Such is the magic of the World Cup semi final between India and Pakistan being played in Mohali on 30 March 2011, that the two nations are completely charged with emotions ahead of the contest.

There is hardly a soul in the two countries who is not moved or motivated with passion and optimism about the outcome of the match. For most it has virtually turned into a matter of life and death, honour and prestige. Arguably, never before in cricket history has a match ever produced such an amazing amount of tension and excitement as being witnessed as I write. The tension, temperature, pressure and intensity is mounting moment by moment. In fact the whole sub continent is engulfed by 'cricket warming'.

Commenting on the prospects of the two gladiator teams, it is true that India from the very outset is being tagged as strong favorites by the pundits but the Pakistan team has patiently, gradually and finally fully regained confidence, spirit, form and strength. Cheerfully, the Pakistan cricketers have gelled into a well-knit unit and have been very composed throughout the tournament and are in a better position to soak up the pressure of the match.

Incidentally, Australia's Ricky Ponting after his team's defeat in the quarter final also expressed that India is better poised in the semi finals. But I believe what he had forgotten was the fact that Pakistan had far more convincingly out played the Aussies in their last group match.

Media has already created great hype, people are restless and there seems to be no respite until the match is over and the last ball bowled. Millions of fans ob both sides of the border are absolutely impatient and in frenzy.

In India it is generally thought that this is perhaps their golden chance to clinch another World Cup since they are playing under a 'home advantage' on their own grounds with huge crowds cheering and supporting. Again the contest against arch rival Pakistan makes the match more electrifying and lively. However, if one thinks it out, this very situation places the home team, India, under more pressure and makes life a bit more difficult.

Unfortunately Indian fans in such tense battles do not accept defeat gracefully as was exemplified by the riots which erupted towards the end of the semi final against Sri Lanka at Eden Garden Kolkata in the 1996 World Cup which forced the match referee CH Lloyd to award the match to Sri Lanka. Similarly, fans in Pakistan have been known to have indulged in demonstrations, burning of effigies and threatening behaviour such that returning player after a defeat have been given police protection.

I sincerely hope and believe that the current match though will be fiercely fought but will also live up to the highest traditions of this elegant sport and be seen as a milestone to foster peace and friendliness between the two nations.

Analyzing the strength of the two teams, India enjoy clear supremacy in batting and fielding but Pakistan has a definite edge in bowling and also their overall capability as was evident from their progress in the current World Cup matches. Let us now look how the two teams made progress to reach to the Semi Finals:

Team And Individual Performances
India
1st match: Won against Bangladesh by 87 runs.
2nd match: Tied against England.
3rd match: Won by 5 wickets against Ireland.
4th match: Won by 5 wickets against Netherlands.
5th match: Lost by 3 wickets against South Africa.
6th match: Won by 80 runs against West Indies.
Quarter Final: Won by 5 wickets against Australia.

Batting
Leading Batsmen: SR Tendulkar 379 runs (Average 54.14, 2 hundreds and One fifty), Virendra Sehwag 342 runs (Average 57.00, One hundred and One fifty), Yuvraj Singh 341 runs (Average 113.66, One hundred and Four fifties), Gautam Gambhir 269 runs (Average 38.42 with 2 fifties) and Virat Kohli 238 runs (Average 39.66, One hundred and One fifty).
Bowling
Leading Bowlers: Zaheer Khan 17 Wickets (Average 16.23),Yuvraj Singh 11 Wickets (Average 24.63),Munaf Patel 9 Wickets (Average 30.22),Harbhajan Singh 6 Wickets (Average 49.50),Piyush Chawla 4 Wickets (Average 43.50) and R.Ashwin 4 Wickets (Average 23.25).
Fielding: Catches held 29, Run Outs 6 and Stumped 3.

Pakistan
1st match: Won by205 runs against Kenya.
2nd match: Won by 11 runs against Sri Lanka.
3rd match: Won by 46 runs against Canada.
4th match: Lost by 110 runs against New Zealand.
5th match: Won by 7 wickets Zimbabwe
6th match: Won by 4 wickets against Australia.
Quarter Final: Won by 10 wickets against West Indies.

Batting
Leading Batsmen: Umar Akmal 211runs (Average 52.75, One fifty) Misbah-Ul-Haq 192 runs (Average 48.00 Four Fifties),Kamran Akmal 188 runs (Average 37.60 One Fifty), Younis Khan 172 runs (Average 34.40 Two fifties) Mohmmad Hafeez 172 runs (Average 28.66, One Fifty) Asad Shafique 124 runs (Average 124.0 One Fifty) and Abdul Razzaq 101 runs (Average 33.66 One Fifty)
Bowling
Leading Bowlers: Shahid Afridi 21 Wickets (Average 10.71),Umar Gul 14 Wickets (Average 14.50),Muhammad Hafeez 7 Wickets 9Average 22.71),Abdul Razzaq 5 Wickets (Average 29.40),Saeed Ajmal 3 Wickets (Average 16.30),Wahab Riaz 3 Wickets (Average 37.33)Shoaib Akhtar 3 Wickets (Average 40.66) and Abdul Rehman 3 Wickets (Average 66.33)
Fielding: Catches held 23, Run Outs 4 and Stumped 2

Finally some statistical facts and figures about international cricket contested between the two teams:
Overall Performance
- Out of 50 Tests played to date, Pakistan have won 12, India have won 9 and 38 ended in a draw.
- Out of the 119 ODI’s played so far, Pakistan leads by 69 victories against 46 by India and 4 ending in no result.
- In two T20 matches India has won 1 while the other ended in a tie.
- However all the previous 4 World Cup matches (1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003) have been won by India.

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2011 smyaserrafique@yahoo.com)