Jayasuriya and Sehwag in form and on song, Ishant’s sheering pace and Murali’s bamboozling turners. What more a treat a cricket fan can ask for?
People are looking for an exciting end to a not so exciting cricket tournament. Sri Lanka seem to have played a master stroke resting Ajantha Mendis in the Super Four match against India. They will be hoping that he is able to dodge the Indians. But if Ajantha Mendis can bowl six different balls in an over, Virender Sehwag has more than six different shots for each ball.
The Karachi pitch wouldn’t offer much to the pacers and the onus to tilt the balance in the favor of their team will be on the batsmen. Teams would like to go with experience for this crucial match. Sri Lanka would look to play Kulasekara and Fernando along with Murali, Mendis and Vaas. Only other option they may look at is Thushara in place of Fernando or Kulasekara. India would probably opt for the younger among the Pathan brothers, Irfan. They would look to go with six batsmen, then Pathan and then the four bowlers. They are likely to keep out Chawla and play Ojha who has shown better control on line and length.
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.
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
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.
