http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 – ICC World T20 Super Eights – Match Preview
The business period of the Super Eights gears momentum and the stage is all set for high stakes by the renewal of the greatest cricketing rivalry, as the big guns from Asia, Pakistan and India, meet in an all-to play for ICC World T20 match at the at the R Premadasa Stadium, today, September 30, 2012.
Dubbed the group of the death, the results of the double header today at Colombo – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 – remain worth noting as it is sure to provide a clearer picture of how the semi-finals pan out.
For all the thrills offered by the first game - a win for the Aussies will guarantee them a semi-final place -it will only be seen as a warm-up to the eventual Indo-Pak clash. Having played in only a handful of games since the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Terrorist attacks in 2008, the tie is sure to keep every cricket fan on the edge of his seat.
The buildup to the game has been intriguing to say the least. While in usual times, talk would be about Pakistan and their unpredictable cricket; however, the current tournament has seen them remain unbeaten, with an aura of inevitability.
Their batting has been in neat touch, with openers providing solid starts and despite the seamers failing to fire, the slow bowlers have kept things considerably tight. Also, they have managed to perform in pressure situations, and found that one match-winner all the time.
Their most recent victory was also audaciously planned, with two Umar’s – Akmal and Gul – playing out of their skins to steer their side home. They have all their bases covered in this tournament and one would expect them to be in full flow, come the start of the match.
They have the added incentive of knowing that a win would keep their record of qualifying for at least the semi-final stage of an ICC World T20 event intact. The Men in Green played four spinners in their last game, a move which worked as they restricted the Proteas to a lowly target. However, with Indians described as good players of spin, one could expect the inclusion of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Raza-Hasan-c84407.
For all the time spent playing T20 cricket, the Men in Blue find themselves on the brink of elimination, with experts criticizing their team policy. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 remain at the centre of attention after the latter opted to leave the former out for the opening Super Eights game against Australia in a bid to accommodate five front-line bowlers.
While that move worked against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364, whose fitness has called into question.
In a crunch fixture, where a loss would maintain their poor run in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Piyush-c82317 Chawla is the most likely player to be left out after his one over horror against the Aussies.
The other most importance aspect is Dhoni’s own form, which has considerably dipped in previous matches. However, expect his ice-cool approach to break when he faces the Men in Green bowlers.
The Premadasa track is sure to help spinners, owing to its dry nature. However, with rain expected, winning the toss and batting first could be a risky ploy.
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