Pakistan vs South Africa – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 – Match Preview
The two inform teams of the tournament, Pakistan and South Africa meet in their opening Super Eight fixture in a bid to draw first blood in the ongoing ICC World T20; with the match scheduled to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, today, September 28, 2012.
After a lifeless group stage, the tournament sprung into action last night following some entertaining round of matches involving Sri Lanka- http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 and England-West Indies. More is expected in days to come and the today’s fixtures also provide plenty of excitement with all four unbeaten teams’ ready to battle each other in the group of death.
An early victory for any side will surely ease out their passage to the semi-finals but to term any side as favourite remains a tough-call, owing to the wealth of talent on display from either rank.
Pakistan go into the tie on the back of two well-fought wins against New Zealand and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 in their opening game before winning a considerably shortened game against the hosts.
On the balance of it, there is little to choose between the two sides. The Men in Green, who are known for their unpredictability have had a consistent run, where their usually under fire batters have displayed ruthlessness. The Proteas have a balanced side, and contain players for all seasons, ranging from the explosive Richard Levi to the conventional styled http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887.
Their respective bowling departments further stand out – the Men in Green will again rely on their trio of spinners to inflict bulk of the damage, despite http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Peterson-c2332.
The lineups for both sides therefore, need little tinkering. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sohail-Tanvir-c90665’s place most likely under threat.
The Proteas omitted Peterson from the seven-over shoot-out and included an additional batter in the shape of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Faf-du-Plessis-c1427. However, they are expected to play two spinners, which will provide their bowling a fair balance (depending that the upcoming match is also not a reduced one).
Interestingly, both sides have not met each other in almost two years, which suggests for an intriguing battle between bat and ball. In 5 T20I meetings, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 is leading on head-to-head by 3-2.
The pitch at Colombo will hold the sub-continent’s tradition of aiding spinners, and will make stroke play difficult. A chance of rain could lead to another reduced affair.
Pakistan (probable) : 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859
South Africa (probable): 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409
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