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Monday, March 28, 2011

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - 2nd Semi Final (India vs Pakistan)

India romp into World Cup final


 India has won the Second Semi Final by 29 runs.


India marched into the World Cup final for the first time on home turf, hammering Pakistan by 29 runs in the semifinal match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Pakistan were all out for 231 in 49.5 overs.


There are no match tickets available. There are no hotel rooms vacant for the thousands flocking to Chandigarh from all over the world. The premiers of both India and Pakistan will be there to watch their men contest the second semi-finals of the World Cup. Add to those certainties one other: the Mohali pitch is bound to be batsmen-friendly. If sources are to be believed, then the fast bowlers will be more effective than spinners. "It is a good batting wicket. I don't think it will turn much," a Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) official said.


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History suggests that captains prefer to bat first on calling the coin right and both MS Dhoni and Shahid Afridi will do well to follow convention. It is better to bat first because the wicket tends to lose pace as the match goes on. But if there is heavy dew things could change. "A 280-plus total would be really difficult to chase," the source said. Over the last five years, in the nine matches played at the ground the 300-run mark has been breached only twice. Incidentally, on the first occasion, Pakistan successfully chased India's 321 in a day-night game, with Younis Khan's 117 overshadowing Sachin Tendulkar's 99.

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In the past five years, seven out of the nine matches have been won by the side batting first. Also, there were seven day-night matches with five won by the side batting first and only two by the chasing side. Wednesday's semi-final would be the first match to be played under lights since November 2009 in Mohali.


Of the 137 wickets taken in those nine matches, fast bowlers accounted for 105, while the spinners claimed just 29. Even though the seamers have predominantly controlled affairs here, slow bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, who relies on bounce, have always got good purchase from the Mohali pitch. At the same time the hard clay in the pitch tends to make the ball skid rather than spin, so a spinner like Afridi would do well to push the ball rather than spin it.


Another talking point in the build-up to the match has been the dew. Over the last few days there has been heavy dew with the outfield being really wet till 10 pm. The curator will be taking measures like not watering the ground two days before the match and cutting the outfield really low but it would be difficult to eliminate the dew entirely. An essential factor for the dew to not spoil the evening would be the presence of the wind during the first half of the day. If it is windy during the day the dew will not be heavy, otherwise it will play affect team strategies. 

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani will attend the semi-final at Mohali

Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Gilani has accepted the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, to attend the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali on March 30. Relations between the two countries took a turn for the worse in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008, and the cricket teams of the two countries haven't played each other on home soil since. Analysts say the Indian prime minister's latest gesture will help to break the diplomatic deadlock.


"It was decided in response to the Indian Prime Minister's invitation that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will visit India to witness the semi-final cricket match," presidential spokesman Faharullah Babar said on Sunday in Islamabad.

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Cricket has been used as an instrument of diplomacy between India and Pakistan in the past. In 1987, during an India-Pakistan Test in Jaipur, the then president of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq paid a visit to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and met Rajiv Gandhi, India's prime minister. Then, in 2004, India toured Pakistan for a full series for the first time in 15 years as the governments of the two countries aimed at improving relations.


The build-up to the upcoming semi-final in Mohali has been massive. Tickets were sold out well in advance, hotels within a 25 km radius of the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium have no rooms available and almost 6,500 visas are expected to be issued for fans travelling from Pakistan. India and Pakistan have played each other on four occasions in World Cups, with India winning each time.


ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - Quarter Final Results

CURRENT MATCH POSITION

Sachin Tendulkar’s 95th one-day international half-century formed the fulcrum around which the Indian innings revolved in their World Cup semi-final match against Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

The maestro held the innings together with a responsible knock, which featured two close calls. He survived a lbw verdict in the 11th over, bowled by Saeed Ajmal - umpire Ian Gould upheld the appeal only to be negated through the review route. What’s more, he survived a stumping chance off the next ball.


Tendulkar reached the milestone in style, thumping a flighted Shahid Afridi delivery to the cover boundary.


His fifty came after Mohammad Hafeez halted India’s progress with the wicket of Gautam Gambhir for 27 in their World Cup semifinal match against Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.


Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir consolidated the Indian innings, raising 68 runs for the second wicket after the exit of Virender Sehwag to take their side past the hundred run mark.


Tendulkar was slow off the blocks as compared to the rampaging Sehwag but the maestro soon hit the straps – showing a liking for the off-side – a sweetly-timed boundary off Wahab Riaz was a treat.


Earlier, Virender Sehwag led a whirlwind Indian start before he fell to Riaz for 38. The right-hander made the right noises early on, caressing Umar Gul to the cover boundary in the first over.


Sehwag, who has gone off the boil somewhat after his mammoth 175 in their opening game against Bangladesh in Mirpur, picked up Gul for special punishment, clobbering him for five boundaries in the third over.


He handed out the Pakistan pace spearhead some pasting, collecting two more fours in his third over to give just the kind of early start captain Dhoni would have hoped for.


Pakistan resorted to all seam opening bowling attack - Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq - a change Shahid Afridi opted for after preferring the pace-spin combo of Gul and Mohammad Hafeez in their quarter-final tie against West Indies.


Brief Scores: India 141 for 2 in 25 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 60*, Virat Kohli 9*, Virender Sehwag 38, Gautam Gambhir 27 *; Wahab Riaz 1 for 13, Mohammad Hafeez 1 for 14) vs Pakistan.

SACHIN TENDULKAR IS ALSO OUT AT 85. NOW THE SCORE IS 188 FOR THE LOSS OF 5 WICKETS.

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