ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Pakistan vs. West Indies

South Africa prevailed at the Oval by a 2-wicket win over Pakistan in the second day of the Champions Trophy in a low-scoring game.

Only two of Pakistan’s batsmen scored more than 6 runs, and those two were Misbah ul-Haq who fell short of a century for 96 not out, and Jamshed who got 50 runs.

Their effort was not enough for the win because of a poor batting performance by their teammates.

West Indies were stunned early when they found themselves at 15 – 2, but managed to drive forward with an intent to win the game.
An unexpected contest emerged following a very small amount of runs but it did end up being a relatively close game.

A game of fast bowing and high action, but a game of which Pakistan fall short.

South Africa prevail in the 2nd Game of the Champions Trophy and put Pakistan in an uncomfortable start to the tournament.

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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India vs. Pakistan

India further exemplified their Champions Trophy dominance with an easy win over rivals Pakistan. 

It was yet another game of which was heavily affected by the rain, as play was stopped numerous times courtesy of the rain pouring down at Edgbaston. This resulted in the match being reduced in overs and reverting to the Duckworth-Lewis method.

India reached their revised target of 102 runs within 19.1 overs, following the Duckworth-Lewis method being applied to Pakistan’s 165 in 39.4 overs.

India’s stellar bowling display was also pivotal in them getting the win. Picture Courtesy: AFP

Pakistan – who were already eliminated from the tournament – really had little incentive in the match against a team who had already qualified. And it showed being bowled out for 165 after a long-winded innings lasting over 39 overs.

India were on top form with an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan and Dhawan had a terrific innings striking 48 runs from 41 balls.

Meanwhile, India’s bowlers had Pakistan troubled too, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was 2 – 19.

India maintain a 100% record in the tournament, looking very strong with fresh new talent following the paths paved by the veterans. Plus they now claim the bragging rights over their rivals.

Image Courtesy: EMPICS

Pakistan’s dissapointing Champions Trophy campaign comes to a crushing end with another poor performance in the tournament with 3 consecutive losses.

India look very strong coming off the group stages, this could indeed be the team that goes all the way in the Champions Trophy. 

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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India vs West Indies

India qualified for the semi-finals with an eight wicket win over West Indies and finished eliminated arch-rivals Pakistan from the tournament who they will face at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The Windies batted first and had a good start coasting to 104-2 after 20 overs. From then on, their scoring rate slowed down and wickets began to fall at regular intervals. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers,  taking 5-36, 14 of those runs coming in the last over. Opener Johnson Charles scored 60 off 80 balls before he was out LBW to Jadeja and Keiron Pollard batted well for 22. West Indies’ innings was faltering, and they were at 182-9 with only four overs remaining. Then we saw the big-hitting that a lot of the West Indies batsmen are renowned for. Darren Sammy the last man standing, unleashing his power to slog Yadav for six in the next over and then a four off Jadeja in the 48th. Then we saw the real side of Darren Sammy, he smashed Ishant Sharma for four through the covers, a six into the pavillion, then a four off the edge before unleashing a colossal six over long off and taking a single to keep strike for the final over where he reached his fifty off just  33 balls after hitting Jadeja for two fours and a six. The Windies posted a score of 233-9.

India had a brilliant start to the chase, racing to 179-2 after 30 overs to effectively end the contest, needing just 55 off the last 20 overs. Shikhar Dhawan was once again the star performer for India as he scored his second consecutive century at the tournament with a controlled 102 from 107 balls. Play was stopped midway through the 36th over, but the teams came back out after half an hour. Karthik and Dhawan continued to bat well and won the match for India in the 40th over. Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik both scored half centuries as they batted well alongside Dhawan.

The result means Pakistan are out and Friday’s game between West Indies and South Africa is a knockout match.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: South Africa vs Pakistan

South Africa all but ended Pakistan’s chances of advancing into the semi-finals with an exhilirating 67 wicket win. The Proteas batted first and, at one point looked set for a score of 270 and over. This was thwarted by the Pakistani’s monstrous bowling attack featuring confusing spinner Saeed Ajmal and the tall figure of 31 year old Mohammed Irfan. Hashim Amla top scored with 81 and skipper AB De Villiers batted well for 31, hitting a six and a four before slipping and being run out by his fellow captain Misbah.

Pakistan’s run chase was always off the pace, and they found themselves in a precarious situation at 48 after 18 overs. The slow pace continued, but Misbah fought valiantly after an excellent performance in the field, top scoring once again with 55 while Nasir Jamshed also batted well for 42. After Misbah plundered a six and a four, Amla took a sharp catch at mid-wicket to end the match even though Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal briefly put the chase back on, hitting 3 consecutive fours before Riaz was bowled by Phangiso.

Mathematically, Pakistan will still stand a chance if:
West Indies beat India and South Africa, THEN Pakistan must beat India. Even still they would need a better net run rate than South Africa and arch rivals India to take that second spot.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Preview Series – Pakistan

With tomorrow being the day until the ICC Champions Trophy kicks off, we preview Pakistan in the tournament, with predictions for the outcome, squads and more. This is the first of The Sport Matrix’s Champions Trophy preview series, where we look at each time and their chances in the upcoming tournament.

 

Star Player: Mohammed Hafeez

Captain: Misbah Ul Haq

World Cup Place: Semi Finals

Final Prediction: Semi Finals

Squad:

Nasir Jamshed

Mohammed Hafeez

Imran Farhat

Kamran Akmal

Misbah Ul Haq

Shoaib Malik

Asad Shafiq

Saeed Ajmal

Junaid Khan

Mohammed Irfan

Asad Ali

Wahab Riaz

Umer Amin

Abdur Rehman

Ehsan Adil

Pakistan, the world’s most unpredictable cricket team is preparing itself for the final tournament of it’s kind. Too often their success has been overshadowed by controversy but, here they are with a promising young squad, ready to prove to the world that they can shine again. They have never won the trophy and this is their final chance to and so many have doubted the selectors’ decision to drop fan’s favourite all rounder Shahid Afridi, but only time will tell if he will be missed. I fully expect them to get into the semi finals.

Will Pakistan be able to triumph in the last tournament of it’s kind? Will they finally out do the controversy that has surrounded them? Will their Star Captain lead them to an important victory? We will find out in the Champions Trophy.

This article was written by Waqar Hussain, head of cricket at The Sport Matrix.
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