Stani Army

In a semi-final that can’t have been any good to the health of Pakistani hearts, Pakistan have managed to beat South Africa and reach the final of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2009.

After getting off to a great start thanks to Kamran Akmal (23 off 12) and then Shahid Afridi (51 off 34), Pakistan were set for a total of 170 upwards. This did not happen as the South African bowlers, Parnell and Steyn in particular, reined Pakistan in, conceding just 29 runs off the last 5 overs. One thing Younis Khan could have done is send in Misbah Ul-Haq instead of himself as coming to the crease in the 13th over, Younis hit just one boundary in his innings of 24. Even sending Misbah in ahead of the rusty Razzaq would have been a good option. It was good that they sent Afridi at three yet this is one other place in which they could have been flexible with the line up. Misbah has a unique ability of finding the boundary from full pitched balls, something Younis and Razzaq struggled with.

We mustn’t underestimate the contribution of Shoiab Malik’s batting also. If you have a look at most decent Twenty20 totals, you will see they include at least one innings of 30+ which is around the run a ball rate. It’s a kind of stabiliser to the fast paced innings this form of the game requires in order for a large total to be set.

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