Can’t see how Kiwis can beat Pakistan!
Pakistan Vs New Zealand 2nd ODI, Can’t see how Kiwis can beat Pakistan!
Pakistan have been unstoppable ever since Shahid Afridi burst into the middle of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium when his side was 75 for 4 in the 24th over of the 1st ODI. And their bowlers have looked a class apart and I wouldn’t stop from saying that their overall attack is the best in the world at the moment! With Mohammad Aamer to do the job with the shiny new white ball, Afridi and Ajmal to bamboozle the batsmen in the middle overs and Umar Gul to get the reversing yorkers in the end, Pakistan can at any time be successful in defending scores of anything over 250.Watch Live Cricket
The Kiwis in the first ODI had just the one penetrative bowler in Shane Bond Of course, Vettori too can be counted as a very good bowler but we have all seen that even he cannot stop the likes of Afridi, Kamran Akmal when they get going. Infact Afridi enjoyed batting against Shane Bond because of the extra pace that was allowing the ball to come onto the bat. In the second ODI, the Kiwis will be strengthened just a little bit by the return of Kyle Mills who should be complementing Bond with his swing bowling. Ian Butler or probably Nathan McCullum will have to make way for him. Pakistan on the other hand should make a change and somehow get Shoaib Malik in, its really hard to understand how they could keep such a proven talent on the bench.
Salman Butt could be the casualty after his duck in the first ODI. I would have kept him in the side because of his potential and rather drop Khalid Latif, who did score a fifty but was simply an unattractive one to say the least. For the Kiwis, its time for players like Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram to play to their potential. McCullum and Taylor should not feel shy of taking their time at the top of the order as they have the shots to cover up for any slow starts.
Younis Khan’s team won the first ODI by a thumping margin but if they want to be a professional world class unit then their fielding has got to improve. If I remember, a couple of easy catches were spilled down starting from a slip catch dropped by Salman Butt. On the positive side, there was a good running catch taken by substitute fielder Imran Farhat.
There is of course a lot of scope for improvement in the running between the wickets for Pakistan. ‘Drop and run’ is a common feature in today’s international cricket. What would have been a dot ball is converted into a short single by the smart early calls. The Pakistanis could do well by watching the tapes of the India-Australia Series in which top order batsmen of both the sides do exactly that.
One more dilemma for Pakistan is Mohammad Yousuf. The world knows what a classy batsman he is. The world knows what a lovely touch he has when he strikes the ball ever so effortlessly. But in the limited overs version, Yousuf can be a burden of sorts when it comes to running between the wickets and fielding! Yousuf is always in the potential danger of not only getting himself run out but also running out his partner. He is also a slow mover on the field and often the batsmen can steal runs out of him whenever they desire to. Younis Khan who is about the same age as Yousuf doesn’t have that problem, he is one of the better fielders in the Pakistan team and also a swift runner. Pakistan will have to carefully keep an eye on the future with the 2011 World Cup not that far away.
For this Abu Dhabi Series, I can safely say that Pakistan are difficult to beat as far as New Zealand are concerned. Pakistan will have to play very bad if the Kiwis have to win in any of the remaining two ODIs. However, the Kiwis do stand a good chance of beating the World T20 Champs in the two Twenty20 internationals in Dubai which should be an even contest.
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Can’t see how Kiwis can beat Pakistan! was first posted on November 6, 2009 at 9:49 am.
India Vs Australia Hyderabad 5th ODI
India Vs Australia Hyderabad 5th ODI, Match scheduled to begin at 14:30:00 local time (00:00:00 GMT).
Southpaw Gautam Gambhir has been declared fit to play in the fifth ODI at Hyderabad tomorrow. Gambhir had missed the fourth ODI at Mohali due to a neck strain caused by a Ricky Ponting pull shot. The left hander has got into fine form in this series scoring two fifties and only missing out with a small score in the third ODI.
Making way for Gautam Gambhi has got to be Delhi teammate Virat Kohli. It will be a big boost for India as Gautam Gambhir has shown his consistency in the last two years or so in all formats of the game. Virat Kohli on the other hand deserves to be dropped after his failure in the last game plus also the way holed out in the deep after getting to a good start in the first ODI.
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India Vs Australia Hyderabad 5th ODI was first posted on November 5, 2009 at 9:45 am.
Pakistan Vs New Zealand in first ODI Today
ABU DHABI: Pakistan Vs New Zealand in first ODI Today, New Zealand and Pakistan will both be hoping they can overcome a series of setbacks when they clash in the first of three one-day internationals here on Tuesday.
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Since finishing runners-up to Australia in the Champions Trophy last month, New Zealand?s problems have multiplied, following injuries to key players and the sudden departure of coach Andy Moles.
Moles’s resignation after differences with some of the players has left a void, but skipper Daniel Vettori is confident his team are capable of rising to the occasion.
“Now every single person in the squad has to pick up a little bit of the slack,” Vettori said when asked about the team’s being without a coach.
“People will still expect us to win, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t, and that’s the mindset that we have to have going,” said Vettori who will be an acting-coach as well as a selector and the team?s leading all-rounder.
The Black Caps will also be without hard-hitting opener Jesse Ryder, all-rounder Grant Elliott and pace spearhead Daryl Tuffey — all nursing injuries. Their places go to the uncapped Bradley-John Watling, recalled Scott Styris and fast bowler Tim Southee.
Elliott starred in New Zealand?s five-wicket win over Pakistan in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
“It is disappointing because you would always want to bring your top team for a series,” said Vettori. “Despite injuries we did well in the Champions Trophy and hope we can do the same.”
Vettori will also be without a deputy after wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum quit the vice-captaincy to focus on his batting.
The New Zealand captain said both sides were struggling with their form.
“I think inconsistency probably plagues both the teams. There are some really talented players in both the sides who can win games but how often are we consistently doing that?,” said Vettori.
“We know we’re going to battle hard against Pakistan and we need those key players to step up to either win games or nullify Pakistan’s key players.
“They’ve got a lot of issues going on but they’ve dealt with them in the past and they’re used to it.”
Pakistan captain Younus Khan offered to resign over unproven match-fixing allegations following his team?s defeat against Australia and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan Cricket Board rejected Younus?s resignation, but there were reports of disharmony within the team.
Younus, however, stressed unity was vital if they were to achieve a win.
“We can only win if we play above our potential and play as a unit,” said Younus, who will pass the captaincy to all-rounder Shahid Afridi for two Twenty20 matches after the one-day series.
“New Zealand are like Australia and Sri Lanka, who play as a unit and you have to play like that to beat them.”
Pakistan will be without key fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who was not selected because immigration officials will not let him into the United Arab Emirates following his deportation from Dubai last year on charges of possessing a banned drug.
The second and third one-dayers will be played here on November 6 and 9. The series was moved out of Pakistan after New Zealand refused to tour following attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March this year.
Squads (from):
Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Umer Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Aaron Redmond, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Bradley-John Watling.
Pakistan Vs New Zealand in first ODI Today was first posted on November 3, 2009 at 7:48 am.
Zimbabwe Vs Bangladesh Chittagong
Zimbabwe Vs Bangladesh Chittagong Live Match In Progress, zimbabwe 9/4 (6.1), Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
Zimbabwe Vs Bangladesh Chittagong was first posted on November 3, 2009 at 9:39 am.
India Australia Series 2009
MOHALI : Australia scored 250 all out off 49.2 overs after being sent in to bat in the fourth one-day international against India here on Monday.
India’s left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra picked 3-37 while Cameron White top-scored with 62 in the day-night encounter at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium.
India lead the seven-match series 2-1. Watch Live Cricket Match
India Australia Series 2009 was first posted on November 2, 2009 at 7:45 pm.
