Asia Cup 2008, Super Four, Match 6

Monday, 4^th June 2008

Pakistan v Bangladesh

This match rendered inconsequential courtesy India’s win over Sri Lanka yesterday could see Pakistan give rest to couple of players and give some other players a chance. Shoaib Malik should take this opportunity and take rest to avoid worsening his health. That will mean another day at the helm for Misbah and he would try to impress a few. Pakistan may give Wahab Riaz another chance. Pakistan need to win this one because a loss here would pinch for a long time as they have a fifty day break from international cricket after this tournament.

For Bangladesh, each international game is as big and they would want to clinch a win here to silence those who question their test status. They must look to give Shahriar Nafees a chance in place of Nazimuddin. They need Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza to do well and be confident for the future tournaments.

Look Out For
Salman Butt – He didn’t cash on the superb form he came into the tournament with. He would want to set record straight with a big score tomorrow.

Saeed Ajmal – He has a big turning Doosra and Bangladesh batters may find it too hot to handle. He needs to bring in an element of surprise by altering his line for the Doosra and turning it lesser but against Bangladesh he could be a handful.

Tamim Iqbal – He has all the talent in the world. All he needs a bit more maturity and a sense of responsibility. He would like to get a big score tomorrow and a weak Pakistani bowling line up will only make things easier.

Shahadat Hossain – He has worked up some pace in this tournament. If he bowls a on a tight leash, he could turn the heat on.

Probable starters:

Pakistan:  Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik (C), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Abdur Rauf

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful (C), Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Alok Kapali, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hussain Jnr, Mashrafe Mortaza (VC), Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain

Verdict:  Pakistan although depleted but should be enough for Bangladesh. Pakistan should cruise through; otherwise it will have to be Pakistan loosing the match rather than Bangladesh winning it.                                                               

What do you say?

Asia Cup 2008, Super Four, Match 5

Monday, 3^rd June 2008

India v Sri Lanka

This is a do or die match for India. They need to win this won or else their fate will fall in hands of Bangladesh. A loss here and Pakistan could run away with the second spot in the final with just a moderately big win over Bangladesh.

But the Indian team would do well not to think about this and concentrate on the game at hand. They could be further aided if Sri Lanka decide to rest some of their key players. India need to show some resilience while fielding and bowling and would do better with Ojha coming in place of Chawla. Dhoni might look to bowl first, as his batsmen have shown good form but India would be better served not trying this against Sri Lanka who have a little better bowling unit then others.

People have gone on criticizing the pitches but the fact is that the bowlers have made the pitches look even worse. Would the likes of Brett Lee, Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn etc been the same here? In fact Vaas has bowled quite well. Others bowlers lack the experience and that’s why they have been taken to the cleaners. It is not about the runs they have conceded but the manner in which they have bowled.

Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar have a some experience and must take the responsibility on their shoulders and the fielders need to show a bit more commitment.

Look Out For

Virender Sehwag – After seeing the bowling form of most bowlers even 325 runs don’t seem enough. India will need Sehwag to fire big if they are to get past that score against Sri Lanka.

Pragyan Ojha – He bowls with a lot of control and could bag some crucial wickets if he lures the batters with flight.

Mahela Jayawardene – He hasn’t had much to do in this tournament thus far but will look to be in good form ahead of Sunday’s final.

Dilhara Fernando – He has some pace up his sleeve and probably has the most well disguised slower ball in the world. He would like to prove his critics wrong and cement a place in the side.

Probable starters:

India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh (VC), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C) (WK), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh

Sri Lanka: Mahela Udawatte, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Mahela Jayawardene (C), Tillakratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara

Verdict:  India have a tough one here but the need of the hour might just motivate them to pull this one off.                                                                   

What do you say?

Asia Cup 2008, Super Four, Match 4

Monday, 2nd July 2008

India v Pakistan

Pakistan have had the nag of playing poorly in the run up and then striking gold in the big clashes. This is what they did to India in the tri nation series. India would like to shut out Pakistan right here and they will have great help with Asif and Gul not in the side. The return of Irfan Pathan will bolster the Indian bowling and India may go in with five bowlers including two spinners. Watching Ojha and Chawla bowl in tandem is a mouth watering prospect. Pakistan on the other hand will be banking on the in form Malik and Younis to score big and Tanvir to provide some early breakthroughs.

Apart from Tanvir and Afridi who have accuracy up their sleeves, other Pakistani bowlers are likely to find going tough. They may rope in spinner Saeed Ajmal. Winning the toss will be a distinct advantage as the teams would love to bat first. But at the same time teams could falter aiming high.

Shoaib Malik needs his men to perform to save his job at the helm. As the Pakistan Board has been going about for years, a loss here could see Malik sacked.

Look Out For

Virender Sehwag – He has been adequately rested recently and the freshness has had a positive effect on his hunger. If he handles Tanvir carefully, he could score big.

Pragyan Ojha – He has more control than Piyush Chawla and he may be crucial in middle overs where most other bowlers have leaked runs.

Shoaib Malik – He is under pressure to perform and with Butt’s indifferent form Malik needs to hold fort and rotate strike and ask others to go for big hits.

Sohail Tanvir – Tanvir is a very different bowler in terms of his run up and bowling action and is generally not easy to score off even on placid tracks but with not much firepower elsewhere, Pakistan will be looking up to him for an early breakthrough.

Probable starters:

India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh (VC), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C) (WK), Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma

Pakistan:  Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik (C), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz

Verdict:  Pakistan will be hoping that they win the toss so the pressure isn’t directly on  their weak bowling. Even if they bat first, it might prove a task too mighty.                                                  

What do you say?

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum
http://www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com/

Asia Cup 2008, Super Four, Match 2

Sunday, 29^th June 2008

Pakistan v Sri Lanka

India have looked the most impressive team in the tournament so far and this match could be the do or die encounter for Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In all likeliness the team that wins this match will advance to the final along with India. Pakistan would like to reach the finals in the first Asia Cup in Pakistan while Sri Lanka would like to maintain their record of reaching the final in each edition of the Asia Cup.

Pakistan have been hit very badly with the absence of Gul and Asif. Fawad Alam has been dismal to say the least and Pakistan will have to play Saeed Ajmal in his place today. Wahab Riaz will come in place of Gul. Pakistan will bank on Butt, Younis, Yousuf and Malik at the top during batting and on Tanvir and Gul while bowling.

Sri Lanka in fact have a happy problem where they need to find a place for Udawatte in a packed batting order. They probably will leave him out in this match. Absence of Malinga and Maharoof has weakened the bowling a bit and not so good form of Murali isn’t happy news as well but they will look towards Jayasuriya, Vaas and Murali to stand up and be counted in this big match.

Look out For

Shoaib malik – If he stays on the crease with the same grit and determination early on then he will go ballistic later on.
Sohail Tanvir – He hasn’t had the same success after IPL and would be looking to make his mark in this big match.

Sanath Jayasuriya – He was dropped for the series in West Indies and would like to score big here to hit back hard.
Muttiah Muralidharan – Its high time he wields his magic in this tournament or his team could be packing the bags early.

Probable starters:

Pakistan: Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik (C), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Rao Iftikhar

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Mahela Jayawardene (C), Tillakratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralidharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara.

Verdict: Pakistan started the tournament as a stronger force than Sri Lanka but the exit of Gul has brought the teams on level. An innings from Jayasuriya or Sangakkara at the top might just make it Sri Lanka’s night.

What do you say?

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum
http://www.goyalmohit.blogspot.com/

Road to the Final – A Statistical Look-in

After a not so exciting first round fans will be looking forward to a few intriguing clashes with the four bigger teams, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the fray in the Super Four. India and Sri Lanka will start as favorites to move into the finals as they carry two points each from the group phase courtesy wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.

India and Sri Lanka need to win two of their three matches in Super Four to advance to the final while Pakistan need to win all three to avoid the hassles of net run rate. India and Sri Lanka also need to win at least two of the three matches to reach to the final. Only one win will have them on four points and at a lower net run rate, as the only the points and not the run rate of the match are carried on from the group phase. Amidst all these Bangladesh could spoil the party of one of three giants.

Exploring a possibility where India wins all its matches in the Super Four, interesting implications follow:-

• If Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan and Bangladesh, they go through.
• If Pakistan wins it’s other two matches and Sri Lanka defeat Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be locked at four points each. This situation will favor Pakistan as Sri Lanka will not carry the positive run rate they earned in the first round.

India look the strongest of the three sides and Sri Lanka are the second most favored team to reach the finals. But leaving aside all the possibilities and probabilities the three matches involving the three giants promise a feast ahead.

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum
http://goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Asia Cup 2008, Day 3

Wednesday, 26^th June 2008

Matches today – India v Pakistan

Probable starters:

India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh (VC), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C) (WK), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Manpreet Gony

Pakistan:  Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik (C), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar

Sri Lanka v UAE

Probable Starters

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (WK), Mahela Jayawardene (C), Tillakratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralidharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara.

UAE: Amjad Javed, Arshad Ali, Indika Batuwitarachchi, Amjad Ali (WK), Saqib Ali (C), Khurram Khan, Vikrant Shetty, Mohammad Tauqir, Shadeep Silva, Zahid Shah, Fahad Alhashmi

Verdict: India v Pakistan – A lop sided match in favor of India. Tumbling records in Sri Lanka-UAE match.

What do you say?

Dr. Mohit Goyal &copy IPL Cricket Forum

http://goyalmohit.blogspot.com

Asia Cup 2008, Day 1

Match Preview

Pakistan v Hong Kong

Probable starters:

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.

What do you say?

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum

Asia Cup Preview

High Voltage Clash – Series – Part I of III

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.

Cricket Forum Verdict (marks out of 10)

Captaincy

Sri Lanka – 8, Pakistan – 6

Batting

Sri Lanka – 9, Pakistan -8

Bowling

Sri Lanka – 7, Pakistan – 8

Fielding

Sri Lanka – 9, Pakistan – 7

Watch out for the next high voltage preview.

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum

Fact File – Asia Cup

• Sri Lanka has hosted Asia Cup the most number of times that is three. UAE and Bangladesh have been hosts twice and India once. Pakistan were to host the fifth edition in 1993 but it was cancelled and now Pakistan get to host it for the first time.
• Pakistan hosts he 9th edition of the tournament this year. Sri Lanka have the proud distinction of reaching the finals of the cup in all eight previous editions right from its inception in 1984.
• India have won the tournament four times, while the cup has been bagged by Sri Lanka thrice and by Pakistan once.
• The first Asia Cup held in 1984 in Sharjah was a round robin tournament involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in which each team played the other once. India won the cup by winning both its matches.
• The second edition in Sri Lanka in 1986 had a final after the three round robin matches. Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh participated in the tournament and Sri Lanka won the cup by defeating Pakistan in the final.
• Bangladesh in 1988 hosted the third edition which involved India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who played one match against each other and India and Sri Lanka advanced to the finals where India emerged victors.
• The fourth edition in 1990-91 in India, Pakistan pulled out and so the teams involved were India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Matches were played on a round robin format with each team playing the other once. India retained the cup on home soil.
• In the fifth edition saw the four biggies lock horns again in Sharjah in 1995. India beat Sri Lanka in the finals to win their fourth and last Asia Cup trophy till date
• With the same four teams involved Sri Lanka took revenge in Sri Lanka in 1997 beating India in the finals.
• The seventh edition in Bangladesh in 2000 saw Pakistan win their maiden title beating Sri Lanka in the Grand Final.
• Hong Kong and UAE were the additions in the eighth edition in Sri Lanka in 2008. India and Sri Lanka reached the finals where the hosts lifted the cup winning by 25 runs.
• The ninth edition to be held in Pakistan from 24th June to 6th July will have Sri Lanka with Bangladesh and UAE in Group A and India, Pakistan together with Hong Kong in Group B. Matches of Group B will be played at Lahore while the all of Group B, the second phase of the tournament involving top two teams from each group and the final will be played at Karachi.

Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum

Cricket Analysts would say that the Indians were the more deserving of the two sides to win this Tri-nation series but the performance on the big day counts the most. The Pakistanis were the better side on the day and they edged out India in what was a fabulous game of cricket. First a brilliant opening with two centuries and then the bowlers stuck to the plan all the time and the fact that the Pakistanis picked up wickets at regular intervals, but most important – at crucial stages which always kept them ahead in the hunt. In the end, too much was asked from the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and he faltered in the contest. Irfan Pathan’s patchy stay at the crease didn’t help the cause much and that pegged back the Indians. Earlier in the game, the Indians fielded and bowled poorly. However, this total was always chaseable but the Indians just couldn’t hold the game at times when it mattered the most. Hope you have enjoyed the game. Do join us again for the forthcoming games from the other parts of the globe.

At the end of the Match the winning captain Shoaib Malik rated this win as one of the biggest wins in his captaincy tenure. He said he is happy with the performance of his boys and was all praise for them. He had a lot of faith in Salman Butt and Younis and they pulled off special knocks to enable his side post a big total. He praises his bowlers who stayed disciplined all through. Finally, he says that a win against India is always special and when it comes in a Final, nothing gets better than this.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni congratulated Pakistan for having played brilliantly. He said that their side was sloppy on the field but he can’t take any credit away from Salman Butt and Younis Khan who werer too good today. He feels that the decision to send Raina ahead of him was very critical, he admits that he made a mistake there but he hopes to avoid such mistakes in the future. He thanks the crowd for being supportive right throughout the series.

Salman Butt is the Man of the Series. He thanks heavens and the crowd for all their support. He and Younis planned to stay out there in the middle for as long as possible, both of them are natural stroke makers so run scoring was never a problem. He feels proud to have performed in a big game.

Younis Khan is the Man of the Match. He says that it always feels nice to perform while under pressure. He says that he didn’t get enough opportunities previously in the series and today, he wanted to make it count. His plan was to stay out there in the middle for sometime before playing his natural game, it paid off today and he is delighted.

In the end we saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni walking off the field dejected and disappointed. There would be a few questions coming at him so as to why didn’t he bat up the order? The Pakistanis are a happy bunch at the moment and why shouldn’t they be? They were the better unit this evening, they bowled and fielded with a lot more discipline than their neighbours and as a result, they emerged champions in yet another final against India winning by 25 runs.

Pakistan Batted first winning the toos and scored 315/3. India managed a score of 290 falling 25 runs short from the total.