Pakistan vs. India: the match of matches – ICC World Cup 2011
It is going to be the match of matches as India goes up against Pakistan in second semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754
in the first semi-final. It is a ‘do or die’ situation for both teams and they will be giving their best in an attempt to emerge victorious against their arch-rivals.
The hype surrounding the match is huge and pressure will be on both teams to deliver. No matter what the outcome of the match is, the final, for the first time in cricket history will be played between two Asian teams.
Indian skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 plays down claims that media hype will affect the players’ performance and affirms that his side was well prepared for all this and that they know how to handle such situations.
"We are playing the semi-finals. The most important thing is how you prepared yourself irrespective of what is happening around you. And that is what we have been doing in the past few days," Dhoni said.
Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, on the other hand, wants his side to stay calm and take pleasure in the game. He wants his side not to panic and believes that they have psychological edge over their nemesis, as they will go into the match as underdogs.
Afridi asserts, “The main thing is if you know how to handle the pressure, you don't need to panic in it. We are enjoying our cricket because we are not the most favourite team in this competition. India is the most favourite team.
We have played above our expectations. So we are very confident.”
India has edge over Pakistan as the Men in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 have been unable to defeat them at World Cup tournaments in four meetings.
The pitch is a batting paradise. However, there were showers on Tuesday that may affect the outfield. On Wednesday conditions are overcast and rain is expected so it may force a couple of overs to be reduced for both sides.
If under extreme circumstances Wednesday and the next reserve day are washed away due to rain then http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will go through to the finals because they topped Group-A.
Team form
Both teams are in good form. Both of them have defeated http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, Pakistan ended their winning streak while Indians knocked them out of the tournament in the quarter-finals. From the last five fixtures the two Asian sides have won four.
Key Players
Shoaib Akhtar is doubtful for this game, however if he is fit he will feature in the game and bowl with extreme venom to further strengthen Pakistan’s bowling attack. Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq are the backbone of Pakistan batting line-up
and other players play around him.
Sachin Tendulkar is a century away from accomplishing 100 centuries in international cricket and the kind of form he is in, a century does not look that far off. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan hold the key to Indian bowling and Pakistan will be looking
to see them off without losing many wickets.
Pakistan (probable XI)
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Akhtar-c90080.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (probable XI):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Nehra-c46293
Tags: