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Pakistan VS South Africa: ICC World Cup T20, 28 Sept 2012

Hashim Amla ko toh humaray bowlers out hi nahi kar payenge.

App ko apni team par boht kum faith nhi ? :D

well top 3 leading wickets taker in t20 are ajmal, gul and afridi
Hamla play good against spin as well as fast bowlers so it will be good contest
 
App ko apni team par boht kum faith nhi ? :D

well top 3 leading wickets taker in t20 are ajmal, gul and afridi
Hamla play good against spin as well as fast bowlers so it will be good contest

Inki rug rug se wakif hoon... Inmein phook bharh jaye toh bisti hi karake aatay hain.

Inka hal hi yeh hai ke inko khoob lataro!

SA seek to unwrap spin

South Africa would be looking to go past the guiles of the Pakistani spinners when they meet up for their first Super Eights match here on Friday.

By Jaideep Ghosh in Colombo

The Pakistan versus South Africa Super Eight match can well be called a mystery versus history game.

Pakistan are the mystery-makers, with Saeed Ajmal and co. looking way too complicated for the comfort of any average batsman. South Africa, on the other hand, are the history-sheeters, choking spectacularly at every big occasion.

So when the twain face off at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Thursday afternoon, one would be excused for hoping that some of both these things is moderated and we have a match to remember.

“No,” was South African skipper AB de Villiers’ straight response when asked whether any of his batsmen was able to read Ajmal. “But we have a few areas where we’d like to attack him.”

Ajmal would like nothing better, of course.

Pakistan have looked very good indeed. They were in their elements in both games, barring some little whiffs of inconsistency. But they did the big things well. That was enough.

Apart from Ajmal, the other bowlers, including the seamers, have been in business. Though they did come in for some grief against a Bangladesh side trying desperately to stay in the tournament, the end result was pretty much the same, since the batting has been in its elements too, for most parts of the matches.

Skipper Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir and Nasir Jamshed have made headlines. They have also made sure that none of the other batsmen have had to stretch that much, though Umar Akmal too is in the mode. This side looks really good.

Funnily enough, if Pakistan were to lose this game, it would be on the day their spinners, mostly Ajmal, don’t come to the party. That is something South Africa would be planning.

“They (Pakistan) are a very good team,” De Villiers further says. “They have been in the semi-finals of all tournaments and have also won once. But our focus is more on what we can do well.”

Plenty, one would assume. Though the Proteas’ group matches were shams – a non-contest against Zimbabwe and a seven-over slugfest against Sri Lanka.

But they do have the big guns, who can fire when the need arises. But they will be sorely tested, that is for sure.

South Africa have a pretty daunting pace attack, but possibly the weakest spin department in the group, something that may come to haunt them in the long run. But as of now, it would be a little premature to discount anyone.

“This is a tough group,” De Villiers observes. “There are four world-class teams here and any of them can beat any of the others on their day.

“We are also good enough to beat them all. I don’t see this as the Group of Death, but a great challenge. We are prepared for all challenges.”

Only time will tell.

Aglay full tayyari karke arahay hain.
 
Pak in Practice for SA

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Koi yaad dilaye, sport konsi khelni hai...

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HAFEEZ BACKS HIS SPINNERS TO TROUBLE SOUTH AFRICA

Pakistan captain says he expects his misfiring pacers to come good soon
“We’re blessed with some of the greats in Twenty20 cricket, especially (Saeed) Ajmal and (Shahid) Afridi,” said Mohammad Hafeez of his premier spinners on the eve of Pakistan’s opening Super Eights Group 2 fixture against South Africa at the ICC World Twenty20 2012. “I think this is our main strength at the moment.

“We rely on our fast bowlers as well, but unfortunately they couldn’t do well in the group matches. But we are really confident that they will come out with some good performances. Umar Gul is one of them, always good with reverse swing. As a team, we’re really confident that our fast bowlers will contribute for the team. But yes, we do look up to our spinners – they will win matches for Pakistan like they’ve done over the last two years.”

Unlike some of the other captains who have said that the tournament proper actually begins now, Hafeez had a different point of view. “We’re not thinking that the tournament has started now, the tournament has already started and we as a team are playing really good cricket,” he said. “The conditions will change now (Pakistan played its group matches in Pallekele), so adjustability will be a factor. But as a team, we have played enough cricket in Colombo to know the conditions well. The boys are really looking forward to the Super Eights because every team is a tough team and we’ll really have to work hard.

“Personally, as a captain I believe in trying my best to give confidence to all the players. Everybody is a match-winner in our team and we’re really trying to keep everyone in shape; they’re all responding really well.”

Gul has had a difficult time of it so far, going for 1 for 39 in his four overs against New Zealand, and 0 for 43 in three against Bangladesh. “Gul himself is so experienced, has played so much cricket that he knows how to handle these things,” said Hafeez. “He realises by himself if his basics aren’t working properly. The good thing is that he is very focused in practice sessions, working really hard. (Mohammad) Akram (the bowling coach) is doing a lot of work with him and the rest. We’re not worried about him because he is a match-winner. Anyone can have a bad day but his positive attitude is a good sign that he will get his rhythm back.”

This is being touted as a battle between Pakistan’s spin attack and South Africa’s pace strength. “South Africa rely on their pace attack and we know that,” said Hafeez. “But it’s all about the strategy of the team. We rely on our spinners because we have some really special bowlers in the side like Ajmal. He’s been producing the goods for the last two years.

“Afridi is another one, we’re really happy he has got his form back. He bowled well in the last game and is getting better every day. Yes, South Africa will rely on their pace and we’re ready to take them on. They’ve got one of the best attacks at the moment with (Dale) Steyn and (Morne) Morkel, but this is what it is all about. Every team has different strengths and we’re ready to take them on.”

South Africa is ranked No. 1 in the ICC Twenty20 rankings, but Hafeez said his team wouldn’t get bogged down by the prospect of playing the top side in the world. “As a team, we are taking it match by match,” he said. “We’re not looking at any big picture. We’re looking at our game against South Africa, who are a good side. It’s not that they are No. 1 or No. 10, we are just trying to win every match and we plan according to that. All the boys are very confident coming in, and morale is high. We’ll go in to tomorrow’s game with confidence.”
 
Pakistan takes on South Africa in Group 2 opener
With India and Australia in the same group, every loss will mean the teams concede ground as far as the semi-finals are concerned27 September 2012 - 11:36pm IST by R kaushik in Colombo

For a team that has often been labelled enigmatic and unpredictable, Pakistan has consistently been the team to beat in the ICC World Twenty20.


Runner-up in 2007 and semi-finalists in 2010, Pakistan won the title in England in 2009, and showed during the group stages this time around that it will need an inspired team and extraordinary performances to halt it in their tracks.


Pakistan was efficient in overcoming New Zealand and positively brilliant with the bat under some pressure as they swept Bangladesh aside to finish undefeated in Group D. Like a gathering force, it has worked its way into the competition quite superbly – the only blip being defeat to England in a warm-up game last week – but it won’t be unaware that its first genuine challenge, in a high-pressure scenario, will come on Friday afternoon.


Up against Pakistan, in the opening match of Group 2 of the Super Eights – the group whose outcome no one wants to hazard a guess about – is South Africa, itself a veritable powerhouse, who was no less impressive during its Group C encounters in Hambantota. South Africa has always been a formidable presence in ICC events over the last decade and more, without actually going on to crown itself champion. Armed with a new outlook and with Gary Kirsten on board as coach fantastic, South Africa can be taken lightly only at one’s own peril.


South Africa relished the conditions in Hambantota – quick surfaces with generous grass covering and plenty of bounce as well – but whether it can expect the same at the R Premadasa Stadium is debatable. For starters, the pitch here wears a barer look, and has baked under the unrelenting sun over the last couple of days. There hasn’t been a drop of rain since the Ireland-West Indies washout on Monday night and while there was a strong cloud cover on Thursday afternoon, it is unlikely to have altered the basic character of a surface that might bring the spinners into play sooner rather than later.


How well South Africa fronts up to the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi will determine what it gets out of Friday’s showdown. There is enough quality in the South African ranks to counter the guiles of the two spinners, who might be joined by Raza Hasan, should his left-arm spin be preferred to Sohail Tanvir’s left-arm medium pace, but as AB de Villiers admitted, not all South African batsmen can actually pick Ajmal.


South Africa, however, is unlikely to bring with them the same doubts and hesitancy that England did against Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla the other night. That could yet be its greatest virtue because cricket is played as much with bat and ball as between the ears, and South Africa would not concede any mental ground to Pakistan.


South Africa itself has a reasonable spin attack – Johan Botha is one of the most accomplished limited-overs bowlers in world cricket and should have Robin Peterson for company – but it will continue to rely on Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis to do the damage against a Pakistani batting line-up that has been in tremendous form in this competition.


Imran Nazir’s success against Bangladesh will have particularly delighted Mohammad Hafeez who, in Nasir Jamshed at No. 3, has a classical left-hand batsman behind whom Akmal brothers Umar and Kamran offer unquestioned quality and Shoaib Malik, the former skipper, lends experience.


For a team that has long carried the reputation of cracking under pressure, Pakistan has shown in recent times that it can handle the big moments well, though how well it will cope with the fire of Steyn and Morkel will be watched with no little interest.


This is a mouth-watering contest to kick off a group that, completed by Australia and India, appears by far the tougher and more competitive of the two groups in the Super Eights. All four teams in Group 2 have come away undefeated from their respective groups in the initial phase. Colombo will be the place to be in over the next week.
 
Pakistan played 5 t20 with south africa so far..3 won by south africa and 2 won by pakistan. its time to make it 3-3

I want razzaq back in team..he never played any match while useless yasir and tanvir are in team
 
Seriously Sohail Tanvir should not play man! He's bowling hasn't been that helpful! I hope Hafeez sub in Razzaq!

I am going to run home just to watch this match. SA is a real goliath which I hope Pakistan team can take down!
 
Go green go. Its your game... Make 150 plus and you can defend it. And plz plz plz replace SHOAIB MALIK with RAZZAK... best thing to do..
 
Sohail Tanveer should be replaced with Razzaq today. His track record is good against SAfricans.

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IA Pakistan will do good today and on the 30th.

It doesn't matter you win or lose, just give your opponents one heck of a fight. Good luck
 

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