Pakistan team wanted India in the semi-final: Manager, Intikhab Alam
Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam has claimed that he wanted http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and the entire team was looking forward to the semi-final clash against their arch rivals.
Intikhab stated, “Not just me, every member of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team wanted India to win. Playing India motivates the team. You can call it a World Cup final of sorts. We were all glued to the television all evening.”
On the other hand, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis wasn’t worried about his opponents. He claimed, “I am not someone who would say things like ‘Bring it on’ or anything. I would just say ‘take it easy’. We have enough time before the semis.” Waqar was the captain
of the Pakistani team that lost to India in their last encounter of the 2003 World Cup.
Apart from the coach and manager, most Pakistani players wanted to face-off against India at some stage of the tournament. Earlier, captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 said that he would like to see a final between the arch rivals.
All-rounder Abdul Razzaq was also delighted with the possibility of a Pakistan-India match after his team qualified for the quarter-final stage. The veteran player will now be looking forward to the match, as both teams have made it to the semi-final stage
of the tournament. Fans worldwide will also be eying a competitive game, which will be played on Wednesday 30th http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391.
India will start as the favourites in the match; the men-in-blue have a very strong batting line-up and they have always been a dangerous side on home soil. Their openers Sachin Tendulkar and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virender-Sehwag-c95429 have given them good starts in the tournament
and middle-order batsmen like Yuvraj Singh and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424 have also scored runs consistently.
However, the lower middle-order and bowlers have proved to be a weakness for the hosts. Their bowlers did a good job against Australia in the quarter-final encounter, but failed to make an impact earlier on in the tournament.
Compared to India, Pakistan were not rated highly by former cricketers and experts. The men-in-green faced many controversies during 2010, which put them on the back-foot. Although their chances were considered as very slim in the mega event, the Pakistan
team did a great job in the group stages and their quarter-final game against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760.
Bowling has been Pakistan's main strength, with their captain being the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Some of the batsmen have also found good touch ahead of the crunch match, which will make the semi-final more interesting.
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