This match is being stated as mini-final before the Cricket world cup 2011 final. Infact for some this is even bigger than the final match. Because its the semifinal match of the world cup 2011 between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan. The Cricket war (as it is being said) between these two nations will take place on the 30th of March in Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium, Mohali.
India is the only team from Group B to make it to the semifinals. Other three teams Pakistan, Srilanka and New Zealand are from the Group A. Sri Lanka and Newzealand will play in the first semifinal on 29th March, before the clash of India and Pakistan.
Teams under high pressure:
Expectations from both the teams are very high. The spectactators from both nations only want the win. So, its not only for the world cup final, they will have to play for the pride of their country too. Pressure on both the teams will be very high, and the presence of the PM’s of both nations will only increase it. Indian prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh sent invitation to Pakistan’s President and PM to attend the match and Pakistan’s government has accepted the invitation and Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani will watch the semifinal match with the Indian PM. Mike Horn, the famous motivational speaker has been appointed for Indian team, as this match will test their nerves even more than their skills.
High Security arrangements:
There are several threats of terror attack on the world cup semifinal match. There are very tight security arrangements in the Mohali. The area around the PCA stadium will become a no-fly zone during the match. NSG Commandoes have been already deployed with Anti-aircraft guns being used for the first time along with 48,000 security personnel. All India-Pakistan borders have been sealed and Pakistani fans can only enter through the wagah border.
Key Players of the Match:
The match will start on 09:00 GMT, 14:30 local time and 14:00 PKT. Both teams have got enough time for the preparations and practice before the semifinal clash. Indian team is full of confidence after defeating the reigning champions Australia in the quarterfinal match. On the other hand Pakistan is also very confident team and there players are doing very well. They remains the top team of Group A and beat the westindies very easily in quarterfinal to enter into the semifinal. The key players for Pakistan would be Shahid Afridi, Umer Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Akmal brothers. Afridi is the leading wicket taker in this tournament with 21 wickets. Umer Gul has also been in the good form. Kamran Akmal has good record in mohali and Umer Akmal is in a good form.
For India Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan will be the key players. Sachin is the top scorer in this world cup with 379 runs. He needs only one century to complete the 100th International hundered, and he could not get any better moment than this to do so. India will also look upon Yuvraj Singh who has been very good with both bat and bowl. He has been the Man of the match 4 times in this world cup.
India vs Pakistan Semi Final Squads:
India Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin.
Pakistan Squad: Shahid Afridi (c), Misbah-ul-Haq (vc) , Abdul Razzaq , Abdur Rehman , Ahmed Shehzad , Asad Shafiq , Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez , Saeed Ajmal , Shoaib Akhtar , Umar Akmal , Umar Gul , Wahab Riaz , Younis Khan
Date and Time : 30 March 2011 , 09:00 GMT | 14:30 Ind 14:00 PKT
Venue : Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Temperature: 17 – 33 * C
