An intense battle on cards

Preview

Shahid Afridi, the embattled Pakistan T20 skipper, has been under fire for his flippant remarks that go well beyond the boundary of a cricket field. Some of his players have openly undermined his authority while the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board has spoken of Afridi’s imminent exit in the middle of their campaign. Coach Waqar Younis has questioned the commitment of a few players towards the team.

At the moment, many forces appear to be pulling the team in different directions. Given this situation, one would wonder how are they even managing to field a team. Yet, it will come as little surprise if Pakistan make it to the semifinals of the World T20. Two back to back morale-shattering defeats notwithstanding, Pakistan stand a goodchance of progressing to the last-four stage if they beat Australia in their final Group 2 clash here at the PCA stadium on Friday. 

For that to happen, though, Australia will have to beat India in Sunday’s game here. In that scenario, all three contenders will be on four points each but Pakistan’s far superior run-rate at the moment will make them more than marginal favourites to advance.

Game based on instincts

Pakistan don’t have much time on their hands but they will be hoping to set their house in order before a match that will decide if their stay in India is going to extend. 

That said, it’s in situations like these that Pakistan produce their best. Unlike Australia, who spend as much time plotting rivals’ fall as honing their cricketing skills, Pakistan’s game is more based on instincts. When it comes to flair Pakistan are as good as they come but at the same time, they are notoriously inconsistent.

However, what should go in Pakistan’s favour is that Australia are yet to find their feet in the tournament. While they were humbled by their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in a low-scoring affair in Dharamsala, Bangladesh gave them a real scare in a modest chase in Bengaluru. Individually speaking, Australia possess a great T20 talent but as a team they are still some distance away from getting a grip of the shortest format.

In order to accommodate an in-form Usman Khawaja, who will be playing his first match against the country of his birth on Friday, they have pushed David Warner to number four where the hard-hitting opener appears wasted. Shane Watson, who will retire from international cricket after this World T20, has fired only in bits and pieces while skipper Steven Smith hasn’t been able to replicate in T20s his exploitations of Tests and ODIs. The likes of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh are yet to fire to their potential.

Though young leg-spinner Adam Zampa looks promising, spin bowling seems to Australia’s one of weaker links. Though the pitch here has largely favoured the batsmen, spinners managed to extract some turn in the previous match. Pakistan, boasting superior slow bowling resources, may prove more than handy for the Australian batsmen who are not particularly fond of playing the turning ball.