Anshuman Gaekwad
India will face Pakistan in Super Fours match at Asia Cup on Wednesday.M S Dhoni & Co needed just one win to reach into the final of this tournament.
Defending Champion Sri Lanka already reached into the with one game left in Sup
er Four Against India.
Although India Got three days rest I agree with Dhoni's regarding back-to-back matches.Cricketers must get some rest to keep them fit for next matches.Its really unfair to expect good cricket from them in such a short period of time and also in this humid condition.Indian Team management took right step by resting injured Irfan Pathan in this situation.
Considering the strenuous schedule , Indian Board & selectors should spare some time for these cricketers and put serious thought .
Before the start of this tournament I wrote about Indian Team's Batting line-up. India have best batting line-up in this tournament and if they can play according to their strength it will be difficult for any bowlers to stop them from scoring big runs.Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni — All are in top form and capable to score 300 plus runs.Same time after T20 Cricket , less than 300 runs will never be a safe or fighting total in ODI's.All these batsman should keep their momentum in remaing matches.Wickets in Pakistan are flat and not easy for seamers.Pakistan playing Asia Cup without Akhtar & Asif.Their pace attack further weakened when Umar Gul was ruled out of this tournament.Indian batsman should utilise this advantage.
On the other side , India is developing depth in the pace bowling department. They have pretty formidable attack and also has good replacements as well.But young pacers like Ishant Sharma , RP & others facing it difficult to contain opponents batting line-up.Dhoni & Gary must plan for those middle overs when bowlers giving too much runs. India must improve their fielding also.If Pathan returns he should bolster the bowling attack, along with teenager, Ishant Sharma. Add that to the young and old spin pair of Piyush Chawla and Virender Sehwag, seamer, Praveen Kumar and India are going to be very difficult to beat.
Although just one win will be enough for India to reach into the final,I would like to see them into the final by wining all games to keep the momentum. On the other side , After a bad phase Sri Lanka Team is now playing good cricket, they are a very well organised side. They have got a good balanced team they're going to be a tough opponent in next match.So it will be two though days for India. Fisrt they should ensure to play in the final by beating Pakistan and then it will be a warm-up match of Final.
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