Thursday 13th May at 15:30 GMT, England vs. Lankans at St Lucia
Head to Head: Haven’t played!
Tournament Performance: England has won 3/5 matches which include wins against the likes Pakistan/RSA and NZ. One match was washed out against the Irish and one early pool game was lost under the unfavourable Duckworth Lewis method against the tournament hosts, WI. So all in all the British side has got a near perfect record in this Caribbean carnival. Meanwhile the Lankans have also incidentally won 3/5 of their games so far which includes beating the Zimbabweans, WI and their Asian rivals India after a last ball six yesterday! They have lost to the Kiwis in the tournament opener and the Aussies in a super eight encounter! So therefore, the Lankans go into the semis with an indifferent record at stake.
Last time they met: England won in the 2009 Champions trophy held in RSA. http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/engine/match/415276.html
Pre Tournament Calls: England= super eights and then elimination and the Lankans= Semi Finalists and possible title contenders.
Prediction/Verdict: England wins in a tight game.
How the match will be determined: The England batting against the Lankans bowling.
Key Player: KP for England and Mahela Jayawardene for the Lankans who is the leading run scorer in the competition as things currently stand. Both are in form players and will need to come good for their respective nations in this big fascinating semi final encounter. KP might be tired having flown back over the Atlantic Ocean in such a short space of time but I feel tiredness won't influence his on field performance and he will be able to continue his flamboyance as a star performer despite the potential probs.
Friday 14th May at 15:30 GMT at St Lucia, Pakistan vs. Australia
Head to Head: 4 played Pakistan have won 2 and Australia have won 2 (the last two)
Tournament Performance: Australia have 100% winning record whereas Pakistan have 40% winning record, complete contrast in form and consistency.
Last time they met: Australia won by 34 runs on 2/5/10 in the pool fixture.
Pre Tournament Calls: Australia will emerge champions whereas Pakistan would reach the semi finals and be possible contenders to go the distance! At least one is likely to be right in the end!
Prediction/Verdict: Backing Pakistan obviously! Undoubtedly they will need to play out of their skins to beat them, however its T20 and anything can happen ! If Pakistan express themselves and play aggressively and fearlessly they can do it but Australia stand as firm favourites as they have won 10 consecutive games of cricket in a row against Pakistan at international level.
How the match will be determined: How Pakistani batsmen play Australia's fast bowling attack who have been highly successful in the competition particularly Dirk Nannes.
Key Player: Nannes and Watson for Australia whereas Salman Butt and Ajmal for Pakistan in my view.
Who will make the final on Sunday 16th May at 15:30 GMT at the venue of Barbados?
Oz special
14 years ago
2 comments:
i think the match up between England and Sri Lanka will be nail biter. Lankan lions are roaring and on the other hand English are looking for their first major ICC title. lot depends on Lankan batters as i still beleive their bowling is not that experienced.. England will be looking forward to their inform players Kieswetter.Lumb.KP.Morgan to deliver as their bowling is a bit unpredictable.. both the teams are excellent fielding units. a tough contest is expected..
as far as the 2nd semi final goes.. well Aussies are the favorites..they are all set to become the only team to hold all the ICC titles.. on the other hand Pakistanis after a miracle entry into the final 4 will be looking to qualify for the third straight final and win it..
Aussies are unstoppable in every department.and as usual every one has contributed from their team whenever the team was in a tough spot. Pakis are depending on their bowling to deliver and their spinners will again hold the key. but the batters need to fire in the pen-ultimate game
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