Category Archives: Pakistan

Fascinating Test cricket battles in the week ahead

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The week that lies ahead will see some fascinating Test cricket action. It is quite a unique time as all Test playing nations except Bangladesh are involved in a test series. England is touring South Africa, West Indies are touring Austrialia, Pakistan are playing in New Zealand and closer home Sri Lanka will play the final Test of the three match series tomorrow against India.

India play Srilanka at the historic Brabourne…

India takes of Sri Lanka tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium. It is a stadium that has been known to be the bastion of culture and legacy when it comes to cricket in India. The association which runs the stadium (CCI) had a falling out with the Mumbai Cricket Association back in the early 70s. This led MCA to construct a new stadium called the Wankhede. The two associations have gotten closer now a days and with the Wankhede stadium undergoing a major re-building exercise Brabourne gets its chance to host one more Test match after 36 long years. Last time Test cricket was played at the Brabourne, Sachin Tendulkar was not even born!

India will be keen to win this Test match as it will haul it upwards to being the No 1 ranked Test team in the ICC rankings. This will be quite an achievement for the Indian team who are not particularly hailed for their ability in Test cricket.

New Zealand host Pakistan…

Not sure if New Zealand will have their confidence high after last weeks win over Pakistan. The Pakistan team came very close to an unlikely win over the Kiwis. But I still feel Pakistan have some inherent technically challenged opening batsmen along with some sparkling yet not reliable batting lineup. They have a great bowling line up too but I still feel it would not be able to match up to New Zealand’s usual dose of resoluteness and professionalism. The Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan begins on 3rd December 2009. If you are in India you should be able to catch the action on Ten Sports in early morning around 430 am.

Australia host West Indies in Adelaide…

In the first Test Match Australia declared their innings at 480/8 and bowled out West Indies twice in less than 2 days. The match was over on the 3rd day itself and was one sided more of less from the first day’s first session. This sort of a defeat does not speak very highly of West Indies’ chances in the second Test at Adelaide. This match starts on Friday morning at 5.30 in the morning. Indian viewers should be able to catch the game on Star Cricket.

ICC World Twenty20 Super8: The Semifinal Line-up

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With India losing to South Africa last night, the Super8 stage is over.

Three big teams- India (who started the tournament as the favorites), England (the host nation) and New Zealand (the only one team that Indians have never been able to defeat in T20) along with Ireland (the “nothing to lose” team) pack their bags to say goodbye to the biggest tournament of the shortest form of cricket.

South Africa and Sri Lanka enter the Semifinals unbeaten, as we look forward to a final match clash.

Pakistan and West Indies have shown some real good cricket in last two weeks to make it to the semifinal stage. The stage is all set for some exciting cricket in the coming days.

From here on, it narrows down to just two more wins in the coming matches for any of these teams to win the title.

Fixtures

Day Time Match Venue Forecast
Thu Jun 18 10:00 PM IST 1st Semi-Final
Pakistan vs South Africa		 Trent Bridge Cloudy
Fri Jun 19 10:00 PM IST 2nd Semi-Final
Sri Lanka vs West Indies		 Oval Mostly Sunny

Enjoy!

How can Pakistan qualify for the Super8?

clip_image002The 8th team that will qualify for the Super8 will be either Pakistan or Netherlands. In case, Netherlands wins the match against Pakistan or the match ends in a Tie or No Result, Netherlands will qualify for the Super8.

However, in case Pakistan wins the match, there will be a three way tie between England, Pakistan and Netherlands. In such a situation, Netherlands can not improvise on its current net run rate of +0.05. Thus, England in a way would have already qualified for the Supr8.

The decision on which team out of Pakistan and Netherlands qualifies for the Super8 will depend on the net run rate of both the teams after the match.

Group B standings:

Have a look at the Group B standings for more clarity:

Group B

P

W

L

T

NR

PTS

NRR
B2 – England 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.175
Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.050
B1 – Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.400

Net Run Rate

A team’s net run rate is calculated by deducting from the average runs per over scored by that team, the average runs per over scored against that team during the group matches.

If a team gets all out in less than its full quota of overs, the full quota of overs to which the batting team would have been entitled are used for calculating of the net run rate of both the teams and not the number of overs in which the team was dismissed.

Permutations for Pakistan

Now, let us try to see how Pakistan can beat Netherlands such that it ends up with a better net run rate than Netherlands, so as to qualify for the Super8.

Scenario 1: Pakistan bats first

Suppose Pakistan makes 180 runs in the allotted 20 overs. In that case, Pakistan should restrict Netherlands by 155. In short, what ever Pakistan scores, the margin of victory shall be more than 24 runs.

Scenario 2: Pakistan bowls first

Suppose Netherlands makes 180 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Pakistan would now need to make 181 runs in less than 17.2 overs.

In case Netherlands makes 150 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Pakistan would now need to make 151 runs in less than 17.0 overs.

Quick calculation:

If Y is the number of runs made by Netherlands in the first innings then Pakistan should make Y+1 runs in less than (2540 + 20Y) / (174+Y) overs

‘Catch the Spirit’ – WT20 India vs Pakistan warm-up match

clip_image002The International Cricket Council (ICC) has designated the World T20 2009 warm-up match between India and Pakistan as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ match. The match is scheduled to be played at the Oval on June 3 from 10:00 PM IST.

‘Catch the Spirit’ highlights the respect with which the game is played around the world and is one of the themes of the ICC’s ongoing centenary year of 2009.

As per ICC media release, the funds raised by this match will go to support the families of the victims of the attack on the Sri Lankan team and match officials in Lahore in March.

Though, complete details are still not available but the funds will be raised primarily through requests for contributions from spectators inside the ground, appeal for donations from the spectators outside the ground via television broadcasts and internet coverage of the match and contributions from other parties having direct or indirect interest in cricket.
This stands out as a testimony of a great spirit that sport events can show to support a noble cause. I wish all the success to the organizers and hope spectators and cricket stakeholders across the globe contributes wholeheartedly during the match.

The match will be broadcasted live in India on TV on Star Cricket.