re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
A wise one would save the crushings for the big ones... :D
Im not wise :D
re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
/\ I don't think you have to overkill something...it won't give you an extra point...you only consume your energy & emotions by overkilling and emptying yourself for the more important clout... :D
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
my last final good luck to pakistan team...ab subah ground pe milte hain.
inshallah pak will win...ameen
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Alright bhaioon. Shab-ba-khair.
Alaram is set for 5am … going to get 4 hours sleep …
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Good luck PK, need some kutaas time
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Pakistan seek Pallekele revival
The Preview by Sahil Dutta
March 13, 2011
Match Facts
March 14, Pallekele
Start time 2.30pm (0900 GMT)
http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/129700/129773.2.jpg
The Big Picture
In their opening three matches, Pakistan quietly assembled three confident victories - including an 11-run win over the much-fancied Sri Lanka team - and displayed the kind of unlikely unity and focus that made them seem like serious World Cup contenders. Add a charismatic leader in inspirational form and the echoes of 1992 had their fans dreaming. But then, on their last outing in Pallekele, Pakistan’s enchanting instinct for implosion returned spectacularly as they tumbled to a 110-run defeat to New Zealand.
Kamran Akmal’s incompetence enraged all but his blindest supporters and allowed Ross Taylor to flog 114 off a shambolic final six overs of the innings. Just as it looked as though his time had surely past, Pakistan’s team management stood firmly behind Kamran, and his younger brother Umar - the only alternative behind the stumps - picked up a finger injury. There are doubts over whether Umar will play, even just as a batsman, which would deprive Pakistan of their second-highest run-scorer in the tournament and means they are likely to persist with the eight-batsman strategy. Up against a Zimbabwe side that has failed to match the scrapping resilience of some of their past World Cup outfits, Pakistan can expect an immediate revival in their fortunes. A win would take them to eight points, level with New Zealand in the Group A table.
Meanwhile, the wave optimism surrounding Zimbabwe in the lead-up to the tournament has been dashed by a series of heavy defeats. Until Sri Lanka gifted a clutch of late-over wickets, Zimbabwe had gone 78.1 overs and given away 448 runs without taking a wicket across their two defeats to New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Their decision to play two specialist seamers against Sri Lanka was at odds with the spin-heavy strategy that had underpinned their progress over recent months, but perhaps betrayed the lack of confidence in captain Elton Chigumburra. Since taking over as leader 18 matches ago he taken only two wickets, at 158 each, and his batting too has fallen: averaging 17.57 in that period. A naturally free-spirited player, the burdens of leadership haven’t sat comfortably and his team might be better off allowing him back to the ranks soon.
Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWWL
Zimbabwe LLWLL
Watch out for…
Among the carnage that was Pakistan’s fielding effort against New Zealand, Umar Gul stood out. Finding swing first up and reverse swing later he carries the seam attack. Lasith Malinga and Kemar Roach have shown that the lesser teams are vulnerable to a tirade of yorkers and, when on song, nobody is as skilled at delivering them as Gul. Brendan Taylor has provided the iconic shot of a lacklustre Group A with his take on the upper cut. In the first World Cup since the Twenty20 revolution really took hold, it displays the huge challenges facing modern bowlers. Outside of that, his classic, upright driving a tight defence make him Zimbabwe’s best player, and for a while against Sri Lanka he looked as good as any top-order batsman in the tournament. Pakistan’s bowlers have folded under the pressure of a Taylor before and if Brendan can get going Zimbabwe may yet spring a surprise.
Team news
If Umar Akmal misses out, there is a likely recall for Asad Shafiq while Ahmed Shehzad can expect to hold his place despite making 36 runs from his four outings. Shoaib Akhtar’s woeful effort against New Zealand will prompt calls for Wahab Riaz’s inclusion. **
Pakistan** (probable)
1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Asad Shafiq/ Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Umar Gul.
Regis Chakabva’s entry to the top of the order provided a perfect foil for Taylor against Sri Lanka as the pair added 116 within the first 20 overs, so with his position fixed the main change could come with dropping Tinashe Panyangara, who conceded 51 from six wicketless overs and recalling Charles Coventry to slot into the middle order where he has had success in the past.
Zimbabwe (probable)
1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Regis Chakabva, 3 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Charles Coventry, 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu.
Pitch and conditions
Pallekelle has not quite matched Bangalore for gratuitous run-fests but has certainly aided the batsmen in its few games so far. Ross Taylor found the boundaries small enough to clear seven times in his unbeaten 131 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka coasted to 327 against Zimbabwe last Thursday. It’s harder for the team batting second under lights, so the toss is important.
Stats
- In four World Cup meetings between the sides Pakistan have won three with the Bulawayo tie in 2003 being rained off
- The 349 Pakistan made against Zimbabwe in Kingston in 2007 is their highest World Cup score
- In 40 matches between the sides Pakistan have only lost twice, the last time being 13 years ago
Quotes
“I feel I have done my preparation and it’s just a matter of executing my skills” *Brendan Taylor’s pre-match words are as well-drilled as anyone else in the world
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/506063.html
*
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
So, Kamran Akmal is playing today 
I thought he would be dropped for today’s match 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Yeah he is playing 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
That is because of injury to Umar Akmal. Someone up there loves him.
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Umar is playing today he is not injured
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Pata nahin Kamran Akmal nay kya duaein kiye hongay
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Kamran Akmal is playing 
But he shouldn’t be a wicktet keeper 
KKK naa hovey to kaheen kaa 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
This is going to be an easy walk over for Pakistan.You need to worry abt their fielding only.All other arenas,Batting and Bowling Zimb waon't stand even a minute chance. The first two wickets of Zimb.means a complete fall..
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
He isn’t good with bat as well 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
I hope and I know but look at England what he is doing with Bangladesh 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
**Afridi says Umar is fit and will play **
Osman Samiuddin in Pallekele
March 13, 2011
Pakistan may be keen to stick to as stable an XI as possible as they go through the group stages of this tournament, but it doesn't seem likely they will be able to do so. They take on Zimbabwe in a potentially tricky encounter, in a vital game in Pallekele, knowing that a win will ensure a quarter-final berth for them.
But in the aftermath of last week’s [(http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/player/42639.html) sounded confident about Umar’s availability, though noises from the rest of the camp are not as positive. If Umar does not play, Asad Shafiq is likely to be the replacement. “Umar is fit, it is a light injury,” Afridi said. “He was fielding just now and looking better. He is fine and definitely inshallah he will play tomorrow.”
All the confusion makes one thing clear: Kamran will be in, for lack of a credible alternative if nothing else. All week the team has made reassuring noises about his wicketkeeping, about how hard he has worked and trained.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/129800/129882.2.jpg
“His performance in batting hasn’t been bad but yes he is struggling with his keeping,” Afridi said. “But he is working very hard, you’ve seen it. We also haven’t got such an option in the squad to whom we can give a chance in this tournament. It’s been four days, he’s working hard, he has support and our confidence, he is a better choice. I think he knows the mistakes he has committed and he will try to make up for it for sure.”
Another change Pakistan are likely to make is to rest Shoaib Akhtar, who gave away 71 runs in his nine overs against New Zealand, and bring in Wahab Riaz.
Afridi is treading that fine line, currently, that all captains must at one point or another: to stick with struggling players and give them confidence in the name of stability, or bring in change for the sake of improvement. The matter is at its most acute with the openers Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, both of whom have flopped with the bat. He doesn’t want to experiment much, but he knows Pakistan can ill-afford more poor starts.
"I’m not trying to experiment as this is not the right time. I am trying to give confidence to everyone. During the competition we are trying to keep the same momentum and team with just one or two changes. At the moment the openers are thinking let’s play 15 overs but don’t lose wickets but also they are thinking let’s play our positive games. I’ve told them play to your strengths, like you play in domestic cricket, play like that.
“Over the last couple of days they’ve worked really hard and the coaches have worked hard with them as well. I am confident they will perform.”
Pakistan were unconvincing in the win against Canada in Colombo and fell apart against New Zealand, so Afridi hoped that they can get their campaign back on track. “We learnt a lot from that loss because we didn’t perform well in the field, with the ball or bat. We should be more focused on the way we are going to start with the bat, the way we bowl with the new ball. We need the kind of good start we got against Sri Lanka. We’ll try to put a decent total on the board and defend it and get them out as soon as possible.”
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/506079.html](“http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/engine/match/433581.html”)
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Whats with the team Kamran Akmal sey bohat payar hai lagta hai 
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
This is going to be an easy walk over for Pakistan.You need to worry abt their fielding only.All other arenas,Batting and Bowling Zimb waon't stand even a minute chance. The first two wickets of Zimb.means a complete fall..
:) :)
Re: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, 14th March 2011
Then what’s the need to include Kamran Akmal in today’s match? :khums: