Old foes square-up for WorldT20’s marquee clash

KARACHI: The lukewarm start to the WorldTwenty20 championship is already a thing of the past as the focus shifts to the business end of the tournament. While the minnows battled out for two spots in the qualifying round, the top eight sides flexed their muscles in warm-up games.

All the preparation, planning, strategising and analysing is over as the sub-continent braces for an India-Pakistan clash to set the ball rolling in the main round in Mirpur, Dhaka.

The venue was the stage for an epic battle on 2^nd March; the drama witnessed in the spine-chilling Asia Cup encounter would have perhaps won the award for the best script of the year. The nail-biter went down to the last over and the scars of those two mistimed Shahid Afridi sixes are still fresh in the Indian minds.

With the momentum on Pakistan’s side, Mohammad Hafeez and his men have the chance to bury the ghosts of the past once for all. The men in green have been haunted by India in all eight 50-over World Cup and WorldT20 encounters over the last 22 years!

From the very first World Cup encounter between these two teams played in Sydney in 1992 to the 2012 World T20 clash in Colombo, Pakistan sides have had to endure defeats ranging from the two last over finishes in the inaugural T20 world championship in South Africa to the hammering in the 2003 One Day World Cup match in Centurion.

The modern greats of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Anwar, Inzamamul Haq to present day stalwarts like Misbahul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal have all failed to make that winning difference in a big stage encounter against the archrivals.

While the morale against India is expected to be high the disastrous defeat against South Africa in the warm-up tie played on Wednesday might send jitters in the batting camp.

The inexplicable collapse a phenomenon that has plagued Pakistan cricket since birth rose its ugly head again mere two days ahead of the high profile encounter.

The head coach Moin Khan who himself played in two World Cup matches against India in the 90s has a lot on his plate as he searches for the right batting combination and order.

Opener Sharjeel Khan is unfortunately proving to be just another one in that long assembly line of ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ Pakistan batsmen who seem to have a lot of brawn but very little brain!

In a nascent career he has repeatedly allowed his impetuosity to get the better of him and one would be surprised if he makes the playing eleven, after failing to learn the lesson in the warm-ups.

The often misfiring middle-order looks very strong on paper with Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, and Shoaib Malik with the mercurial Shahid Afridi shoring up the late-order.

Bowling would be the strength but let us not forget that the Indian line-up has been bolstered by the return of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni who have the potential to take the men in green head-on.

Pakistan are likely to include Mohammad Talha who surprised India with his pace and bounce in the Asia Cup encounter, how he and in fact the entire Hafeez eleven handles the pressure would decide the outcome.

So can Pakistan and the ghosts of the past finally bury the hatchet? Can Pakistan finally derail India at the biggest stage? The drama is now merely hours away.