The Top Performers On Monday

Kamran Akmal 57 (51)

Kamran Akmal played a classic top order T20 innings against Ireland. He dropped anchor at one end while Shahzaib Hassan and then Shahid Afridi played breezy cameos, however he kept the scoreboard ticking, constantly looking for singles and scoring opportunities. Then, in the latter part of the innings, he cut loose and set the perfect platform for the late order hitters to come and accelerate. His form and sharpness at the top of the order is heartening for Pakistan, going into the semi-finals.

Boyd Rankin 4-0-11-0

Boyd Rankin may not have got any wickets, but he was the main reason Pakistan could not get any further than 159, even though they had five wickets still standing at the end of their innings. He is tall and big-built and used his height and strength to excellent advantage, bowling with genuine pace and getting deliveries to consistently rise to shoulder level from a good length. He beat the bat on numerous occasions, also exposing Pakistan’s weakness against the combo of pace and bounce in the process.

Saeed Ajmal 4-0-19-4

The clever off-spinner simply had too much > variety for the inexperienced Irish batsmen, and got the crucial wickets of Kevin O’Brien and Porterfield. While he doesn’t flight the ball too much, he has clever changes of pace, gets good bounce from just back of a length and can bowl the off-spinner, top spinner and doosra effectively. It makes him difficult to get away for even the more experienced and seasoned batsmen.

Ravi Bopara 55 (47)

Ravi Bopara did pretty much what Kamran Akmal did for Pakistan. However, while Akmal is more punchy and innovative as a stroke-maker, Bopara plays exquisite cricket shots that no one would mind watching again and again in replays. Blessed with superb timing and balance, natural flair and the ability to pierce the gaps with his imperious cuts, drives and flicks, he doesn’t feel the need to manufacture unusually risky shots. However, as it turned out, his effort went in vain.

Chanderpaul/Sarwan

> It was a partnership that The West Indies’ fans would be talking about for a long time to come. When Bravo got out with 38 still needed from 22 balls, and Sarwan walked in at number 7 (indicating how low he was in priority in a twenty20 game) to join Chanderpaul, not famous for his big hitting in this format either, it just didn’t seem like The West Indies would actually win. In fact, everyone was wondering how these two, as far removed from the breed of three hour cricketers as one could imagine, could actually pull this off. The fact that they did, and that too in style and with four balls to spare, was a lesson to all the Fletcher’s, Pollard’s and Simmons’ of the cricket world that a cool and composed mind and the absence of panic can sometimes be of far greater value than the frantic desperation to launch a brutal onslaught. Sarwan hit three genuine cricketing strokes for four, Chanderpaul added one more, and for the rest they just found the gaps and kept running the ones and the twos, and even a three during a moment of panic by England. There were no sixes, none were needed. The four boundaries they got gave them 16, and the rest 22 took only 14 balls of sensible batting. It was Michael Bevan re-visited, and Sarwan picked up a man of the match award for his 19 not out.

And One Tactical Blunder…

> Paul Collingwood should hardly blame either luck or the weather gods for England’s early exit on Monday. He chose to bat first, even though he knew as well as anyone else that there was a more than likely chance of rain. It is no rocket science that a team would have a better chance of chasing down a steeper run rate over the span of 8 or 9 overs with ten wickets in hand, than a marginally easier one over 20 overs. If rain interrupts somewhere in the middle of the first innings or early in the second, the team batting second has a significant advantage. They can go berserk, play recklessly, lose wickets and still make it.

What was most surprising was that when asked about this decision of his at the toss, Collingwood actually said words to the effect that one’s decision should not really be effected by the possibility of rain! Well, as English fans might say, ‘trust us to pull off the tactical blunder of the tournament.’