'Official' Semi Final 2 - Pakistan v India

[R_D]

Come hell or high water, we CANNOT lose to Pakistan at home!

Sure, I'll probably get over it (in 45 years or so) and Pakistan are really good and it won't be a shame to lose to them.. but this tie will be the biggest match of their life for most of our players.

Yeah same here... This is the final

 

[R_D]

I'd prefer India not chasing in this match.... I can see the spinners and Gul choking them.
Plus Pakistani batting lineup isn't great at chasing either.

It's India v Pakistan... Unpredictable as it gets.... This won't be good for the heart.

 

[smash84]

Sneak 4 from Razzaq in somewhere in the middle while the spinners are choking them on the other end IMO.

This is the indian batting line up so it won't be easy for the spinners to choke them. They are the best players of spin bowling.

Kamran won't be dropped.I have to be honest,i don't want him to be dropped anymore because of his batting alone,and i've also regained a bit of faith in his keeping.I know it won't last long,and he'll make a big blunder again,but i don't see that happening in this WC.

Razzaq could well move up the order.Afridi mentioned that in the toss against WI.I'm not sure how they'll do that though.Maybe move him in no.4 before Younis and Misbah?The top 3 won't change.

And if Shoaib plays,i have a feeling he won't open the bowling.Gul has done a splendid job opening the bowling.Shoaib will probably come in first change and bowl a lengthy spell so he doesn't have to bowl at the death.The ball won't be entirely new at the time,so he can make best use of the 'old' ball,or the comparatively old ball anyway.

Bowling Shoaib first change is not a bad idea when Gul is bowling so well with the new ball but Shoaib was doing a fine job with the new ball as well. It will be a tricky move for Pakistan in the SF.

Kamran will open with Hafeez. They will stick with that opening combo.

Cant see any reasonable reason why Razzaq should bat higher than Shafiq, Younis, Misbah and U.Akmal either unless they need a pitch hitter for some unusual reason. Should definitely bat higher than Afridi though.

Agreed

Its going to be huge game...Of course want to see Pak win but if India bats first i dont know it could be a disaster for Pak...If India wins... Would like to see them win it all the way then...

If Pakistan don't bat first I can't see them winning this one tbh. All my predictions regarding Pakistan winning are based on Pakistan batting first.

I'd prefer India not chasing in this match.... I can see the spinners and Gul choking them.
Plus Pakistani batting lineup isn't great at chasing either.

It's India v Pakistan... Unpredictable as it gets.... This won't be good for the heart.

Definitely not good for the heart. For all this talk of the spinners choking them, I have yet to see a single spin bowling line-up that has choked the run flow for India?

 

[blahblahblah]

omg, so many posts in just under 12 hours!!!!

its gonna be an epic match

 

[blahblahblah]

Ponting backs India to beat Pakistan

AFP: Defeated Ponting backs India to beat Pakistan

 

[Raghav]

India won against Australia...and face Pakistan...At the moment, Pakistan is a lot better team than India. They have good bowling unit comparatively (everything depends on Afridi's success on that day).It will be tensed game for sure..as both teams are not mentally tough as other foreign teams...(as history tells)..I get a feeling that India will take forward the choke tag by losing to Pakistan...

 

[Lostman]

Yuvraj went from this;

to this

Impressive transformation in 3 weeks.

 

[social]

Any ideas what the bookies are saying in India.

I watched last night's match with an Indian friend of mine who reckoned the qf between Pakistan and WI definitely stunk e.g. large amounts of cash bet on Pak winning by 21st over BEFORE the game

 

[Xuhaib]

India to win at a canter. Pakistan has been overachieving while India is just starting to hit top form.On paper Pakistan has no business challenging the current indian side apart from Gul and Afrid I struggle to see any Pakistani player walking in to their playing XI on the other hand atleast 6-7 Indian players would walk straight in in to our team I believe this will be a one sided game.

 

[Xuhaib]

over the years Pakistan has always been a superior side hence no surprise at a bigger winning ratio on current abilities india should walk this.

 

[blahblahblah]

 

[salman85]

India to win at a canter. Pakistan has been overachieving while India is just starting to hit top form.On paper Pakistan has no business challenging the current indian side apart from Gul and Afrid I struggle to see any Pakistani player walking in to their playing XI on the other hand atleast 6-7 Indian players would walk straight in in to our team I believe this will be a one sided game.

over the years Pakistan has always been a superior side hence no surprise at a bigger winning ratio on current abilities india should walk this.

Pakistan has every business challenging the Indian side,and to suggest that there is as huge a difference between us and them is laughable.They have the superior batting,and we have the superior bowling.

I would love to see your reaction when your constant doomsday predictions concerning Pakistan get thwarted yet again

It's India vs Pakistan.Not India vs Uganda as your posts suggest.

 

[pup11]

India to win at a canter. Pakistan has been overachieving while India is just starting to hit top form.On paper Pakistan has no business challenging the current indian side apart from Gul and Afrid I struggle to see any Pakistani player walking in to their playing XI on the other hand atleast 6-7 Indian players would walk straight in in to our team I believe this will be a one sided game.

I don't agree with that, I think Pakistan are more up for this game they have had their worldcup games stripped, no international cricket takes place there, they have had the no-ball gate saga and history tells us that Pakistan plays their best in adverse situations.

Upon all this they would be playing in India against India so that would definitely charge them up, upon all this India's attack is a predominately spin oriented one and the Mohali track is likely to assit the quicks and this kind of plays right into Pakistan's hands.

 

[vcs]

over the years Pakistan has always been a superior side hence no surprise at a bigger winning ratio on current abilities india should walk this.

Pakistan are the more talented and balanced team than India even now, IMO. Where India have the edge is that this team has faced a lot of tight situations over the years, and have the experience of coming back from adversity. Pakistan's team has only taken shape properly a few months before the WC. Also, with them not playing cricket at home lately, they have not been able to play as many competitive games so they will have less experience than India in such a high-pressure environment. But everything will go out of the window once the game starts.

 

[Xuhaib]

Pakistan has every business challenging the Indian side,and to suggest that there is as huge a difference between us and them is laughable.They have the superior batting,and we have the superior bowling.

I would love to see your reaction when your constant doomsday predictions concerning Pakistan get thwarted yet again

It's India vs Pakistan.Not India vs Uganda as your posts suggest.

I was backing Pakistan vs Windies so its unfair to say I am only making doomsday predictions.Yes we have an edge in bowling but not by much since India plays spin really well.The difference in batting is laughable Kamran/Hafeez vs Sachin/Sehwag.

I know where my money is safe.

 

[salman85]

I'm a banker.I know where your money is safe better

 

[M0rphin3]

Pakistan's only shot is to bat first and try to defend a ~300 score imo. Should be epic though.

 

[Shri]

Pakistan's only shot is to bat first and try to defend a ~300 score imo. Should be epic though.

Or bowl India out for anything less than 250 and chase it. Umar Akmal, Misbah and Khan can manage a 250 run chase.

 

[Xuhaib]

I reckon India can win by playing a normal cricket match for Pakistan to win it would require a touch of genius or once in a life time effort from one of the individuals this is why I rate Gul,Afrid or U.Akmal to be the key players one of them has to have a game of their lifetime.

 

[Dissector]

A comparision of their relative performances against Australia and West Indies would indicate Pakistan is playing the better cricket right now. Beating SL in SL is also an impressive achievement. OTOH their game against NZ does show they can be fragile and implode on occasion whereas India is generally a steadier team.

I think the crowd could come into it especially when Pakistan is batting and a couple of wickets fall. That is what happened in that 96 quarter final. Pakistan put themselves in a strong position and then the pressure got to them.

Overall I would put India ahead but only by a bit. Pakistan's bowling is too dangerous for India to be comfortable.