1999 and 2003 world cupper Ajit Agarkar picks three of his most dangerous batsmen from the India and Pakistan teams to watch out for in today's world cup semi-final clash at Mohali
1999 and 2003 world cupper Ajit Agarkar picks three of his most dangerous batsmen from the India and Pakistan teams to watch out for in today's world cup semi-final clash at Mohali
Virender Sehwag has to be on top of this short list because of the manner in which he plays. He not only almost finishes games, he also demoralises opponents if he stays around for 10 overs. With a strike rate of 100, he is effective against almost most teams. The couple of times he has hung around in this tournament, India have raced to a massive total.
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Sachin Tendulkar does not hit the ball as long as some of the other guys, but he still scores at a strike rate between 90 and 100 which is not easy to do when you face the new ball. And he eventually gets to a hundred, which is phenomenal. Even if you see Sehwag belting the ball, you don't see a hundred as regularly as Sachin does. He is probably more determined, if one can say that, because he knows this is going to be his last World Cup and a World Cup win is not on his CV.
Yuvraj Singh has struck a purple patch at the right time for India. From almost being a bowler in the last couple of series to hold his place firmly in the team is fantastic. No one in the team hits the ball as hard as Yuvraj;
and he hits it cleanly. He's the man Pakistan would be very worried about. He performed against them in the 2003 World Cup game ufffd a crucial innings of 50 at the end.
Umar Akmal is probably the most correct batsman of the three Pakistanis I name. He builds an innings and can play the big shots too. The Pakistan lower order is as dangerous as any lower order in the tournament. India comes close with Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina or Pathan. Towards the back-end of the innings, it is vital to have those sort of guys which other teams lack.
Shahid Afridi is almost like Dhoni ufffd hasn't fired yet. But he is capable of changing a game in a matter of two overs. The day Afridi fires, you know you're in trouble. There is no escape ufffd the game will go only one way.
Afridi has responded well as captain and will be keen to change Pakistan's (all loss) record against India at the World Cup. When you talk about power hitters, you cannot leave out Afridi from any line-up.
Abdul Razzaq is the most dangerous of the three Pakistanis I have mentioned because I don't think there are too many hitters in the slog overs as good as Razzaq. I found him most difficult to bowl at because he watches the ball well and is sensible while hitting it. He just doesn't give it a big swing. Afridi may play a silly
shot more often than not, but Razzaq won't.
MISBAH ul Haq might have a say in today's game at Mohali. Remember, he batted well in the World T20 final against India at Johannesburg in 2007. He's one big hitter!
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