Pakistan vs India U19 CWC 2012 Quarter Final Preview

Pakistan under-19s will lock horns with India earlier than both teams would have expected and hoped for at the quarter final stage on Monday at the Tony Ireland stadium. It will be televised. India failed to win their group whereas Pakistan won all 3 matches with comfortable ease. The most awaited game of the tournament should be a cracking contest. Both of these two teams were strong contenders for the title and they would have wanted to avoid each other before the semis, but the sad reality is that one of them will be knocked out and fail to reach the semis on Monday. Between them they have featured in 5 finals at the U19 CWC since 2004, winning 3 of them. Both teams come with a strong history and reputation at this level and they will want to protect and strengthen that here.

The last 3 times they have met Pakistan haven’t lost a single encounter, but all encounters have gone down to the wire and been close fought games. The margins of victory are as follows:-

- 2 wicket win in a rain reduced game with 3 balls to spare at 2010 U19 CWC QF
- 1 run win in U-19 Asia Cup on 24th June
- Last ball tie in U-19 Asia Cup Final on 1st July

Just like in 2010 they will be meeting at the quarter final stage at the Under 19 World Cup. Will India be knocked out again or will they get their revenge?

India’s Strengths

Exposure of playing on television in front of the cameras
Exposure of playing at the wicket here at the Tony Ireland Stadium
The ’Unmukt Chand’ factor
Defensive play of their batsmen who all have sound techniques
Playing Spin

India’s Weaknesses

Attacking the short ball, a clear area of vulnerability
Lack of depth and explosiveness in the batting
Hesitancy in the running between the wickets
Heavy over reliance on Chand

Pakistan’s Strengths

Opening combination
Finishers
Late order hitting
Spinners

Pakistan’s Weaknesses

Seam attack
Conditions/venue
Lack of television exposure
Lack of a 6th bowling option
One dimensional spin attack

Potential MOMs

Chand – big match player, in form captain, most prized Indian wicket

Baba – made a significant score with the bat against Pakistan in the last match and bowls off spinners which will be useful against the many Pakistani left handed batsmen and all-rounders

Sharma – experienced customer with ball in hand

Babar Azam – already has 2 MOMs in the tournament, in form captain

Sami Aslam – player of the tournament in SA triangular series and U19 Asia Cup 2012

Ehsan Adil – bowled heroically in the tied encounter, taking 3 wickets and holding his nerve in the final over

Prediction

As Pakistan topped their group and have the winning momentum behind them, they will be bitterly disappointed to lose, perhaps even more so than India. They have the edge over India at this level in recent times. I am backing them to win, but they’ll have to play well and it won’t come easily. Runs on the board will be important; the pressure of chasing in a knockout game can easily get to the chasing side and it will be no different here.

How well Pakistan adapts to the conditions at this particular stadium and the pressures of playing under the cameras which will be a new experience for several of these players will be a decisive factor.

Both teams have a consistent and established opening pair. Whoever puts on a higher opening stand and goes on to make a bigger score will probably determine the outcome of the game. It’s the As (Aslam, Azam) vs. the Cs (Chand, Chopra). Both have scored 3 50+ scores between them for both sides in the pool matches. Both have put on a stand of over 100 for the 1st wicket during the pool matches. Both bat well in partnership and a have a sound understanding of each other’s games.

Key Battles

Sharma vs. Azam – Sharma nips the ball about both ways with not a great amount of pace. He has been likened to Praveen Kumar. With 2 new balls, mirroring international cricket, he could cause the right hander a few problems. Azam has been dismissed by Sharma in the previous U19 CWC quarter final in New Zealand when he was bowled through the gate by an inswing delivery. Azam will need to be cautious and try to see him off.

Adil vs. Chopra – Another opening bowler vs. opening batsmen battle where games are decided so often, but particularly relevant here with two gifted opening combinations for both sides. Chopra looks extremely susceptible to the short pitched delivery from the 2 games we have seen India play live in this tournament. With Adil’s height one would think he’ll bowl back of a length and try to bounce him out.

Pakistan spinners vs. Indian batsmen – Pakistan play 3 front line spinners, 2 left arm spinners and one right arm leg spinner. They are a spin dominated attack, bowling around 30 overs in the innings combined more often than not. India will need to play them well to get a decent total. It’s a big part of the game.

Robin Van Persie: A statement of intent from Manchester United

The signing of Robin Van Persie has been agreed by Manchester United and Arsenal for a fee of £24m. The deal is still dependent on the formalities of a successful medical and agreeing personal contract details. This has brought to an end one of this summers biggest transfer rambling. Van Persie, or RVP as he is called, had openly stated he was not willing to sign a new contract and that left him open to a move away from the north London club.

Over the last few years, Manchester United have lost out to some of their bigger transfer targets as rival clubs came through with bigger financial packages. Even this year, Sir Alex's biggest target was Lucas Moura. The deal took an age and with everything agreed in came PSG and signed the 19 year old Brazilian up for, what is reported, an astronomical amount of money. With Kagawa and Nick Powell already in, some thought that was it for this window by United, but no Fergie wanted to make a statement.

A statement of intent was needed, not just to strengthen the personnel within the squad but to send out a message to the competitors; a statement to the rest of the squad that this is United and we will stay at the top.

In a space of 24 hours, a deal has been struck with Arsenal to go with Danny Welbeck signing a new deal; add that to the signing of Chilean 18 year old, Anjelo Henriquez also signing on the dotted line. That makes it three strikers signing up in this time.

Now the question is how United will play, and the answer no-one but Fergie knows. I for one see it as a diamond with Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Fletcher and Jones able to play at the base with Kagawa or Welbeck playing at the tip. Either way, United now have a strike duo who scored 71 goals combined last season and finished player and runner-up of the season. The statement has been made, now over to you City; let's see what you are made off.

I remember when the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS or DRS as it’s more commonly known) was introduced to cricket back in November 2009; I was very excited at the prospect of seeing cricket decisions getting rectified in the correct manner. Has the DRS helped cricket in making the right calls? No, not in my view. Though, not a failure it has not been a scorching success it should have been. There are a few reasons behind this and the faults are in the hands of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the umpires, the cricket boards and captain and players alike.

If we solely focus on the present Pakistan V England series, there has been so many DRS errors, I have lost count. The players have taken some absolutely diabolical reviews; some were not even remotely close. The players need to realise, that the DRS system was introduced to rectify the blunders, not for them to review as and when. This was one reason, why the ODI’s quota of reviews available to each team reduced, to stop the useless time wasting. Captains and players alike need to be more careful on their reviews, though umpires do not help their cause whatsoever.

The umpires at this present time look to me over reliant on the DRS system. If they make an error, they know they won’t be crucified as much because the players have a chance to rectify that error, by using a review. The umpires, are human and prone to errors, though shouldn’t abuse their position of authority and think they are safe as a result of a system like this.

The ICC have had a major role to play in all this. They decided to bring in the DRS and its various aspects. Firstly, the Hot-spot is not 100% reliable. Apart from costing a large amount of money; in severe heat it doesn’t detect the faint nicks. The place that the Hot-Spot is available is limited, so apart from close in fielders blocking the view a long stride or a high bouncer can mean the point of contact (or non contact) is not in the picture. The snicko is a innovation that has not been used, but is a cheaper and more viable option in my opinion. The snicko would detect any sound if a edge was taken, why it has been ignored is most beyond my knowledge. To the ICC’s credit a laser innovation is in the process of getting made, which they claim is more reliable, but again the cost will be a huge factor.

DRS was innovated mostly for the edges and sorts, but has become a circus for leg before decisions. This is where the Hawk-Eye come’s into effect. Three reds and a batsman is out, one green and his not out. I have no problem with them two aspects, but the third light, the gold one, is a stinker. As I keep emphasising, the DRS was made to eradicate umpire errors, all the umpires call has done is made the umpire look as though he has made the correct call. In the Pakistan, England series we have seen number of decisions that have stayed on the umpires call when they should not have done. Take two identical deliveries, if the umpire says out to one it stays out and not-out to the other that decision also stays. Totally unfair, to say the least. Hawk-Eye is a great innovation, but needs to be used in the correct manner. Below are my recommendations for it, so it is used in eradicating mistakes and not simply trying to justify a umpire‘s decision:
1. Abolish the Umpires call completely and only use ‘out’ and ‘not out’.
2. If the ball is pitching / hitting inline and hitting the stumps by more than 50% of the size of the ball then it is out, otherwise it is not out. Any less than 50% of the ball, means we can’t be 100% sure that it is out.
3. The conversation between the on-field umpire and the third umpire should be made public, like it is in Rugby. This engages the viewers and we are clear on why a decision has been taken.

The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has taken a stance of complete non-approval of the DRS system. Though as highlighted, it has it’s flaws, the BCCI are not right in their stance. They have not given it a chance. The hawk-Eye is a must in sub-continent conditions. The bounce is low and the batsman can’t leave the ball on length like they would do in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or England. Batter’s have always looked to pad up and play long innings, the DRS stops this. What is the BCCI’s problem? Maybe knowing it doesn’t suit their batsman it might be. Whatever it is, it’s not good for the game. Neither is a half DRS, for that matter and until some changes are made to the present system, a debate will always arise. The correct decision, in my opinion, is more important than the integrity of a umpire. Once the decisions are made correct, more often, people will naturally start to support the umpires.

The author writes at KheloPakistan

Time to stand up and be counted team India

After yet another loss in a away game, this time at Sydney, the Indian team are in turmoil. The pressure playing away from India is taking its toll on the line-up. What have been the reasons and what needs to be done is the question that need to be asked and answered and fast.

The captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is Mr Cool, so to speak. It's absolutely fine to be calm and unflustered but when plan 'A' fails a captain needs to be pro-active and quickly move onto plan 'B' or even 'C'. This is more so when you have a bowling line-up that is toothless and will struggle to get twenty wickets on most tracks. Sitting back, looking to stifle runs and waiting for the opposition to make a mistake is not what great captains are made of. It might work in limited overs cricket where the batsman take risks but in Test cricket allowing the batsman to keep the scoreboard ticking is nothing short of criminal.

In the last one year Indian batsman have made only five Hundreds in games away from home. Four have been scored by Rahul Dravid and one by Sachin Tendulkar. This is clear indication that the Indian batsman have failed their team. Players like Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman, Kohli and Yuvraj have been tried and tested but all have failed.

Harbhajan Singh has been dropped and this was a bold decision, though about a year later from when it should have happened. His replacement, Ravichandran Ashwin has been a revelation. Though Ashwin is yet to dominate away from home with the ball, like he has done at home, he has been superb with the bat.

Zaheer Khan has just came back from injury and is a top performer when on song and 'fit'. Let's be frank about Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Sreesanth and the rest; they are diabolical. Would they get into any of the other five teams around the top six? Not a chance.

Though having a poor bowling line-up can't be the captains and coach's fault. Having that abundance of talent in the batting ranks and rarely getting passed 300 surely is. Sachin Tendulkar seems to be suffering from pressure of getting to that elusive Hundredth100. Once he gets there, it will open the flood gates. Dravid is superb and has been a lone warrior in away games whereas Sehwag can change a game and must be persisted with. Gambhir has been poor for two years now and must make way for Mukund. Rohit Sharma is the best Indian player against pace and has to be drafted in. VVS Laxman, has gone from being Very Very Special Laxman to having lost it. He is a shadow of a player he once was and had to be replaced. Virat Kohli looks great on flat pitches at home in limited overs games but in Test cricket he is a sitting duck, just not ready at the moment. Suresh Raina has a deficiency against bounce and short pitched bowling so my call would go for Badrinath.

India need to make tough decisions with the side. Duncan Fletcher has been a failure as of yet. Yet I strongly believe a coach doesn't take to the field so can't be held accountable. A captain can and India's failures fall directly on MSD. From Mr Cool, he needs to stop being the nice guy and make decisions that would be the better for Indian cricket. The ball is in MSD's court and he needs to play it more astutely from now.

Imran also writes at http://www.khelopakistan.com/