Why Pakistan should win the World Twenty20
In the Times , Simon Wilde makes a strong case for either India or South Africa to lift the World Twenty20, but his heart goes out to a team which needs the trophy more than the rest - Pakistan
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
In the Times, Simon Wilde makes a strong case for either India or South Africa to lift the World Twenty20, but his heart goes out to a team which needs the trophy more than the rest - Pakistan. The traumatic events in Lahore and the isolation that followed will all be forgotten, at least temporarily, if they can perform against the odds.
It would be in keeping with their mercurial character if the Pakistanis now began to play with real magic. They have a good record at Twenty20 and are in much the easier Super Eight group. A semi-final spot is a genuine possibility - and then, who knows what?
Australia's surprise exit has proved that players who are very good in one form need not necessarily be as effective in another. There is a school of thought, and one that has some strength to it, that a good player will be good in any form, but looking at some of theAustralians, you wondered if they had made the adjustment, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.
One of the things we learnt from the IPL was that great players in the traditional formats put a price on their wicket and consolidate when things go wrong when sadly, there is neither the time nor often a sound reason to consolidate. Maybe that is where a Ponting or a Hussey haven’t allowed the learning curve to set in. In the absence of Symonds, their best T20 batsman is probably David Hussey but he saw six others bat ahead of him.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo