South Africa vs http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, a much awaited series for Pakistan
Finally the much awaited series between Pakistan and South Africa is about to start. For Pakistan fans it would hold a great value as most of them have still not forgotten the bad taste of the
spot fixing scandal that erupted during the England tour. Overall cricket fans from both sides are expecting a good contest between both these Test playing nations.
The buildup of this series has been a nice one for both the teams as both of them have to play some good one day series and Test series in recent months.
For South Africa it has been a decent year as far as their performance is concerned. They have performed well in both one day’s and as well as in the Test matches. In One Day International’s they have managed to clinch almost all the series
in which they have played apart from the Indian series.
South Africa enjoys a classy second place in the One Day International (ODI) rankings and has been able to win in and out of South Africa. In February they played in India where they drew the Test series against India 1-1 but lost the 3 match one day series
2-1.
Overall they were quite competitive in India and played some good cricket. In the ODI series they lost the first match by just one run in a thrilling finish. The second was stolen from them by the little master Sachin Tendulkar. His massive 200 helped India
post a massive 400 by batting leaving little chances for the Proteas to chase under light.
That match ultimately cost them the series. In the third match they were quite impressive and posted a huge total of 365 in Ahemadabad. The match’s basic feature was impressive hundreds by AB De Viliers and Jacque Kallis, which resulted in a massive partnership
of 173 runs between them. Though in the end they did lose the series but were quite impressive throughout the series and played some competitive cricket.
In their http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 tour they dominated the Islanders from the start of the series leaving little margin for the hosts to put up a decent fight. The series main feature was Hashim Amla, who has been in tremendous form with the bat for more
than a year, scored two impressive hundreds in the series, which helped the visitors to complete a 5-0 whitewash over the hosts. AB de Viliers and Kallis were other batsmen, who made impressive innings in the series.
For Pakistan this year their current form is a question mark filled with
unpredictability. They lost the Test series against England quite convincingly followed by the one day series loss. Before the English series they did manage to salvage some pride against the Aussies by managing a 1-1 draw against
them.
In June they played their Asian rivals in Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. They lost their matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747. In the ODI series against England they were again
below par in the first two matches but returned to some form in the lost two matches. Though they lost the series, they did put up a fight.
If we have to honestly comment on the upcoming series and the chance of both the teams against each other we would have to say that one can rate South Africa chances
higher. Reason for it is they have been playing good cricket. But if an individual critically analyze the position of two teams one cannot rate South Africa to be a comfortable winner. Though South Africa has won number of One day series recently
but all of them have been against weaker oppositions.
The formidable opposition they played was back in February against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 which they lost 2-1. But to their credit they did manage a draw in a two match Test series 1-1. To beat West Indies, which is not a strong side even at home and almost
all big teams have beaten them at home, is not that big achievement.
No offense to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 but their batting and bowling line up almost welcomes every second country to beat them. Proteas are playing well but if your opposition is not that competitive it does
hide some weak features of your lineup.
A thing that goes in their favor is the fact that number of their batsmen are in
good form. Hashim Amla, AB de viliers have been scoring runs quite impressively. Their senior batsmen are also in good knick as Graeme Smith and J H Kallis both do provide solid innings and support for other batsmen.
Pakistan, on the other hand is looking for some serious wins to restore their image and pride. They want the cricket lovers and especially their own fans to still view them as a formidable cricket playing nation. But Pakistan
recently has not performed well in any form of cricket.
But they do have one factor going in their favour, the oppositions, which, they have played recently. There is no doubt Pakistan has gone through a lot recently and has been
pressurized, scrutinized and criticized to the maximum level.
All these factors do make an individual or a team mentally strong. When you know that whatever happens you will be criticized one does seem to develop a non-caring attitude towards the critics and play like they have nothing to lose. Whether
Pakistan would develop this attitude remains to be seen.
Pakistan recently has played against under some testing conditions and with some strong opposition. In the testing conditions of England they did manage to win 2 Test matches out of 5.
The T20 format suits them well because of its short nature. They did trouble the English and Aussies with their strong bowling. In Abu Dhabi they would not have the services of their two specialist bowlers but they do have some experienced and talented bowlers,
which can fill this gap to an extent.
They have some very talented bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Umar gul, Saeed Ajmal and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482. Shoaib and Gul on their day can dismiss the top order quickly. They have managed this in the past. Saeed Ajmal can be a major problem for the
Proteas and has a tendency of getting non-Subcontinent players in trouble.
Something that goes in South Africas favour is their strong batting line up, which is also in good form. Though they might have played against some weak opposition recently, the way they have played is commendable.
In almost every series they have managed to make 300 plus runs in the ODIs. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JP-Duminy-c1742, who has not scored runs that consistently, scored 129 against Zimbabwe in the Third ODI, which shows most of their batsmen are in a flow and realise the importance of
current form.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s batsmen are one of the most unpredictable and can surprise any opposition on their day with their superb or poor batting. This is one big disadvantage Pakistan has over the South Africans in the upcoming tour.
Pakistan’s batting lineup is very vulnerable compared to South African’s. Their bowling lineup without Aamir and Asif is still decent enough but their batting is the main concern.
South Africa also has a quality bowling lineup with likes of Steyn and Morkel. Recently both of these bowlers have bowled impressively and their opening bowling attack is one very hard to manage. They do take early wickets
for their team and recently have managed to take 3 wickets and 4 wickets haul.
Proteas have the likes of Mclaren who bowls with decent line and length. Parnell is also one bowler, who can provide strength in the middle over’s of the innings. Langeveldt is also a specialist one day bowler.
Overall if we have to choose a favorite, one has to say http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. But keeping in mind the entire conditions one cannot classify them as a clear favorite. Conditions there would suit Pakistani players more and if they are able to provide much needed consistency
in their batting one can hope for a tough competition.
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