 India
play Pakistan in the second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup
2011 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. This is
the first time that the two sides will play each other in this edition of the
tournament and they meet each other after winning their respective quarter-finals.
In the quarter-final, Pakistan had crushed West Indies at the Mirpur. This
happened after the West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat first and
were bowled out for a lowly score. The reason for that was that the Pakistanis,
like they have had in the past, bowled rather well in the tournament and bowled
them out for a sub-150 score. Then, the top order got to the total without loss,
thus romping home without any problem whatsoever.
Click for Live Score Card of Pakistan Vs India
India had a contrasting entry into the semi-final. They played Australia in
the quarter-finals and had to chase the total. Australia batted much better
than what West Indies had, scoring 260 and that was a target which could have
been a difficult one to chase. However, the Indians batted much better than
what one would have imagined they would, scoring the runs thanks to the batting
of Yuvraj Singh, who went on to get a half century and another man of
the match award. It was the fourth for him in the World Cup.
India will look to bat in the manner in which they have in the World Cup. The
tournament began well for the top order but their issue has been the middle
order which has shown signs of collapsing each time they have got a good start.
This changed in the quarter-final when the Indians began in a mediocre manner
but after that, ensured that there was no collapse and went on to win it for
the side.
Where the side will need to do better is against the pace bowling of Umar Gul as well as that of Abdul Razzaq, both of whom have achieved success
against the Indian batting.
On the other hand, India has had a decent time with the ball in the
last couple of games and would like to take that form further. Where they could
face an issue or two is that they will be against a side which plays spin bowling
well and that will be an issue for them.
There isn't much to choose from between the two sides and the side which handles
the pressure well will win it.
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