Sunday, July 04, 2010Both teams eye momentum in series starterPakistan have shown tremendous form in the tour matches while Australia regained their lost aggression against England which makes this a fascinating contest when these two sides collide in the first match of the 2-match T20I series. Pakistan, the 2009 T20 champions, have done well in the warm-up games leading into this match and will be full of confidence when they lock horns with the strong Australian unit. Skipper Shahid Afridi has led his team magnificently in the recent past and he will be looking to avenge defeat they faced in the semi-final of the World Twenty20 2010. Their batsmen have done very well on this tour so far, especially the new Pakistan sensation Umar Akmal and the bowlers have also backed them brilliantly. They possess a lethal and colossal pace attack and the return of Umar Gul from injury has only further strengthened their bowling arsenal. Spin department, with the presence of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi looks settled with Shoaib Malik also capable of rolling his arm over. Pakistan have the players with flair and caliber who are very much capable of throwing monkey wrench in the works of Australian strategy. Australia, after being thrashed by the English side in the first three one-day matches came storming back and have once again started to play like champions. Though the format is different but the resurgent Australian side will gain enormous confidence from those two wins and would like to carry the winning momentum under skipper Michael Clarke. Australians own a solid top-order with brutal ability, reliable middle-order and fearsome pace attack which build up a rosy picture for them. It will be a stern test for Steven Smith as the opposition are known to play the spinners well and his performance in the middle overs will be vital in deciding the fate of the game. The brand of exciting cricket that the Australians play, they should be able to overpower the devious plans of the opposition. In the notorious unpredictability of Twenty20 cricket a moment of indecision or negativity can prove costly for either of the sides. Nevertheless, a cracking match is in for a store and Pakistan might edge out Australia due to more balanced side.
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Friday, July 02, 2010Arch-rivals eye victory in the last face-off before AshesAfter three loses in a row, leading to a series defeat, Australia came back roaring at Kennington Oval and would be hoping to keep the momentum while the English would be aiming to regain their focus. Finally, the World Champions, Australia, orchestrated a dominant victory over arch-rivals on this tour. Skipper Ricky Ponting struck his lost touch with the bat in the last match and his deputy, Michael Clarke, continued his gritty innings and lend a helpful hand in posting a big target for the English side. The bowling department powered by a five-wicket haul from Ryan Harris backed up the good performance from the batters. However, the team is still struggling with the middle-order batting and the batsmen like Cameron White and Michael Hussey will surely like to get some runs under their belt before the series against Pakistan. The bowlers will definitely like to emulate their performance from the last match, if not better it. There is a saying that when going gets tough, the tough gets going, probably this will not go down well with the series result, but surely the win in the last match would have reignited the self-belief in the Australian camp, who looked short of confidence in the first three One-dayers.
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