MIRPUR: Mercurial all-rounder, Shahid Afridi was fit to play and undergoing fielding drills in an apparent exhibition of his fitness for the potentially cracking World Twenty20 encounter between traditional rivals India and Pakistan, that kick-starts the Super 10 stage of the tournament on Friday at Bangladeshs Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, DawnNews reported. Grouped along with another former champion, the West Indies, powerful Australia and a qualifier from Group A of the ongoing preliminary stage, the two teams know it is only the beginning of a testing league competition in the tough Group 2. Talking to reporters on the eve todays Super 10 opener Pakistan Captain Mohammad Hafeez said “We do believe we have good all-rounders in our side,” “With Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, myself and Kamran Akmal as the wicketkeeper-batsman we are blessed to have players like that. Hopefully it will help us.” Afridi was in spectacular form in the recent Asia Cup, also in Bangladesh , and Hafeez predicted the flamboyant all- rounder would continue in the same fashion even though he was “not 100 per cent” fit. “Hes in good form, weve seen that in the Asia Cup. This is a good sign for us because we always want him to bat lower in the order and finish the game for Pakistan,” Hafeez said of the maverick leg-spinner who is also one of the most hard-hitting batsmen around. “Its always good to know hes in good nick and a good frame of mind. Its always great your senior player is always looking forward to challenges.” Hafeez said he was not worried about statistics concerning the teams and that this was not necessarily the all-important game fans on either side of the border make it out to be. Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said his team would take inspiration from a recent victory in the Asia Cup against India but conceded that Dhonis return would bolster the Indian team. Dhonis leadership is a key factor as he has done well over the past five-six years, Hafeez said. Theyre a good batting side but having played in Bangladesh during the recent Asia Cup we have prepared well. Pakistan has never beaten India in five meetings in the World Cup and three in the World Twenty20. Pakistan has also won only one of five T20s against India. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhonis said Thursday that records dont matter even though he admitted to Pakistans edge as far as all- rounders were concerned. “If you have players who can bat and bowl and if they are proper all-rounders, spinning or fast bowling, they add to the strength of the team.” A lot of people talk about that (results in ICC world events) but everything depends on what we do on the field, Dhoni said on the eve of the high-profile game. In fact, the gap between teams is very narrow and the smaller sides too have the talent to upset top sides in this format. India looks a little vulnerable with Dhoni missing the recent 50-over Asia Cup in which it lost to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Dhoni, who is yet to score an international Twenty20 fifty, said it is only a matter of getting some things right in time. Our bowling is an area of concern and we also need to get good starts with our batting. If we have wickets in hand, we are always capable of scoring some 10-15 runs above par, Dhoni said. The Indian spinners will have to make up for an inexperienced pace attack and it could well be a contest between Indias batting lineup, which has the likes of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni, and Pakistans bowling, which boasts of pace bowler Umar Gul and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal among others. India has played only one Twenty20 international since December 2012 but Dhoni said he was relying on the experience of the cash-rich Indian Premier League for his team. Our players have the experience of the IPL and also of the conditions here, said Dhoni, arguably the most successful captain in limited overs cricket, having led his team to victory in the 2007 World T20, 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, matches of Group 2, which consists of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, England and a qualifier, commence in Chittagong on Saturday. Loadshedding announcement Pakistans ministry of power and water announced on Friday that there would be no load-shedding in the country during the cricket encounter between neighbors India and Pakistan. However, K-Electric, which is Karachis electricity supply company, announced that load-shedding in areas under it would face load shedding as per routine.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:55:33 +0000
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