For Pakistan the next match is not semi final it is the finals, Australia has been the team to beat through out this tournament if Pakistan manages to beat Australia they will carry forward a huge psychological advantage and momentum in the finals.
But Pakistan will have to lift themselves up emotionally and psychologically to beat this Aussie team, it seems that Pakistan team has an inferiority complex while facing Australia, they never have the conviction that they can beat Australia the dismal tour of Australia seriously dented their confidence.
It’s a win or go home situation for Pakistan, the players should be prepared for a dog fight with the Australian team but in order to do that Pakistan team will have to play out of it’s skin. they will have to devise a smart plan to exploit the strengths of Pak team and the weaknesses of the Australian team.
This Pakistan team can’t match Australia pound to pound, their pace attack is inferior to that of Australia, but their spin battery is superior than Australia’s, while batting they will have to pick a few bowlers for launching an attack and will have to bat conservatively against the likes of Johnson and tait. In batting if Pakistan controls Warner, Watson and White they can restrict Australia to a lower score, Warner has been a suspect against quality spin bowling and Pakistan during the last year have been too generous with Watson they atleast give him 2-3 lives in every match this will have to stop.
On paper Australia has a very strong batting lineup but it is relatively inexperienced one and hasn’t been tested in pressure situations, Clarke’s form is not great, they are largely relying on the three W’s and Hussey for the bulk of their runs, in T20 match if you have four inform batsmen that is more than enough so Pakistan will have to attack these four and make a plan to take them out early.
Pakistan’s batting has looked fragile but it has depth and variety they have scored the most runs against Australia in this competition and their batting looked the most comfortable against Australian quick bowlers, the rest of the teams just melted infront of Aussie pace attack just this fact alone gives me satisfaction that maybe we deserved to be in the semi finals.
Against Bangladesh and against Srilanka Australian openers got out quickly and these are the only two matches where the Aussie team couldn’t post a mammoth total. Afridi made a bold move by opening the bowling with Hafeez against Australia in group match but the move back fired as Afridi didn’t picked the right bowler, I think Spin should be introduced early if the pacers are unable to remove Warner. Rahman or Ajmal should bowl early.
Misbah has been a major weak link in Pakistan’s batting, Pakistan should drop Misbah and Latif and should play Fawad and Sami instead. Pakistan should carefully plan their innings they should try not to be over aggressive in the first six overs and should play proper cricketing shots rather than slogging, Salman butt’s wicket will be the key for the Aussies he should play to his strength and should avoid ugly hook and pull shots. There have been calls from certain quarters to include Hammad Azam in the side I think that would be ridiculous as he doesn’t have the game to perform at this level as of yet and Pakistan should refrain from further experimentation.
Hafeez is another player who hasn’t delivered despite his good form he will have to focus on building his innings he has the form to do that but mentally he will have to lift himself up.
Afridi has been most successful when he bowls in tandem with Ajmal, in the last encounter between the two teams Afridi got a bit of beating I hope that he will perform differently in this match as he holds the key to Pakistan’s success in bowling alongwith Ajmal.
My biggest dissappointement has been Aamer eventhough he hasn’t given too many runs but has failed to get Pakistan initial breakthroughs, it’s disappointing because under Waqar he was supposed to improve he bowled well against Australia in the first game but after that he didn’t caused any problems for other teams, he should adopt the role of a wicket taking bowler rather than worrying too much about his econ rate, he hasn’t used Yorkers regularly neither he tries to swing or seam the bowl bowling flat out fast back of length will not get him wickets, he will have to mix his pace and length.
Razzaq bowled well in the last two matches but his biggest test will be against Australia his bowling will probably set the tone of Australian innings he will have to bowl two good overs for Pakistan.
The Aussie team has a lot of depth both in batting and bowling they are mentally tough and play extremely aggressively Pakistan will have to lift their fielding up and match the intensity level of the Aussies to put them under pressure. They should give the Australians a dog fight and if they manage to do that the result will be in Pakistan’s favor as this young Aussie team doesn’t know how to play under pressure.
Stani
I think we should forget some players no matter how good they are especially those who have a tendency to underperform and get involved in politics, there has been overwhelming evidence against Malik, Rana and Yousaf.
Unfortunately there is no upcoming fast bowler in domestic cricket other than Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Irfan.
There are a few batsman but our board and team management doesn’t know how to transform a domestic player into an international level player, the system is there but it is broken and different stages and as a result we waste too much time and waste too much talent.
Wasim
I was regretting the banning of Rana as I think we could have done with him in the latter overs even if he does tend to concede runs early on. But, I was watching county cricket the other day and he seems to be worrying about things other than cricket. He had long hair, and a stud, looked like a diamond, in his ear. The guy has just been banned from representing his country, he should be humbled and concentrating on his cricket and not on looking good.
I really am hoping for 2-3 good batsmen and 2-3 good fast bowlers to step up from the domestic scene over the next few months as we really need them. I’ve had enough of going back to the same old trash.
England has won the T20 World cup by defeating the mighty Australians comprehensively.
Congratulations to all the English team fans.
147 is no longer a par score in T20, with shorter boundaries, heavy bats, flat pitches, field and bouncer restrictions this format belongs to the batsmen. The bowlers are being butchered and slaughtered, which in my opinion is not fair their should be a balance otherwise this format will soon lose all it’s charm.
These days even an econ rate of 9 looks decent for bowlers in this format.
Cricket is such a funny game. it’s foolish to predict based on your expectations as one good over can change the whole game. I said it won’t be a one sided game after seeing the target set by Australia but England has made it one sided, they will win it quite comfortably.
I think the Australian bowlers never recovered from the thrashing they recieved from Pakistan and England started right from there where Umar Akmal left.
Somehow I still believe that Australia were the most dominating team in the tournament but England proved to be more tactical.
Stani
Looks like Australia also got a bit under pressure for the finals, they haven’t set a challenging target and their bowlers will be under pressure because they got quite a bit of spanking from Pakistan especially their strategy to intimidiate the opposition with short stuff will get reconsideration.
I am glad it won’t be a one sided final.
We lost the Semi Final in the last two overs both Aamer and Ajmal couldn’t control their nerves and couldn’t think out of the box to control Hussey, a bit disaapointed with Afridi as he never tried to break the momentum by slowing down the things sometimes a break calms down the nerves of the bowlers a liitle suggestion can also help and it also breaks down the concentration of the batsman.
But above all the 4 overs bowled by Raazaq and Hafeez proved to be quite costly we were one good bowler short. Waqar will have to work really hard with our pace bowlers as the traditional quality usually associated with our bowlers is not there anymore.
You are right Jayasuriya, and Dilshan were totally shit in this tournament, I was a bit surprised to see Jayasuriya in the lineup, even Sangakara lately does nothing other than giving a fancy post match speech. Difficult times a head for SriLanka after the departure of Murali.
Yeah I am enjoying my golf.
Wasim,
I think the Australians have definitely taken that psychological advantage in to the final and it may well be a very short game. It is the worst kind of semifinal victory for the Aussies the English could have hoped for. Not only that, had the English team been watching it, it would have harmed them psychologically even more as the Aussies just did not take no for an answer.
I was surprised by the Sri lankan performance too. They just surrendered. But teh likes of Jayasuria and Dilshan did absolutely nothing this tournament and that was felt. I knew Dilshan would be a one hit wonder. After that Dil-scopp, everyone got happy but he is still average.
I agree with you that the English bowlers are nothing special. In fact, England’s best pacer, Anderson, can’t even get a game.
I think Kakmal had a good semi with the bat and the gloves. He needs to keep this up and be more consistent. Umar was also beginning to show some brains and class.
I still cannot believe the Australian’s did it though. Michael Hussey, pure class.
Back to the Golf hey Wasim?
I know people will criticize Afridi that why he gave Ajmal the last over, why an extra bowler wasn’t played, but such criticism will be just based on if’s and but’s. Pakistan had a clear plan and they executed it well they just couldn’t control Hussey. It was hard for Pakistan to manage the last five overs without Umar Gul through out the tournament, Aamer bowled well today but his last over he could have done better, I don’t think Ajmal could have done any thing here he bowled doosra’s, yorkers and wide ones but every thing went out of the park, it was the best batting display I have ever seen.
Pakistan cricket fans should be happy that a new look Pakistan team under a new captain almost won the match, they were without some of their leading T20 players and still managed to come this far.
After losing a game normally I don’t praise Pakistan team but they gave Australia a dog fight and gave their 200% in the end they just lost the match in the last 2 overs.
This match clearly shows we are still a super power in this format, no matter how strong the Australian team has become we can match them, we just need a few key players back in the team.
Australia will definitely win this WC they deserve it.
My heart goes out for Afridi and his team, they really played well but in the end they end up losing, I can imagine how devastated Afridi and the whole team would be at this moment but they should hold their heads high as they played a great game. Tough luck.
It would be a shame if the media started criticizing the team and the captain after this loss. It would be nothing but a witch hunt.
Australia are going to win it can’t believe it. I run required from 2 balls. And Hussey hits a six. Pakistan are out of the World cup. Great match they deserved it thoroughly. But Pakistan did great but couldn’t overcome hussey. The match was in their pocket but What a disappointment Ajmal couldn’t restrict Hussey in the final over, Hussey scored 60 off just 24 balls, what an innings.
Pakistan lost the match but other than in the final four overs they completely dominated. Afridi did a great job as a captain, nothing he could have done here, Hussey was hitting every thing out of the park.
Victories like these make Australia so dominant and dent the confidence of theor opposition, they won the match from nowhere.
This match will be remembered for a long time to come. Even though Pakistan lost but I think they played well they lost in the last two overs, I think Aamer should have bowled a bit short in the second last over.
But no matter what anybody says it was a freak show by Micheal Hussey which took Australia home.
Amazing Australia are going to win it damn
What a match.
11 required from 4 bowls.
Mike Hussey is the lone man standing it’s amazing how he has still kept Australia in the hunt. @8 required from 10 balls.
Afridi has one major problem as a captain he goes to the bowler after every delivery that can confuse the bowlers and put them under un necessary pressure he should learn to control his nerves and learn to trust his bowlers.
Aamer strikes White is gone.
Hussey and White have kept Australia still in the game, it all depends on Ajmal and Aamer from here and from Australia’s point of view it will be all depending on White and Mike Hussey.
Hussey is gone! C&B Rahman. Rahman has been excellent. Mike hussey and Cameroon White are on the crease, The RR is 12.43 with not many wickets in hand things have become really tough for Australia.
Cameroon white and Hussey are providing some resistance, once White falls the match will finish.
One more wicket and Australia are going home.
Pakistan are quickly getting rid of the two overs of Hafeez. Good thinking by Afridi the right time to introduce Hafeez.
Australia are 62/3 after 8 overs, Clarke gone. Afridi Strikes. Great bowling.
Ajmal and Afridi will have to provide Pakistan one more breakthrough. The RR is 10.18. It’s 58/2 after 7 overs.
Haddin gone a beauty by Rahman. The moment Greg Chappell opens his big mouth and says something negative about Pakistan team an Australian wicket falls.
Australian innings will depend on Hussey and Clarke now.
Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Warner gone for a duck.
191 was the target Australia set Pakistan in their group match, they can do it but while chasing it will be very hard.
Now the commentators are saying Johnson and Tait are having an off day. LOL
Well the picked the wrong day to be a bit off, they tried their best but their tactics to intimidate Pakistan didn’t paid off, Akmal and Butt took the game away from the Aussies and Umar Akmal just burried the Australian bowlers.
It will be difficult for Australia to reach this total while chasing Pakistan will have to bowl really bad. Their are not many sof spots in Pakistan’s bowling attack they will have to take on every single bowler to reach this total.
This exactly what I wanted from Pakistan to give the Aussies a dog fight and the team has exactly done that, the Aussies are fumbling the ball conceding too many extras they melting down. Would be interesting how they chase 10 runs an over.
The bad boys of cricket have stunned the Aussie’s.
What a shot from Umar Akmal, bowl em short at your own risk we are no meek Indians.
Lateef got his act together and scored two consecutive boundaries to Clarke. 3.3 overs are left and the score is 142/3.
Uakmal is spanking all the Aussie bowlers two more overs of his spanking and Pakistan will safely reach 180.
Pakistan is playing like the World Champions right now and they have stuffed something into Greg Chapples arrogant mouth. He has nothing to say about brainless arrogance of the Aussie bowlers today and no words of appreciation for Pakistani players. What a biased A hole he is.
Why the fuck Khalid Latif has been sent. I am afraid he will be a drag. With Afridi’s wicket the run rate has been dropped Hussey is proving difficult to put away. Australia are making a comeback.
8 overs are remaining and Pakistan should score atleast 70 runs from them to justify the inclusion of an additional batsman.
89/2 after 11 overs, Salman butt goes trying to hit over midwicket. Pakistan should be carefull they should not stop the run rate here, the partnership between Umar Akmal and Afridi will be the key for Pakistan.
Kamran Akmal has redeemed himself in the last two matches, he got some harsh criticism from me and many others because we expected a lot bettter from him in initial matches but the real problem lied with the likes of Misbah, Hafeez, Lateef and Alam who didn’t do anything in any match and when the openers failed the whole batting line up collapsed no player can score in every single match, It’s good to see that Akmal has proved himself to be a big match player.
Pakistan’s scorecard looks unreal they are 82/1 Akmal just got out to a spectecular catch by David Warner, the openers have done their job now the stage is set for the later batsman to launch the attack.
Qamar
I think you are giving a bit more credit to the English bowlers then they deserve, do you really think that Ryan Side Bottom and Broad were unplayable, Sidebottom was miserable but he still got away with it because the SriLankans couldn’t put the bat to the ball.
Why they are playing Jayasuriya is beyond my comprehension probably he will play for them even when he is 80 and will go to the field in crutches I think that was highly unprofessional.
Jayawardane and Sangakara couldn’t show any grit when it really mattered.
SriLanka usually wins the limited overs matches because of their explosive openers and great bowling but their bowling was at best pathetic, the length of their bowlers was not right the bowling order wasn’t right, above all SriLanka came to play the semis without any intensity.
Randiv was bowling in slow motion and Mendis doesn’t even know himself what he is going to bowl.
I think they missed the experience of Murali, Mahroof and fernando.
I have been a huge fan of lankan team but this year they have disaappointed me.
Australia won the toss and put Pakistan into attack hoping that Pakistan’s top order will self destruct but Akmal and Butt batted very sensibly so far Pakistan has won the battle in the first six overs by not giving Australia any wicket and scoring almost @ 7.
Australia had high hopes from their pacers but so far they have been rendered ineffective on this slow pitch they need to take pace off the ball.
wasim i do think that is a little harsh on the srilankans..you have to credit englands bowlers who bowled excellent except for bresnan. the better team on the day won and in this form of the game england are becoming one of the top teams. they use their brains and set good fields and have plans for bastmen. it wasnt a bad call for sangakara to give the 2nd and third over to spinners as previously lumb had struggled against spin at the top of the innings in hindsight you can pick out a few things but wen in that position it is difficult especially when your opposition is play some of the best t20 cricket they have ever played
England defeated SriLanka quite comfortably. The performance of the SriLankan team was a disgrace never seen anything more shittier than that, they made English bowlers look like the pace attack of Windies of the 80′s. It was a fairly good batting track but the SriLankan batsmen made it look like a minefield.
Then they made the game completely ugly when instead of opening the bowling with Mathews and Malinga the first 3 overs were bowled by spinners. Sangakara tries these cute moves which in the end make him look like a fuckin retard. I think he has completely lost it the Lankans should look for another leader.
Why the fuck they keep on playing Jayasuriya is beyond my comprehension he failed in every single match but still played, what a shame, even Pakistan has higher selection standards.