Finally, the big day is here.
India vs Pakistan in a World Cup semi final.
Doesnt get bigger than this. All talks of pressure, mind games, history, cricket diplomacy, Punjabiyat, bhaichara and all would vanish in the thin air once the 2 captains walk out for the toss and the national anthems are played. After that all and sundry shall pave the way for 22 players who shall slug it out in the middle for the glory moment of the day.
Doesnt matter what Misbah said or what Rehman Malik said and backtracked. Doesnt matter what MMS and Gilani shall eat or drink or pee after the game or during the game. WHat shall matter is the battle between the bat and the ball.
4 previous wins are good to hold the psychological edge but only till the start of the game. The chaos, reputations, processes, areas, pre match talks, campaigns thus far would all cease to be important for the heroes of the 2 countries.
India's batting vs Pakistan bowling. Its a contest that has been billed as such.
Its more of the team which handles the pressure the BEST, the team which holds the NERVE BEST, the team which wins small chunks of plays in the entire 100 overs of the day shall prevail in the end. And its going to be INDIA who shall be expected to do this in Mohali, their best modern day ground.
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh are the key men for Indian batting. Kohli, Raina and MS shall look to carry forth the work done by the top 4. Zaheer Khan would be the key for the bowling. But it shall depend more on who is the support cast for Zak. Will Harbhajan turn up? Would Ashvin fox the stanis ? Especially Kamran, Hafeez and Shafiq ?
Who shall tbe the 2nd seamer? Munaf or Neehra ?
Neehara should the one who should get a look in before Munaf now.
What shall Pakistan do ? Will they get in Shoaib or continue to operate with Umar Gul and Riaz? How many catches would Kakkumal drop? How shall Afridi, the bowler do? He has got pretty ordinary record against India and so has Umar Gul. Would they field Junaid Khan who had a word or 2 to say on Sachin?
Its all about who handles the pressure on Wednesday better. But before that the skies should remain clear.
The predictions are:
Wed Mar 30 | |||
| 09:00 GMT | 14:30 Local 05:00 EDT | 04:00 CDT | 02:00 PDT | India v Pakistan at Mohali, ICC Cricket World Cup, 2nd Semi-Final |  17 - 30° C  | |
Not sure how ToI or NDTV has reported rain showers.
But here could be the possible lineups:
India :
1. Tendulkar
2. Sehwag
3. Gambhir
4. Yuvraj
5. Dhoni
6. Kohli
7. Raina
8. Ashvin
9. Harbhajan
10. Neehra
11. Zaheer
Pakistan:
1. Kakmal
2. Hafeez
3. Shafiq
4. Younis
5. Umarkamal
6. Misbah
7. Afridi
8. Rehman
9. Razzaq
10. Gul
11. Riaz / Akhtar
Will Gambhir raise his game against Pakistan? Will MS find form against Pakistan and will Yuvraj continue his golden run in this world cup ?
And moreover shall we avenge 2007 and 1996 ? All answered tomorrow in PCA ground @ 230 PM IST
