Ind. Pak. match thread

  It is not often that we have a clear favt. in an Ind-Pak. encounter. Ind, def. are clear favorites and expected to win this encounter. This is could be exactly what could backfire. Pak. bowling esp. in seaming/swinging conditions are absolutely WC which most batsmen except for VK will find hard to negotiate. Throw in an another promising spinner Shadhab Khan and pacer Hasan Ali, whom the Indians have never faced. The Pak. bowling unit has enough talent to trouble India, esp. should VK have an off day. Considering, VK's recent form this could be a plausible scenario. VK's performance like Sachin 's from past encounters will be the focal point of this game.

 The real achilles heel for Pak. is their batting. With India's improved bowling attack, the problem becomes even more acute. India to me have the best bowling variety in the trophy. (seamers, left armers and offies). I believe they missed a trick by not including Kuldeep Yadav, who could have been useful in the money stages of the tournament. (SF and beyond). Another major issue for Pak, is their inexperience. Except for Shoaib Malik and may be a few others, the Ind-Pak stage could prove too big for these rookies.

I do see India coming out in flying colors but the results could be closer than most expect.

Hopefully, we get a full game and rain does not play dampener. (With a 2:30 AM PST start I would be livid :))

Jai Hind !

Some past IND-PAK. game videos to enjoy.
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Fast and furious Junaid Khan.

Amir and VK's brilliance:

Boys > Men


My X1: (5 bat + 2 all-rnd + 4 bowlers)
1. Rohit  2.Dhawan 3.VK 4. UV* (fit ??) 5. MS  6. Hradik 7.Jaddu 8. Ash  9. Bhuvi 10. UY 11. Bumrah

Bhuvi traditionally has performed well against Pak. who are susceptible against good swing bowling, plus he is in fine form. Hence, gets the nod ahead of Shami. Shami, probably is not there yet too. (long layoff cos of injury). Bumrah and UY are auto. choices (death and strike bowlers). With the games seen so far, the pitches in Eng. are much different from before. Spinners will play an important role in this tourney esp. in the mid. overs, dictate game tempo and importantly the end result.

*If UV is unfit, would go with Kedar. He is predominantly a back-foot player and should do well on these pitches.

Key battles to watch:
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1) Amir vs. VK and rest
2) Bhuvi vs. Pak batsmen
3) X-factor: H.Ali, Faheem Ashraf (billed the next Afridi by Pak. media :)), H.Pandya

I dont think Pak will chase and Ind. want to bat first. (given there could be rain interruption). So, toss in this encounter is a mere formality :).