Pakistan: Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (C), Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Saeed Ajmal.
Hong Kong:Tabarak Dar (C), Skhawat Ali, Irfan Ahmed, Courtney Kruger, Najeeb Amar, Hussain Butt, James Atkinson (WK), Munir Dar, Nadeem Ahmed, Afzaal Haider, Toby Brown
Bangladesh v UAE
Probable Starters
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ashraful (C), Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Alok Kapali, Mahmudullah, Farhad Reza , Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Dolar Mahmud
UAE: Amjad Ali, Arshad Ali (WK), Saqib Ali (C), Indika Batuwitarachchi, Khurram Khan, Mohammad Tauqir, Nizel Fernandes, Shadeep Silva, Aman Ali, Fahad Alhashmi, Zahid Shah
Verdict: Easy cruise for Pakistan and tight match between UAE and Bangladesh.
The two best fielding units in the tournament will go head to head in the second round of the tournament. This encounter will be worth the wait.
Mouth waters just thinking that Jayasuriya will open the batting for one team and Sehwag for the other, Ishant will open the bowling for one team and Murali will wield his magic for the other and not to forget Sangakkara and Dhoni two of the finest wicketkeeper-batsmen the subcontinent has seen.
India have the answer to Jayasuriya’s flamboyance in Sehwag, Yuvraj and Pathan but they are low on the reliability scale. If Sehwag and Gambhir both get out early, Indian line up could be found wanting. This is an area the team misses a player like Dravid who could drop anchor. A typical Dravid type of innings would have bailed out India in the finals of the tri nations series as well. But for Sri Lanka if Jayasuriya fails they although won’t buckle but will struggle to post or chase a big score. Rohit, Yusuf and Raina have to prove themselves on the world stage. Sangakkara and Dhoni, two of best wicketkeeper-batsmen in business will be the men in crisis for their teams.
Players on both the sides are very good fielders and keep your eyes open as they plunge to grab sharp chances and strangulate run flow.
Sri Lanka although have Vaas and Murali in their ranks but Indian bowling looks stronger on form. Maharoof’s strained abdomen has only increased the sorrows for Ceylon. For India, Ishant has been miserly, Praveen has shown tremendous control and Piyush has consistently taken wickets. If Irfan misses the tournament due to lack of fitness, it will be a blow but RP Singh and Gony will look to take full advantage.
Coming to captaincy, both Jayawardene and Dhoni have been extremely good but while Jayawardene has experience to his peril, Dhoni has shown slightly superior game reading capability.
The three Asian cricketing giants, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will make up the business end of the Asia Cup and expect some soaring voltages in the matches involving these teams.
We will be previewing the three clashes in a run down to the start of the tournament.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Both the teams are higher on experience than India currently. Sri Lanka will be bolstered by the return of Sanath Jayasuriya. Pakistan on the other hand will miss Mohammad Asif.
Sri Lanka had opening woes in the last ODI series in the Carribean but it will get a huge boost with the return of Jayasuriya. Pakistan have a stable opener in Butt but the other place is up for grabs. With new keeper Sarfraz Ahmed coming into the team it will be interesting to see whether him or Afridi open the innings.
If Pakistan have Younis and Yousuf coming at three and four, Sri Lanka have the deputy Sangakkara and the man himself Jayawardene coming in. Misbah and Malik at five and six although have more fire power but Chamara Silva and Dilshan bring more reliability to the Sri Lankan line up
Afridi would be a factor if he could stay on crease for more than an over. Sri Lankans have some power with the likes of Kapugedera and Vaas coming late in the order.
Sri Lanka are a far superior fielding side than Pakistan. Pakistan will need to take the half chances otherwise their bowlers could suffer.
Pakistan would have had a clear upper hand in the bowling department had it not been for the absence of Asif. They still have a slight upper hand with Gul, Tanvir and Afridi being in good form and the Sri Lankan stars Vaas and Muralidharan didn’t have a particularly good IPL: and have had a lay off after that. Maharoof’s injury has only worsened the problems for the Lankan side. The fourth and fifth bowlers of Sri Lanka in Jayasuriya and Dilshan look better than Pakistan’s.
Coming to the men at helm, Jayawardene has shown smart, incisive decision making while Malik has time and again shown that he isn’t that smart. His decision to make Tanvir bowl the four balls of an over remaining after Riaz was dismissed for bowling two bouncers was ample proof.
Leave apart fans and followers, this team has continually disappointed itself. They are far more a talented side than what the stats show.
They just need to beat UAE to reach the second phase where they will get to play against all three Asian giants, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and that would make for a nice exposure and experience.
Their Aim
They would first defeat UAE and secure a place in the next phase and then would like to catch the Lankans rusty.
Look Out For
Tamim Iqbal – He’s a young attacking opener and can score some quick runs. On his day he can be a threat to oppositions and especially more so for teams like UAE, whose chances he could wipe up very quickly.
Alok Kapali – He’s a naturally gifted player but has failed to do justice to his capabilities. Bangladesh will hope that he can fill at least a part of gap created by unavailability of Shakib Al Hasan due to his higher secondary exams.
Abdur Razzak – He is a nice and steady bowler. He bowls on a tight leash and waits for batsmen to make mistakes.
Other Players
Mohammad Ashraful has had huge expectations of him but the over cautious approach he adopted in the last series has brought in criticism. Although some experts support the idea but this approach will never win matches. Look up if he comes out with different ideas.
Mashrafe Mortaza can be a dangerous bowler in the initial spell if he gets the length right. Lahore and Karachi have seen some tremendous spells of bowling from Waqar, Wasim, Imran, Gul, Sami and others and Mortaza will be looking to draw inspiration and emulate them.
Probable Starting Eleven
Tamim Iqbal
Shahriar Nafees
Raqibul Hasan
Mohammad Ashraful (C)
Mushfiqur Rahim (WK)
Alok Kapali
Mohammad Mahmudullah
Farhad Reza
Mashrafe Mortaza (VC)
Abdur Razzak
Shahadat Hossain
Verdict
They are favorites to grab the second stop in group A and move to second phase of the competition but a lapse in concentration or complacence against UAE could see them packing their bags early.
This team for long has been an admixture of players from the sub continent.But now the authorities have brought in a rule where in there need to be at least four players of UAE origin in the 15 men squad.
UAE is among the stronger of the second tier cricketing sides and has always been in hunt to grab a qualifier berth in the world cups.
Their Aim
Getting past Sri Lanka would be too big an ask off them but they would like to put in some inspired performance which could catch Bangladesh off balance.
Look Out For
Saqib Ali – The multitalented skipper leads by example. He is a solid batsman and a witty off break bowler. He scored over 400 runs at and average of more than 50 which also included a score of 197 in the ICC Intercontinental Cup matches this year.
Khurram Khan – Not as quick in the field now but a sharp catcher, Khurram is a very respected player. He bats with resilience and bowls accurate slow left arm.
Mohammad Tauqir – He is a good middle order batsman and an intelligent off break bowler. Watch out for a few lusty hits from him.
Other Players
Amjad Ali the wicketkeeper is a handy opening. He can be their trump card, especially in the game against Bangladesh.
Lankan born Shadeep Silva is a very talented left arm bowler. Also watch for some big hits from him down the order.
Aman Ali is an exciting left arm pacer who has come through the under 19 system. Watch out for his antics with the ball.
Probable Starting Eleven
Amjad Ali
Arshad Ali (WK)
Saqib Ali (C)
Indika Batuwitarachchi
Khurram Khan
Mohammad Tauqir
Nizel Fernandes
Shadeep Silva
Aman Ali
Fahad Alhashmi
Zahid Shah
Verdict
They would look to play out their quota of overs against Sri Lanka, field tight and try to get some wickets. If they can survive the initial spell from Mashrafe Mortaza, they could pip Bangladesh and enter the second phase of the tournament.
