More than who will win the Cricket World Cup (CWC), the question on everyone’s lips today in the subcontinent is: who will win the semi-final: India or their traditional foes Pakistan? No joke, it’s a $64 million question.
Possibly a $64 billion question!
For once, a semi-final is more important than the Final.
The only countries Australia lost to in the 2011 CWC or, for that matter, since the 1999 CWC, have been India and Pakistan.
Although they have participated in all CWCs since its inception in 1975, Pakistan and India have played each other only twice: in Sydney in 1992 and in Centurion, South Africa in 2003.
And India won both times. Will Wednesday’s semi-final provide a hat-trick of wins for India?
I recall their SCG encounter on 4 March 1992 as if it was yesterday.
India won, and the lingering memory is that of Pakistan master-bat and zany character, Javed Miandad, mockingly leaping up and down like a wild animal. He was imitating India’s wicket-keeper Kiran More’s over-enthusiastic appeal earlier on.
India made a modest 216 and Pakistan were well on track ,at 3 for 127. But they lost their last 7 wickets for 46 runs and India won by 43 runs.
Despite this loss, Pakistan went on to win the World Cup for the first, and so far the only time, beating England by 22 runs cheered on by 90,000 on the MCG.
The far from friendly neighbours met again in Centurion on 1 March 2003.
It was the Cup’s most feverishly talked up game, and incredibly, it lived up to the hype. With opener Saeed Anwar scoring a breezy 101, Pakistan totalled 7 for 273.
Not to be daunted, Sachin Tendulkar played a magnificent innings of 98.
To quote Wisden 2004: “Chasing 274 against a testosterone-propelled pace attack, he hit a vivid and memorable stream of shots, none so perfect as the cut six and the two fours which concluded Shoaib Akhtar’s first over.”
Sachin went on to strike a memorable 98 off 75 balls, despite cramps.
And in 2003, Shoaib on occasions touched 160 kph speed. The clash of the titans was the highlight of the Cup as India won by 6 wickets with 26 balls in hand.
India went on to make the Final, but lost to Australia.
If Shoaib is fit, he and Umar Gul will spearhead Pakistan’s attack against India’s mighty batsmen Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, the in-form Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and captain wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In skipper, leg-spinner, and pinch-hitter, Shahid Afridi, Pakistan has a potential match-winner. In fact, he symbolises Pakistan cricket: terrific one day, terrible the next; awesome one day, awful the next.
I know I have said this a few times in the past but will continue doing so.
Pakistan is full of temperamental cricketers who could be hard to beat on their day. Similarly, they can fall apart when batting or drop ‘dollies’ which under-14 schoolboys would hold.
India, on the other hand, is more predictable.
Despite their middle-order collapse against England and South Africa in this Cup, their openers Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir can tear any attack apart. And if they misfire, they can fall back on Yuvraj, Kohli, Raina and Dhoni.
Apart from reverse-swing expert Zaheer Khan, India’s bowling resources appear patchy, and unless Harbhajan strikes form at the right time, we will see a high scoring match going down the wire.
Only a genius or a fool can predict a winner, but my money is on India entering the final to meet Sri Lanka.
England's tour of India has ended in abject fashion as the tourists were hammered by an innings and 64 runs inside three days, with…
India have bowled England out for a below-par 218 and cruised to 1-135 in reply to seize early control of the fifth and final…
India have accomplished a nervy run-chase to secure a five-wicket victory against England in the fourth cricket Test in Ranchi. Chasing a modest 192…
In the build up to the India vs England Test series, there were reasonable predictions that India would be the ultimate challenge for Bazball.…
Until quite recently, you would look through an Indian Test XI and see experience everywhere: Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja with the…
Ben Stokes feels England were let down by technology at a crucial moment as they slipped to a series-levelling Test defeat against India -…
