Friday, August 07, 2009

Match Box (Pak. vs Sl. 4th ODI)

MATCH INFO CENTRAL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

THE GROUND

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R Premadasa Stadium is an automatic choice for the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to host day and night fixtures. Equiped with the latest floodlights, this 35,000 capacity stadium is the by far the largest stadium in Sri Lanka.

A panaromic view of Colombo RPS.

The pitch here was designed to be neutral, allowing a good battle between bat and ball, but the frequent overcast conditions and moisture in the air spoil the party for the batsmen, with the bowlers getting heaps of swing and wickets ;-) .

Weather most-often-than-not goes harsh here, for cricket fans that is, with the frequent thunderstorms. Clouds menacingly hover over the ground and spectators have to keep an eye out of rain which often drenches them! This is shown by the fact that out of the 98 ODIs played here, 17 ended up being canceled/abandoned. Not to mention the regular drizzle/rain that interrupts play.

The dreaded cloud-cover at R. Premadasa Stadium

As far as my opinion is concerned, win the toss, bat first, put up a good score (240+) on the board for your bowlers to defend under-lights. The spinners will also be aided under floodlights through uneven bounce.

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TEAM PERFORMANCES

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Pakistan: Pakistan have remained pretty even-steven here. Playing 13 games and winning only 6 of them [one game ended in no result]. The highest score put up by Pakistan here was 319-5 [against Bengladesh, 1997] and the lowest one stands at 122-10 [against Sri Lanka, 2004]. The win percentage of Pakistan at the RPS is 50.00%

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka have played 73 fixtures here and winning 46 of them [five matches were cancelled/abandoned]. The highest total by Sri Lanka was 320-8 [against India, 2009] and the lowest one the could muster was 98-10 [against South Africa, 1993]. Their win percentage at the Premadas statium is 67.64.

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FINAL RECOMMENDED PLAYING 11 FOR PAKISTAN

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  • Imran Nazir
  • Kamran Akmal
The master-blaster has sat for too long as the 12th man in this series. This star player should be given a chance to make his comeback in this ODI. Kamran Akmal has shown some good temperment and technique in the last two ODIs and should be handed over the partnership with Nazir. Nasir Jamshed doesn't get a place in my team because of his poor batting technique. With scores of 0 and 1 in the two ODIs he featured in, Younus would be a madman if he now gave Jamsehd preference over Nazir.
  • Younus Khan
  • Umar Akmal
  • Mohammad Yousuf
  • Shoaib Malik
  • Shahid Afridi
This middle-order is the best I can think of in the current squad after Misbahs staggering fitness. Younus Khan as a captain cannot be left out O _ o!! Umar Akmal has shown quite some promise with the bat and also in the field, he should be given a chance as well. Mohammad Yousuf should also be back in the side now as a man of his calibre cannot spend the rest of the series among the reserves. Shoaib Malik should also be tried by Younus at the RPS, as his average is quite good here, 36.50. He also scored a crafty century here. Boom Boom is the catalyst in the side and should be utilized by Younus in the Batting PP. Although he struggled with his leg-spin throughout the whole series.
  • Mohammad Amir
  • Naveed-ul-Hasan
  • Rao Iftikhar Anjum
  • Saeed Ajmal
Naveed-ul-Hasan has been impressive at this ground, taking 3-23 in the only match he played here. Razzaq will be missed in this lower order, not because of his batting but his bowling. He is by far the best bowler for Pakistan at the RPS with 12 wickets in the 8 fixtures he featured in. Rao Iftikhar also has a good record at this ground bagging 2 wickets for 13 runs with an impressive economy of 1.85 in the only match he played here. With injuries to Gul and Razzaq he will get a chance, surely. Mohammad Amir is the new pace sensation of Pakistan he will be the one to lookout for during this match. Saeed Ajmal acts as the run-stopper with a superlative career economy rate of 3.89.

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The above overview holds true for the final ODI as well!!

Stats Source: www.cricinfo.com

Photo (c) AFP

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Posted by R'gated at 11:09
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

nyce one buddy...bw...r u the Rockin' Hasan in the Cricket Community...

8/08/2009 11:41 am
R'gated said...

As a matter of fact,,,yes :-),,,
http://www.orkut.com/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=13196408258488550658

8/08/2009 12:13 pm

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