Can Pakistan really win?

Pakistan will be meeting Australia in the T20 world cup semi-final at St. Lucia. Hopes high after the last victory against South Africa but is it possible for Pakistan to win against a strong team? Let’s have a look at some facts:

Throughout the tournament, Australia is WWWWW while Pakistan is WLLLW.

Batting performance of expert Pakistani batsmen:
Misbah-ul-Haq – 5 matches 68 runs (ave.17)
Abdur Razzaq – 5 matches 57 runs (avg.19)
Shahid Afridi – 5 matches 83 runs (avg.16.60)
Mohammad Hafeez- 4 innings 39 runs (avg 9.75)
Fawad Alam – 2 innings 17 runs (avg 8.50)

Do we really need to keep Misbah, Fawad and Hafeez in the squad? Isn’t it the time to try giving the fresher Hammad Azam a chance?

In the semi-final, where Australia will step in with 3 pacers Tait, Johnson and Nannes, Pakistan will have only Aamir. Razzaq’s pace has dropped to a worst extent. Dirk Nannes has been outstanding throughout the tournament with 13 wickets making him highest wicket-taker. Johnson and Tait are 8,8.

Average comparison: Australia’s top 4 averages are 55.50 (Hussey), 53.50 (White), 29.60 (Warner) and 29.00 (Watson). On the other hand, 47.75 (Butt), 26.00 (Kamran), 24.75 (Umer Akmal) and 19.00 (Razzaq).

Australia’s highest total 191. Pakistan: 172/3

Let’s sit and watch J Good luck Pakistan!!!

Jibran T. Siddiqui

Pakistan and T20 world records: A glimpse

Despite the poor performance in T20 world cup 2010 till date, Pakistan enjoys a prominent position in T20 records. Let’s have a quick view:

- Pakistan set a new and unique record against Australia where Mohammad Amir’s last over earned 5 wickets in a maiden over. (3 by Amir, 2 run-out).

- Kamran Akmal is still the wicket-keeper with most dismissals. He has trapped 36 victims behind the wicket till date. Next to him is Dinesh Ramdin (West Indies) with 18 dismissals.

- Kamran Akmal has also made most stumpings in his career that is 21. Next to him is NJ O`Brein (Ireland) with 8 stumpings only.

- Kamran shares the record of most dismissals in an innings i.e. 4 dismissals. Others are Adam Gilchrist (Aus) and MJ Prior (Eng).

- Pakistan shares most consecutive wins in T20 (7 matches) with South Africa.

- Pakistan has the record of most batsmen reaching double figures in an innings (8 Batsmen vs. Scotland in 2007)

- Umar Gul is the highest wicket-taker in T20i with 43 wickets. Next to him are Shahid Afridi (40 wickets) and Daniel Vettori (33 wickets).

- Umer Gul has also the best bowling figures in an innings. He has taken 5 wickets off 6 runs in the match against New Zealand (T20 worldcup 2009).

- The record of most wickets in calendar year is shared by Umer Gul and Saeed Ajmal (19 wickets) with 208 and 242 runs respectively.

- Shahid Afridi shares most Man-of-the-match awards with Sanath Jayasuria (Sri Lanka), 6 times.

These are the records where Pakistan tops the list; there are many other records where Pakistan stands on prominent positions.

The most noticeable thing is that most of the records are based on individual performances (Most wickets, most dismissals etc) but in Team records, Pakistan stands nowhere (Highest team totals, victory with highest margin etc).

Pakistan and T20 world records: A glimpse

Despite the poor performance in T20 world cup 2010 till date, Pakistan enjoys a prominent position in T20 records. Let’s have a quick view:

- Pakistan set a new and unique record against Australia where Mohammad Amir’s last over earned 5 wickets in a maiden over. (3 by Amir, 2 run-out).

- Kamran Akmal is still the wicket-keeper with most dismissals. He has trapped 36 victims behind the wicket till date. Next to him is Dinesh Ramdin (West Indies) with 18 dismissals.

- Kamran Akmal has also made most stumpings in his career that is 21. Next to him is NJ O`Brein (Ireland) with 8 stumpings only.

- Kamran shares the record of most dismissals in an innings i.e. 4 dismissals. Others are Adam Gilchrist (Aus) and MJ Prior (Eng).

- Pakistan shares most consecutive wins in T20 (7 matches) with South Africa.

- Pakistan has the record of most batsmen reaching double figures in an innings (8 Batsmen vs. Scotland in 2007)

- Umar Gul is the highest wicket-taker in T20i with 43 wickets. Next to him are Shahid Afridi (40 wickets) and Daniel Vettori (33 wickets).

- Umer Gul has also the best bowling figures in an innings. He has taken 5 wickets off 6 runs in the match against New Zealand (T20 worldcup 2009).

- The record of most wickets in calendar year is shared by Umer Gul and Saeed Ajmal (19 wickets) with 208 and 242 runs respectively.

- Shahid Afridi shares most Man-of-the-match awards with Sanath Jayasuria (Sri Lanka), 6 times.

These are the records where Pakistan tops the list; there are many other records where Pakistan stands on prominent positions.

The most noticeable thing is that most of the records are based on individual performances (Most wickets, most dismissals etc) but in Team records, Pakistan stands nowhere (Highest team totals, victory with highest margin etc).

Pakistan v/s Australia - Interesting facts

Pakistan lost her second match of T20 world cup against Australia. Lets see some interesting facts of the match:

1. It was Pakistan's 10th consecutive loss against Australia.

2. Pakistani batsmen prefered singles at the time when they needed more than 14 runs per over.

3. Batsman Fawad Alam applied full of his power to hit a six finally. Next six next year. (Fawad Alam - 164 runs in 20 T20 internationals, avg. 23.42, only 7 sixes and 6 fours in his entire T20i career and still called a T20 specialist).

4. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt tired after scoring 73 in match against Bangladesh, refused to score against Australia and hopefully for the entire tournament.

5. In the playing Xi, 4 players are above 30 years and 3 are 29. Pakistan needs some fresh element for T20 ;) Shahzaib Hassan, Hammad Azam and Imran Nazir aren't bad options.

Good luck Pakistan.

Raina becomes third to score T20 century

Indian Batsman Suresh Raina has smashed the Indian bowling line-up by scoring feirce 100 against South Africa. He scored 101 off just 60 balls (strike rate 168.33) with 9 fours and 5 sixes. Raina becomes 3rd batsman to score a T20i century after Chris Gayle and Branden McCullum.

Sami to play T20's first match

Fast bowler Mohammad Sami has been selected to play the first match of Pakistan against Bangladesh. Swinger Mohammad Asif was more likely to play in the team but Sami has been prefered due to weather conditions and the wicket situation.

Asif has taken 50 wickets in 34 T20s (econ. 7.53) while Sami has taken 14 wickets in 15 T20s (econ. 7.45).

Good luck Sami!

Picture of the week - India pads up to win

T20 world cup - The mega carnival begins!

T20 world cup begins with a bang!

In the opening match, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 2 wickets with 1 ball remaining. Nathan McCullum grabbed it as 'man-of-the-match' for his hard-hitting shots. Another highlight of the match was JD Ryder who made 42 off 27 balls.

While in second match, West Indies made an easy win against Ireland by 70 runs.

Keep your fingers crossed for some thrilling moments!