In their rush to ape soccer's big tournaments, cricket's administrators have missed one point: there are no penalty shoot-outs in group stages, and they only take place in knock-out matches to ensure a winner and avoid a replay

Kamran Abbasi

25-Feb-2013

India and Pakistan played out perhaps their most thrilling contest in a world competition. One of the most absorbing situations in cricket is a batsman staving off a rampant bowling attack. First Robin Uthappa and then Misbah-ul-Haq demonstrated cool nerve and steady technique to salvage their colleagues from a batting disaster. Uthappa has been a revelation in England this summer which made Misbah's innings the bigger surprise.

But on a day that proved that Twenty20 cricket can share the thrill factor, a tie was a result both teams had earned. By sharing the points, both India and Pakistan would have qualified for the next round and the pre-tournament seeding ensured that results and standing had no influence over where the two teams would be heading next.

Pakistan, incidentally, will be pleased to be avoiding Durban in the next stage, almost as pleased as they must be with the wrong-footed emergence of Sohail Tanvir.

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India v Pakistan: a maturing rivalry

Australia and England might now play the second most important match in international cricket but they do so with a friendly rivalry that the maturing rivalry of India and Pakistan must learn from and aspire to emulate

Kamran Abbasi

25-Feb-2013

The two biggest rivalries in international cricket dominate the ICC World Twenty20 on Friday. When the pressure of national expectations grips players in these encounters, cricket becomes a tortured mind game. No greater incentive is required than the historical landmark that a World Cup battle creates, captured perfectly in millions--perhaps billions--of memories despite the orgy of one-day cricket outside World Cups. An ICC World Twenty20 match should not be any different. Indeed, a further incentive exists as England and Pakistan can dismiss their rivals from the tournament.

The Ashes opponents might possess the longest cricketing rivalry but India versus Pakistan, particularly in a World Cup, must have become the premier contest. The argument is a simple one, it is one of demographics. Cricket's biggest populations will be on edge as their heroes do battle. Consider, too, some internet stats which show that while Cricinfo is in the top 200 sites in most cricketing nations, for all South Asian countries it is in the top 25--a remarkable achievement when you consider that this means company with Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ebay, MySpace, Facebook, and other internet giants.

The conclusion is that cricket matters. It stops work and interrupts conversations. It excites and demoralises . It demands attention and provokes fury. In India and Pakistan you can can be assured of this fervour. Perhaps too in Australia, but it is the English side of that equation that offers only sporadic passion, making India versus Pakistan an equal and unparalleled rivalry.

But it is also a maturing one. Where once these matches were fuelled by memories of war, death, and blood they are now sustained by globalisation, television, and the internet. The current generation of cricket fans has had greater interaction with the "enemy" and has no memory of partition other than through the proud but bitter tales of elders.

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The right time for death or glory

Pakistan fans will be hoping that these miserable last twelve months, beginning with Inzamam's striking revolt and ending with Shoaib Akhtar's revolting strike, will give way to some cricket to cheer even though it might not end in a ICC World

Kamran Abbasi

25-Feb-2013

I'm fascinated to see how Pakistan perform in the ICC World Twenty20. For many years Pakistan's batsmen have been treating Test and One-day cricket like a twenty-over thrash, exhibiting their various versions of death or glory. Pakistan will perform incredibly well or laughably badly, probably they will manage both extremes in the same match.

Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir have always been basket cases, their madcap assaults inspiring an amused following that includes this blogger. The other batsmen in the squad are also prone to a rush of blood to the head. Even Pakistan's deserving Test Player of the Year, the mysteriously absent Mohammad Yousuf, is well known for batting like a lunatic in Test cricket--until he acquired a remarkable serenity last year.

Hence, for this tournament I'd pick all the erratics: Nazir, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal, probably in that batting order. My bowlers would be Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, and Yasir Arafat, whose batting counts strongly in his favour.

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Asif's thigh, Shoaib's end?

Kamran Abbasi

25-Feb-2013

Shoaib Akhtar hit Mohammad Asif in the thigh but he shot himself in the foot. There can be no excuse for striking anybody let alone with a cricket bat. That you would attack a colleague under the glare of the international media is an extreme misjudgment, the behaviour of an individual who is incapable of self-control, unwilling to accept the bounds of common decency, and delusional about his own importance.

One reason why Shoaib continues to transgress, of course, is that he keeps getting away with it. He has rescued his career repeatedly. Hyperextension, unprofessional behaviour, dismal fitness, and performance enhancing drugs have failed to halt him. Whenever he returns it is with a surprising arrogance, blind to any of his weaknesses and the blame placed on others.

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