Andy Roberts would have been appreciative of Riaz’s effort. With three down for eighty odd Shane Watson was being subjected to a torrid trial by fire by the Pakistan attack. In desperation he heaved at a bouncer in an attempted hook. The Pakistan fine leg did not have to move as the ball lobbed into Rahat Ali’s hands. Sometimes these catches are the most difficult as with the implications of it and the extra time that one gets, the catcher tenses up. And Rahat spilled Pakistan’s World Cup chance.
It is likely that with only a 130 odd left, on a friendly batting track, Australia’s line up would have gotten home despite Watson’s dismissal, but regardless, this was a huge momentum shift. Had there been four wickets down, the cat would have been amongst the pigeons. Pressure can unnerve the most battle hardened batting line ups and anything could have happened.
The four teams in the semi-finals were the best four on the circuit. Australia should be the favourites, but India would have had something to say about that when the two teams would have met on Thursday. At the time of writing both the semi-finals were yet to be played.
Dhoni has been an inspirational captain and the panicky line-ups of yesteryears have now been replaced by accomplished batsmen who are never hurried, yet score at a steady clip. Kohli is the star, but the rest are not far behind. The team batting has good depth all the way down to the spinner Ashwin. Dhawan, Raina, Sharma are all among the runs. Mohammad Shami leads the fast bowlers with the excellent Ashwin spinning a web. But the strength of the Indian team is the leadership and the extraordinary finishing of Mahinder Dhoni. The exposure of the Indian players of playing with and against top foreign players in the IPL has done much to raise self-belief.
No one could ever accuse the Aussies of lacking self-confidence. They walk on to the field as if they own it, which they do in this World Cup! But they are a superbly balanced side with fast bowlers like Stark and Johnson and a brutal, powerful batting lineup. The only way that Australia could lose to India would be if the Indians made them play their style of cricket. Brought them down to their level. But then ODI cricket is a game of missed or taken opportunities. Whosoever seizes them will be the winner. Australia looks the likely one.
This is New Zealand’s best chance of reaching or even winning the World Cup. It is extra ordinary how a country with a population less than that of a South Asian city can be international standard in so many sports, be it cricket, rugby, athletics, tennis. It speaks volumes for their organizational setup and their coaching. The New Zealanders are admirably well equipped with the bat, with players like Williamson, Guptil, Taylor and the inspirational skipper McCullum. They also have a bowling attack let by Southee and Boult and backed up by the experienced Vettori who is having a dream come back to international cricket. They will be facing what looks, on paper, to be the best team in the world were it not for their brittleness when the going gets tough. They have in their ranks the best one day cricketer in the world in Captain De Villiers. There is the serene stroke player of Hashim Amla along with Miller, De Koch and Duminy. The South Africans have Steyn and Morkel supported by Abbott along with Tahir and Duminy as the spinners. But New Zealand have the home ground advantage and their home pitches can be a nightmare for visiting teams. The South Africans’ brittle nerves could also prove decisive. New Zealand to win.
Where does Pakistan stand after their average performance? Reaching the quarter finals is no feather in their cap, considering that there are only eight or nine world class teams. The worrying aspect about Pakistan and especially now that Misbah has retired, is that they are not mentally and emotionally steady. The need of the hour is a sports psychologist. Get the best available. He will be better than all the other coaches combined. He will teach the players how to stay calm and in the present moment. He will teach them how to handle the huge expectations our nation places on our cricketers.
The PCB should also get some young middle level foreign coaches who could be spread around the country. They would be young, energetic and above all ambitious, eager to make a name for themselves. They would not cost an arm and a leg and could also influence and educate the local coaches, not only with their knowledge but also with the positive attitude that is ingrained in them. The PCB should work towards bigger squares on their grounds so that each pitch gets fewer matches a year and thus does not go flat. They should improve the quality of local balls. The outfields should be softer with thick grass. That is one reason why our fielders are not so athletic. They know that diving on our bare hard grounds could result in serious hurt. But these are small things that do not garner the media attention that grandstanding does.
We must remember that not too long ago, when Majid Khan ran the PCB, he had 13 or so employees. And they did a good job. Now the employees are in the hundreds. The PCB has become an employment agency, it seems.