking.
Should it all go to plan – South Africa defeat Pakistan and England follow that with a win over New Zealand – you can’t imagine the South African celebrations will be too exuberant after the latter match.
First things first though. The Proteas are dangerously close to underperforming at yet another ICC tournament.
Perhaps credit is due to England for putting both Pakistan and South Africa under pressure in the field. Whatever the case, both sides made their share of mistakes in the field against Paul Collingwood’s team, with Craig Kieswetter the recipient of a couple of chances in both matches.
South Africa, however, are better than that. Herschelle Gibbs is one of the sharpest fielders in international cricket, and with Smith predictably unimpressed with his team’s missed chances against England, there will surely be a few men looking to get back in their skipper’s good books.
"How we bounce back is going to be crucial, Pakistan on Monday is obviously an important game for us," Smith said after losing to England. "Bouncing back and putting in a good performance on Monday is obviously a challenge."
Against Pakistan, the Proteas also face the challenge of ensuring their bowling attack, spearheaded by pace duo Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, remains effective on the slower St Lucia pitch. The promising sign is that even at the pacier Bridgetown ground, off-spinner Johan Botha finished with figures of 2-15 against England, and should enjoy St Lucia even more.
Playing spin though is not Pakistan’s weakness. Their concerns heading into the match against South Africa include more than just their fielding.
The form of Afridi, who was part of a top-order collapse for Pakistan in their one-run loss to New Zealand, one match after getting himself run out for a first-ball duck against England, is an issue, but in truth their batting line-up has so far failed to gel in both Super Eight matches.
Pakistan may be notoriously inconsistent but to use that as an excuse for the predicament they find themselves in the Caribbean is being generous. In truth, they’ve followed a winless and self-destructive tour of Australia with a World Cup campaign that has yielded one win so far, and that was against Bangladesh.
Prediction: Pakistan’s problems seem to be more deep-seated than just their predictable unpredictability, and for that reason South Africa should win this.
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