Pakistan vs Australia - T20Is - the perfect dress rehearsal - Part 1 - Opinion
With the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 2012 just under two weeks away, both Pakistan and Australia are blessed with a perfect setting to showcase what they are made of and assess themselves to the very core. Both teams would be contesting three T20Is in the state of the
art, DSC Stadium in Dubai, as part of Australia’s tour to the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033. With the ODI series sealed and safely in the bag for the Aussies, the encounter within the ring of fire would provide an opportunity to come up with a realistic assessment
of where their team stands in the pocket sized format. The same would be the case for Pakistan, as a defeat in the ODI series could hint at a much needed renaissance in the shortest format of the game. In a nutshell, everything and just about anything is up
for grabs.
For the Men in Green, it is a well known fact that they look to be a completely different outfit in T20 cricket. Their irksome frailties in the fifty-over format of the game stand in stark contrast to the array of explosive hitters that they have at their
disposal. Add to that their potent and electrifying bowling attack, and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 tends to look more at home when they resort to blowing stumps out of the ground or depositing cricket balls into the stands. Their recent stats may not support the fact that they
are a powerful T20 side, yet the fact that some prominent T20 players have emerged from Pakistan such as Shahid Afridi and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604, means that they can never be taken lightly. What remains to be seen however, is whether Pakistan’s talent is channelized in
the right manner in this exciting format.
With the scorching heat and arid conditions, Pakistan would start off as favorites by posing a significant threat to Australia. Pakistan/http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 contests in the T20 format have also been some of the most riveting and enthralling encounters that the game
has ever seen, with both teams having an array of facts to brag about. Pakistan could well and truly wallow about how a magnificent Misbah ul Haq managed to win them an all important group fixture in the ICC World T20 of 2007, whereas Australia could be proud
of Michael Hussey’s annihilation of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898, and
both teams would want to reflect upon their past feats as they take the field on Wednesday. If those performances were blockbuster hits, then it can be assured, that these three T20s would provide plenty of excitement for the players, the spectators and the
commentators as well.
For the Australians, their T20 record off late and in major tournaments has swayed like a reckless rickshaw. When the team is good, they are simply unstoppable. When they are bad however, Australia seems meek, deflated and degraded. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/George-Bailey-c1480, their
new T20 captain, would be hoping that the former materializes on the field and Australia become unstoppable. The team has lacked momentum from the outset, despite winning the three match ODI series 2-1. Bailey, who had become only the second Australian to
captain the side without playing an international game before, would want to ensure that his wealthy collection of players do fire with all guns blazing.
Continued in Part 2...
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