Pakistan - Road to the semis
Having made a strong statement to the rest of the teams in the ICC CWC 2011, Pakistan would be itching to play against India in semis.
By Rajesh Kumar
Pakistan, who have lost all four of their previous World Cup encounters against India and are yet to post an individual hundred in the tenth edition of the World Cup, go into the semi-final buyoed by a ten-wicket thrashing of West Indies in the quarter-final.
Pakistan, with five wins - one each against Kenya, Sri Lanka, Canada, Zimbabwe and Australia - had finished at the top in the group A, thanks mainly to extraordinary bowling efforts by their captain, Shahid Afridi and fast bowler Umar Gul.
Of the five triumphs at the group stage, Pakistan's best were against Sri Lanka, ensuring a 100% record at the World Cup against the Emerald Island (they've won all seven games between 1975 and 2011) and Australia. After losing heavily by 110 runs against New Zealand due to mediocre batting and bowling performances, they pulled off a stunning win over Australia, ending the latter's 34-game unbeaten sequence in World Cups.
Afridi, before the start of the semi-finals, has topped the wickets'charts. Apart from becoming the leading wicket-taker at every stage, capturing 21 wickets at 10.71 runs apiece in seven games, he has proved his effectiveness in terms of economy (3.48) and strike rate (18.4) too.
The unconventional leggie remains the only bowler to produce two instances of five wickets in an innings - five for 16 against Kenya in Hambantota on February 23 and five for 23 against Canada in Colombo (RPS) on March 3. He also got four wickets for 34 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo (RPS) on February 26.
Umar Gul was at his best in three successive games, capturing three wickets each against New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Australia. His overall tally of 14 wickets at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 22.5 in seven games, is the second best for Pakistan.
The only worry for the team before the start of the semi-final is their batting as not even a single batsman figures in the list of the top run-scorers in the 2011 edition of the World Cup - the highest being 211 (ave.52.75) in six games by Umar Akmal. He is 28th in the list of leading run-getters.
Further, a total of twenty three centuries have been recorded till date but none from Pakistan - the highest being an unbeaten 83 off 91 balls by Misbah-ul-Haq against Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS) on February 26.
After defeating the world champions, Australia, followed by the West Indies in the quarter-final, the top-order Pakistan batsmen have to raise their game against India in the semi-final.
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