The ICC World Cup semi-final between Pakistan and India promises to be a match for the ages. In addition to the tens of thousands of passionate fans, for whom cricket is practically a religion, the crowd will also include top government officials and business tycoons from both countries, not to mention Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Ali Gilani.
In an added bit of drama Rehman Malik, interior minister of Pakistan, has warned his team not to indulge in any match-fixing. This comment has created a stir with current and former Pakistani cricket players who are condemning his comments, who said that this added twist has only worked to distract Pakistan’s players when they should be focusing solely on the upcoming match.
The ICC has also canceled the accreditation of Indian news outlets for the upcoming showdown, stating that Indian television has violated the length and number of clips they have been allowed to show. Shazi Zaman, president of the Broadcast Editor’s Association, was quoted as saying: “This means that we are deprived of covering not just the match but also the Indo-Pak political event. This is an infringement of media rights.”
Switching gears to the actual analysis of the match: India is 4-0 against Pakistan in head-to-head world cup matches. In addition, the match will be played in front of India’s home crowd in Mohali. And although India has lifted restrictions on Visas for 5,000 Pakistani ticketholders, that is hardly enough to tilt the crowd towards Pakistan’s favor.
Though Shoaib Akhtar is unlikely to play in the semi-final, his rivalry with Sachin Tendulkar on the pitch has long been documented.
Nonetheless, Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi is unnerved by the prospect of playing against India. “India may be the world’s best team, but we are capable of beating them,” he said. Undoubtedly, this match may come down to “Boom Boom” Afridi’s own performance against India’s daunting batting lineup, in which Sachin Tendulkar continues to be in the form of his life, and Yuvraj Singh is high off of four Man of the Match awards in this tournament alone.
But the Indian player to watch out for might actually be bowler Zaheer Khan. Arguably the best bowler on the Indian team, he is capable of holding the Pakistani team to a low innings total. He has maintained a superb line in the competition and knows the art of taking early wickets. Should Pakistan bat first, Khan’s skill will be relied on heavily by the Indian side in order to keep the score manageable for their batsmen.
On the Pakistani bowling front, Umar Gul’s movement and pace variations have done in at least one top-order batsman in each game. With 14 wickets from seven games at an economy hovering around 3 runs per over, he has been one of the best bowlers to see in this tournament. For Pakistan to keep the score under control, it will be crucial for him to frustrate the less experienced Indian batsmen and play to the ‘short’comings of the likes of Virender Sehwag.
In India and Pakistan, cricket is often referred to as a religion.
Two other factors that may help determine the outcome is the coin toss and fielding. Both teams would rather win the toss and bat first. This way they will know how many runs they have to defend and what type of bowling style they would need to employ. Moreover, India and Pakistan are not traditionally great fielding units, but both the teams have been doing pretty well in the field so far this tournament. It will be important to see which team steps up their fielding game, as it may be the deciding factor in the match (we’re looking at you, Kamran Akmal).
Due to the intense rivalry between India and Pakistan, security will be at an all-time high for this epic encounter. This match not only symbolizes the rivalry between two teams, but between two countries. Very rarely is a game of this magnitude played among two countries that have battled through three wars and continued political tension. The atmosphere at the stadium should be unrivaled in its intensity and, for many people in both countries, this match will be far greater than the World Cup final on April 2.
