Is the stage being set for Pakistan or Australia to claim Champions Trophy?

After watching the farcical results during the past few days everybody is left wondering if the stage is being set for Pakistan to run away with the Champions Trophy.

It’s quite extraordinary that South Africa and Sri Lanka, the two strongest outfits in Group B, have crashed and the semifinal sports have been secured by England and New Zealand, neither of them stood any chance of doing it at the start of the tournament.

The qualification of England and New Zealand into the semifinals, at the expense of hosts South Africa and Sri Lanka, means a soft target for Pakistan in the knockout stage of the competition having lost its charm considerably due to the unexpected results.

England had given a very good account of themselves in their first couple of games, against the fancied duo of Sri Lanka and South Africa, but their pathetic performance against New Zealand in their last league game suggested them of being incapable and unsuited for the big contests.


Pakistan are on a roll here. The washout game between Australia and India let them proceed to the semifinals without worrying for the outcome of their final league fixture. Such kind of luxury is hardly ever available in a tournament as keenly contested as the Champions Trophy where the teams are generally evenly matched.

Now Pakistan can afford to experiment and do whatever they desire in their last league outing against Australia. They should be in a very relaxed frame of mind and it might not be easy for Ricky Ponting and his men to call the shots despite looking stronger on paper.

Pakistan’s chances of winning the trophy have further been boosted by the ouster of South Africa and Sri Lanka. There’s likelihood of another potentially champion team, India, following suit.

With the trio of South Africa, India and Sri Lanka out of their way, Pakistan have every reason to feel more comfortable as far as their future in this particular tournament is concerned.

Neither England nor New Zealand appear to be having the depth or the character to come to terms with a Pakistan side playing as freely as now. New Zealand, in particular, has had horrible record against Pakistan over the years and they should consider themselves dead and buried if they are pitted against them in the semifinals or the final.

England might present a stronger challenge to Pakistan because, unlike New Zealand, they don’t have anything like mental block. The New Zealanders have passed the impressed of being scared of the ‘word’ Pakistan because they have come up with below-par performance against them more often than not.

It could help Pakistan’s cause immensely if they are defeated by Australia in their last league encounter because this would enable them to book a date with New Zealand in the semifinals. In other words Pakistan’s place in the final will be guaranteed the moment they finish runners-up in Group A, behind Australia.

Read More

6:22 AM

Washout hurts India, takes Pakistan into semifinals

Just the other day one of the most respected names in the banking circles, in a one-to-one chat, shared his gut feeling that Pakistan might win the ongoing Champions Trophy in South Africa.

When enquired about the reason of this thought coming to his mind he very candidly pointed out that the way things were falling in place for them there’s a great possibility of the trophy coming their way.

That discussion had taken place earlier in the day in Karachi on September 28, quite a few hours before the start of the Australia-India tie at the Super Sport Park in Centurion.

Little did I know, at least, that Pakistan would be progressing to the semifinals of the event without worrying for the outcome of their last league fixture against Australia! How could have anyone predicted a washout game when none of the previous matches had been affected by rain.

It was a do-or-die situation for India and the composition of their team suggested that they were not taking any chances. They had packed their side with five specialist bowlers, having dropped the struggling Yousuf Pathan.

The spin bowling department was reinforced with the induction of ‘leggie’ Amit Mishra who was right on the money from the first ball he bowled. He could have been even more lethal if a catch was not dropped off his bowling in the slips quite early in his spell. Harbhajan Singh was retained on past reputation because he deserved to be axed or rested after his below-par performance against Pakistan which cost India the game.

The tale of horror continued for the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni because his fastest bowler, Ishant Sharma, looked completely out of sorts in the crunch game. Just as you can’t set a field for bad bowling obviously you can’t be prepared for your premier speedster to lose his way so dramatically.


Dhoni must have been a concerned man as nearly every Australian batsman was occupying the crease and doing the business fearlessly. India could have pulled it back in the final overs but still they would have been chasing something close to 300 if not more, had the rains not disrupted the game.

On the other hand if the rains had stopped after a couple of hours, India could have been set a target on DL method in which the asking rate would have been higher but the number of overs would have been considerably reduced.

I can never recall the rains having come to India’s rescue and as it had happened in the past on numerous occasions the match could not resume much to the dismay of their supporters.

The only beneficiary of the washout game between Australia and India was Pakistan who acquired complete peace of mind by going into the semifinals. The situation could have been tense for Pakistan if India defeated Australia in which case they would have been required to perform well in their last league outing against Australia.

India are not out of the tournament yet theoretically but the chances of them moving ahead in the prevailing circumstances are remote.

Read More

3:03 AM

India take Australia in a must-win game

India brace up for a colossal challenge as they take on defending champions Australia in their second Group A match of the Champions Trophy.

The 54-run loss to Pakistan on Saturday night has not just exposed the frailties of India's bowling and batting but has also put them in danger of crashing out of the event in case they lose today.

The injury-hit team is up against an opponent which came into the event after mauling England 6-1 in an ODI series.

But the world champions looked a bit rusty, surviving quite a few nervous moments against a rag-tag West Indies in their opening 50-run win Saturday.

That, however, can hardly be of any comfort for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men.

Ripped apart by Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, the Indian bowling is in for a overhaul and serious consideration is being given to the idea of going in with two frontline spinners.

Despite the mauling against Pakistan, Harbhajan Singh is expected to retain his spot but leg-spinner Amit Mishra might just get a look-in in the must-win clash against Australia.

Indian seam bowlers were a liability at the Centurion with the trio of Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma and RP Singh conceding 153 runs from their 27 overs. .

By the evidence so far, good spinners are a must on the slowish track at Centurion. Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis did a star turn against South Africa in the tour opener and Saeed Ajmal was similarly impressive last night.

"Dhoni`s boys face a masdsive challenge when they take on Australia in Group A match of ICC Champions Trophy.

Read More

2:37 AM

India missing Yuvraj, Sehwag

India’s 54-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan at the Super Sport Park in Centurion on September 26 brought to the fore the big hole in their team caused by the injuries to Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

Sehwag and Yuvraj are not only the master blasters who blow away the opposition in the blink of an eye but they bring in the balance that enriches the side to the extent of being unbeatable.

Both Sehwag and Yuvraj are two wonderfully gifted all-rounder cricketers whose mere presence in the park makes a world of difference. Without them India are not the team that could be expected to do wonders or even live to their big reputation now.

Under the circumstances it seems highly unlikely that India would be able to lift their game and make it to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy. Their fate, in the present scenario, might not be much different to the one in the ICC Twenty20 in England earlier this year.

India, on paper, are still a better side than Australia and the West Indies, whom they have to combat in the remaining two league matches. It remains to be seen how Mahendra Singh Dhoni meets the challenge.

Life is already getting tough for Dhoni. Often found as cool as a cucumber he was certainly in a spot of bother not only in the field but also off it. He must have realized, although he might not admit it, that a game against Pakistan takes its toll and there are moments when you run short of ideas.

It was not Dhoni’s cup of tea to have remarked: "At times I felt I was three bowlers short. There were times I didn't know whom to go to or what fields to set. Wherever I put a fielder, the ball went elsewhere." It was not his usual answer to a simple query if he missed a fifth bowler.

Dhoni must be wondering how things went horribly wrong when he had the match in control by picking up three wickets inside the first 15 overs. How can he be blamed for pressing the part-timers into service at a stage when Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf were not prepared to take on the bowlers?

It was the failure of the premier spinner, Harbhajan Singh, to have severely hurt the plans. The vastly experienced off-spinner didn’t oblige his skipper with a wicket or two and in fact compounded problems by spraying the ball in various directions.

Shoaib and Yousuf played risk-free cricket with complete peace of mind. They knew that they were actually stealing the game by piling up the runs. Their double century fourth wicket stand ensured a mammoth total for Pakistan.

When India batted, chasing 303 in 50 overs, they kept the contest alive by maintaining healthy run-rate from the outset. Strangely though, some suicidal instincts saw them lose wickets against the run of play. They were bowled out inside 45 overs. In fact 31 deliveries were still to be bowled when their last wicket fell.

Although 54 runs separated the two sides in the end, the contest was much closer and India were guilty of giving it away after being in the driving seat which was of course not an unusual sight in their games against Pakistan in particular.

Read More

2:46 AM

South Africa get a much needed lifeline

Much to the relief of the organizers and the thousands of their die-hard supporters, the South African team has got a lifeline in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2009 by overpowering New Zealand by five wickets in their clash at the Super Sport Park in Centurion on September 24.

There were moments during the game when one felt that South Africa would be falling apart once more as they had done in the previous ICC tournaments at home. One was getting reminded of the match between the same two opponents in the 2003 World Cup when a combination of factors had helped New Zealand stun the hosts.

New Zealand once more needed to bring about an upset to prevail over South Africa because there was hardly any comparison between the two teams. The South Africans stood head and shoulders above the Black Caps in every department of the game but they had to prove it in the park to stay in the reckoning after the humiliating loss at the hands of Sri Lanka the other night.

As somebody quite rightly pointed out, both South Africa as well as New Zealand have had the tendency of being engaged in shocking results. South Africa have usually been at the receiving end while New Zealand have generally been the beneficiaries in the tales of unexpected.

No matter how superior the South Africans were on paper, they must have been under immense pressure when they took the field in Centurion. They had to prevent the New Zealanders from posting a kind of total that would have kept the contest open.

The brilliant bowling by Wayne Parnell and Roelof van der Merwe allowed the hosts in accomplishing their task of limiting the Black Caps who were threatening to put runs on the board. Dale Steyn also chipped in with useful wickets much to the delight of skipper Graeme Smith who was obviously not in a mood to give anything away in a do-or-die game for his team.

New Zealand lacked quality batsmen who could go the distance in a 50-over game. Their inexperienced batters may be getting away with it in the Twenty20 games but it was a different ball game lasting full 50 overs, an area where they were found wanting once more.

There were times when New Zealand looked in a position to amass a total in the region of 250 after Ross Taylor had done the hard work. But not unexpectedly their last seven wickets tumbled for 51 runs and they were bowled out for 214. Parnell was their wrecker-in-chief with a five-wicket haul.

The target of 215 was unlikely to test the South Africans even though New Zealand had some quality as well as variety in their bowling. It could have been an interesting battle, had the target been over 250.

Daniel Vettori, as he always does, refused to give up and the fall of wickets at regular intervals allowed him to keep his boys motivated. Jacques Kallis batted imperiously before edging Shane Bond while Hashim Amla played the anchor role admirably.

The innings of the day, however, was played by AB de Villiers whose glorious unbeaten half century helped the hosts in reaching the target quite comfortably in the end.

Read More

3:58 AM