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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
World Cup 2011, Ind vs Pak: The Sachin perspective

India, it seems followed Sachin from being a land with potential in the 1990s to be on the cusp of supremacy in 2011 and now as the ultimate clash in cricket looms large, history for the umpteenth time beckons the maestro.
For fans and cricketers, former and present alike, Sachin's 98 against Pakistan in 2003 was probably the second-best innings next to his famous 'Desert Storm' against the Australians at Sharjah in 1998. However, this time nothing less than a match-winning century can surpass his most famous ODI half-century, the 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.
As always Sachin is preparing himself for the big clash with the same dedication and intensity that has been his hallmark for the past 22 years. TV reports showed that he has already added more meat to his bat, making it heavier by 300gms than what is weighed at the start of the tournament. Sachin started the tournament with a bat that weighed around 1100gms and for the Pakistan game he has raised it to 1400gm.
That apart, Sachin will also be on the lookout to elongate India's victory run against Pakistan in the World Cups. India's supremacy over Pakistan in the gala-event has coincided with the rise of Sachin. In 1992, when India first met Pakistan in the World Cups, Sachin was still an innoccous youngster barely out of his teens but still on the verge of greatness. When the neighbouring nations met again in 1996 he had already stamped his class on the World stage and was considered one among the three best batsmen of his generation.
The Indo-Pak encounter again took place in the land of their old colonial masters, England and this time too Sachin, who was marginally ahead of Lara as the best player of his generation, chipped in with useful contribution and India prevailed over their arch-rivals.
By 2003, Sachin was the unanimous choice for the best batsman since Bradman tag and he let Pakistan know of it when he launched a brutal assault on the Pakistan bowling arsenal that boasted to be the best in the World. And the story continued with yet another Indian victory.
The two teams were relegated from the league stages of the 2007 World Cup and strangely the fates of Sachin, India and Pakistan were the same with each at possibly the lowest ebb of their cricket.
However, the stakes this time is higher than ever before as the clash is a Semi-final encounter, Sachin is on 99 international tons and quite possibly in his last World Cup too. He is already being acknowledged as the greatest batsman ever and would like to impart the lesson to Pakistan by scoring that all-important century and Sending the neighbours back to their homes.
The weights have been added, reputations enhanced and it is now game, set, go for the biggest rivalry in cricket and the focus is once again on the game's most charismatic and finest showman, Sachin to improve on the previous 98 and present 99 to guide India to yet another defining moment of its cricketing history in general and the entire population's collective confidence in particular. Long Live the master.
OneIndia Cricket
Ind Vs Pak WC semis:Afridi, Misbah in "last stand"
Mohali, March 30: After Pakistan got off to a brisk and confident start reaching 44/0 in 8.4 overs, India pegged back the visitors, reducing them to 70/2 in 15.3 overs. Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan took Pakistan to 100/2 in 23 overs, before Shafiq was bowled by Yuvraj and Pakistan were 103/3. Pakistan reached 106/3 in 25 overs before Yuvraj got the wicket of Younis Khan and Pakistan were 106/4 in 25.4 overs. Harbhajan then removed a dangerous Umar Akmal for 29 as Pakistan slid to 142/5 in 33.3 overs, before Munaf got rid of Razzaq for 3 as Pakistan slipped to 150/6.

Afridi to the rescue?
Abdul Razzaq came to the crease to join Misbah with the score at 142/5 in 33.3 overs. Pakistan reached 150 in the 37th over, but almost immediately lost the wicket of Razzaq when he was bowled to Munaf Patel for 3. with captain Shahid Afridi coming to the crease. Then in the 40th over, Yuvraj nearly got the wicket of Afridi, but Nehra grassed a catch in the deep as Pakistan moved to 177/6 in 40 overs.
Umar, Misbah fight back
In the 28th over, Umar Akmal was nearly run out but Yuvraj made a mess of it, knocking off the bails without gathering the ball. In Yuvraj's next over, Umar got stuck into the bowler, carting him for a four and six and followed up with another six in Yuvi's following over as Pakistan climbed to 141/4 in 32 overs. But Umar's defiance was cut short for 29 off 24 balls, when Bhajji bowled him with a quicker doosra asPakistan slid to 142/5 in 33.3 overs.
Yuvraj's strikes
Yuvraj Singh was brought into the attack with Pakistan at 84/2 in 19 overs. But he couldn't make any immediate impact, going for 5 runs in his first over. Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan took Pakistan to 100/2 in 23 overs. But Yuvraj came back to bowl Shafiq for 30 off 39 balls as Pakistan were reduced to 103/3 in 23.5 overs. Pakistan added just 3 more runsat the halfway stage in their innings. But then they lost Younis Khan for 13 to Yuvraj.
Pak slip after brisk start
Chasing India's 260/9, Pakistan's inning got off to the perfect start with Kamran Akmal slapping Zaheer Khan for two fours in the first over. Indian paceman Ashsih Nehra got off to a better start, conceding just 4 runs. In the 7th over, Hafeez and Akmal teamed up to take a four each off first-change bowler Munaf Patel as Pakistan climbed to 38/0 in 7 overs. Two overs later, Zaheer got the opening breakthrough for India when he hadKamran out caught at point for 19 off 21 balls. But Hafeez stood firm to take Pakistan past 50 in the 10th over. After 15 overs, Pakistan were 70/1 with Asad Shafiq and Hafeez at the creas

Getty Images
Afridi to the rescue?
Abdul Razzaq came to the crease to join Misbah with the score at 142/5 in 33.3 overs. Pakistan reached 150 in the 37th over, but almost immediately lost the wicket of Razzaq when he was bowled to Munaf Patel for 3. with captain Shahid Afridi coming to the crease. Then in the 40th over, Yuvraj nearly got the wicket of Afridi, but Nehra grassed a catch in the deep as Pakistan moved to 177/6 in 40 overs.
Umar, Misbah fight back
In the 28th over, Umar Akmal was nearly run out but Yuvraj made a mess of it, knocking off the bails without gathering the ball. In Yuvraj's next over, Umar got stuck into the bowler, carting him for a four and six and followed up with another six in Yuvi's following over as Pakistan climbed to 141/4 in 32 overs. But Umar's defiance was cut short for 29 off 24 balls, when Bhajji bowled him with a quicker doosra asPakistan slid to 142/5 in 33.3 overs.
Yuvraj's strikes
Yuvraj Singh was brought into the attack with Pakistan at 84/2 in 19 overs. But he couldn't make any immediate impact, going for 5 runs in his first over. Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan took Pakistan to 100/2 in 23 overs. But Yuvraj came back to bowl Shafiq for 30 off 39 balls as Pakistan were reduced to 103/3 in 23.5 overs. Pakistan added just 3 more runsat the halfway stage in their innings. But then they lost Younis Khan for 13 to Yuvraj.
Pak slip after brisk start
Chasing India's 260/9, Pakistan's inning got off to the perfect start with Kamran Akmal slapping Zaheer Khan for two fours in the first over. Indian paceman Ashsih Nehra got off to a better start, conceding just 4 runs. In the 7th over, Hafeez and Akmal teamed up to take a four each off first-change bowler Munaf Patel as Pakistan climbed to 38/0 in 7 overs. Two overs later, Zaheer got the opening breakthrough for India when he hadKamran out caught at point for 19 off 21 balls. But Hafeez stood firm to take Pakistan past 50 in the 10th over. After 15 overs, Pakistan were 70/1 with Asad Shafiq and Hafeez at the creas
India vs Pakistan: Sonia, Rahul to watch Mohali tie with PM
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and other members of the Gandhi family are expected to watch the high-voltage World Cup cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also sent an invitation to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to watch the match between the arch-rivals.
It is expected that Rahul, despite nursing a fractured leg, his sister Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra, would be in attendance to enjoy the big match of the tournament.
The match at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali will be witnessed by the Prime Ministers of both the countries.
Over 2200 security personnel drawn from Punjab, in addition to NSG commandos and central police forces, have been deployed to ensure security for the day-night match.
The semi-final between India and Pakistan is the first match between the two cricket-crazy nations in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also sent an invitation to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to watch the match between the arch-rivals.
It is expected that Rahul, despite nursing a fractured leg, his sister Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra, would be in attendance to enjoy the big match of the tournament.
The match at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali will be witnessed by the Prime Ministers of both the countries.
Over 2200 security personnel drawn from Punjab, in addition to NSG commandos and central police forces, have been deployed to ensure security for the day-night match.
The semi-final between India and Pakistan is the first match between the two cricket-crazy nations in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
World Cup: Can India be fifth time lucky against Pakistan?

As India take on Pakistan in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday at Mohali, it will be interesting to watch if Shahid Afridi's men can shed the losers' tag asscociated with them this time. Pakistan have never beaten India in a World Cup match. Both the teams have clashed four times on the World Cup stage with India having an upper hand everytime.

India captain Dhoni will look to carry forward the legacy.
With Sachin Tendulkar looking ominous, the question on everyone's lips is if he will slam his 100th international century at Mohali and lead India home. Tendulkar has never failed with the willow against his favourite enemy Pakistan. The last time the two arch-rivals clashed in 2003 at Centurion in South Africa, Tendulkar plundered 18 runs off Shoaib Akhtar's first over, setting the tone for the match that saw India dumping Pakistan out of the Cup. Tendulkar (98) played one of greatest knocks of One-day cricket against a formidable pace attack that included Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as Saeed Anwar's century went in vain.

With a team that is improving its performance, Afridi is keen on beating India.
Talking of India's batting line-up, Yuvraj Singh, who has a record four MoM so far in the tournament, looks hungrier than ever for runs, while Sehwag, on his day, can decimate the opposition single handedly. As for the youth brigade, which showed lots of courage during the game against Australia, it would be a litmus test to come good at the big stage even as Afridi-led Pakistan are getting better and better with each game.
So, ahead of the mega clash, we take a look at how the two teams have fared against each other:
1992 Benson and Hedges World Cup: Pakistan were bundled out for 173 runs in reply to India's 216 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, thanks to Sachin's attacking 54 and a 26-ball 34 from Kapil Dev. India's 43-run win had also some drama attached to it with keeper Kiran More and Javed Miandad lending a touch of colour to the high-octane encounter.

The 1996 World Cup match saw Ajay jadeja score 22 runs off a Waqar Younis over.

Pak players celebrate the dismissal of Rahul Dravid in the 1999 World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar helped India beat Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup.
India vs Pakistan: Mad rush at Chandigarh airport
India's high and mighty will vie with each other to get the earliest landing permission at the Chandigarh airport on Wednesday. The India-Pakistan semi final at the PCA stadium in Mohali is about to witness the biggest ever jamboree of VVIPs, industrialists and film stars.
It is being believed that the IAF controlled small airport will have Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's special aircraft hovering above itself around noon. This will be followed by Indian PM Manmohan Singh's entourage.
With at least six special flights operated by commercial airlines and about 50 private aircrafts expected to land during the day, Chandigarh airport might even match the busiest airports like Delhi and Mumbai by this afternoon.
The who's who of India Inc and Bollywood are also expected to be eying landing space at this airport today. Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Sharad Pawar, Vijay Mallya, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Anil Agarwal and the Hindujas are said to be flying in today.
These special flights will be in addition to regular flights operated by scheduled airlines from this city. With the additional flights, the total number of arrivals and departures from Chandigarh is expected to touch 135!
As flights are not permitted to take off or land from Chandigarh during nightime, the authorities have given special permission to aircrafts from this special day. However the authroities have made it clear that the private aircrafts willnot be given permission to park themselves at the airport. These aircrafts will have to drop their 'gliteratti' and then head towards Dehradun, delhi, Amristsar air Jaipur to await their pick ups back from C'garh.
So expect a host of Airbuses, Bombardiers and Hawkers hovering over the tri-city today awaiting landing permission.
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