Team Pakistan - The Road to the semi-final against India at Mohali: ICC World Cup 2011
Pakistan is all set to shake Mohali when it takes on India in the all-important semifinal at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 Cricket Association Stadium today, March 30, 2011. But how did one of the weaker sides in this mega event make it to the semis?
Before the start of World Cup, the general perception amongst most critics was that Pakistan would even fail to qualify for the quarters. However, the Men in Green had other plans as they have proven that this pessimistic consideration
was wrong with their positive attitude, approach and most importantly, their fighting spirit.
Under the captaincy of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, who is leading his team from the front, the team seems to be sailing its way through the World Cup so far. One of the highly noticeable aspect of the team’s performance has been that every
member is contributing in Pakistan’s winning voyage.
The Road to the semifinal:
Pakistan v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752
Four Pakistani batsmen - Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 and Umar Akmal, were amongst the runs while Umer Gul took 2 wickets and Afridi was the best bowler, after he destroyed the the Kenyan batting with 5 wickets against
the African nation. Pakistan defeated Kenya by 205 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 v Sri Lanka
The win over Sri Lanka came courtesy of a brilliant partnership between Younis and Misbah. Speed star Shoaib Akhtar provided an important break-through to his team when he clean bowled Mahela Jayawardene at a curial juncture of
the match. Afridi then lead the bowling department, as he picked 4 quick wickets. The Pakistani bowlers restricted Sri Lanka and contributed in Pakistan's victory as well. Pakistan beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 by 11 runs.
Pakistan v Canada
Misbah and Umar Akmal supported their team after a mini collapse at the top against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748. Afridi took 5 Canadian wickets and shook their batting line up. All Pakistani bowlers, including, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Gul and Abdul
Razzaq took at least one wicket in the match against Canada. Pakistan won this match by 46 runs.
Pakistan v New Zealand
At the end of the 42nd over of New Zealand’s inning, it was Pakistan who were dominating the match. However, as most Pakistani collapses are, they lost their grip on the match and threw it away. Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 hammered
Pakistan's bowling battery all around the ground. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 set a target of 303 for Pakistan to win. In reply, the Cornered Tigers came out with a rash display of batting and eventually lost by 110 runs.
In spite of being crushed by the Kiwis, the boys were determined to gear up Pakistan’s flight towards the top of the table. Pakistan came back strongly in the next few matches, as they had learnt from their previous mistakes.
Pakistan v Zimbabwe
Pakistan thrashed Zimbabwe by 7 wickets. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 managed to put a target of 152 runs on the board, as the Pakistani bowlers didn’t allow the Rhodesians to score easily. Gul picked up 3 wickets, showing that the Zimbabweans were
unable to play him. Apart from Abdur Rehman, the remaining bowlers took one wicket each. Pakistan comfortably chased the target after Asad Shafiq’s solid 78 run inning.
Pakistan v Australia
The Men in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in their last group match by 4 wickets.
Pakistan’s bowlers easily chequered the strong Australian batting worm. It was Gul’s luminosity that initiated the thrill while left-arm spinner Rehman contained the flow of runs. Gul took 3 important wickets; http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 was phenomenal
with the old ball by picking 2 wickets while Rehman, Afridi, Riaz and Hafeez bagged one wicket each.
Pakistani fielders backed up their bowlers admirably, as they showed superb presence of mind in the field. Pakistan bowled out Australia quiet cheaply and set a target of 176 to chase. The young guns - Asad and Umar Akmal - were
stupendous when they had to shoulder the pressure under tense situations throughout Pakistan's chase. Both players lead the way and helped the Afridi XI achieve the target successfully.
Pakistan v West Indies (Quarterfinal)
Team Pakistan beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in the quarterfinal on 23rd March. Pakistan’s skipper Afridi lost the toss but started the game with a positive frame of mind. The idea of giving the new ball to off spinner Hafeez was
creative and unique, which constructively worked for Pakistan team.
The off spinner jolted the Windies top order after Gul set Chris Gayle packing. Afridi repeated the piece of leading from the front by taking 4 West Indian wickets.
Darren Sammy XI was the last one to be dismissed with the West Indies folding at 112. The Men in Green chased the given target without losing any wickets. Hafeez made a brilliant half century. Pakistan won by 10 wickets.
Pakistan will now play the semifinal against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 30, 2011. The high-quality performance in the group matches and morale boosting victory in the quarterfinal will increase Pakistan's spirit and confidence.
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