Saturday, June 15, 2013

India vs Pakistan - ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Match

India vs Pakistan - India wins by 8 wickets (D/L method)

It really doesn't matter to some of the India or Pakistan cricket fans if their team is already eliminated. All they want to see is their team winning in an India vs Pakistan match. And the wait is over. The big match is here. India takes on the arch rivals Pakistan here at Birmingham for ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Group B match.


We are into the 10th match of ICC Champions Trophy. Group B already has two teams qualified to the semis - India and South Africa. West Indies and Pakistan are already eliminated from the competition. Still India vs Pakistan match can never be a dead rubber. We will surely see house full stands in Birmingham cricket stadium. We will also see most of the cricket fans around the world glued to their TV screens today. Indian TV viewers can enjoy live telecast of this match on Star Cricket and Star Sports 2.

India looks the best team so far in this tournament. How? Well India has played four different teams in two warm ups and two Group B matches. These matches were held on two different venues. Twice India batted first and twice India bowled first. And on all the four occasions India won! If we talk about the individual performances, Ravindra Jadeja bowled the best figures for India in any Champions trophy match. He took five wickets against West Indies. On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan scored two centuries on the trot in Group B matches. He is in firing form! A lot is expected from him today.

R Ashwin hasn't pulled up a good performance so far. It would be good for India to try their bench spinner today. On the other hand the quick bowlers have done a decent job so far. Kumar and Yadav were better against the West Indies. Ishant is bowling a good line and length.

Pakistan has suffered the most due to its batting in this competition. They never looked like posting big totals on the board due to their shaky starts to the innings and brittle middle order. The only man who stood tall and scored runs freely was their captain Misbah.

Bowling for Pakistan was very good. Mohammad Irfan was highly impressive with his quick bowling. Saeed Ajmal did a decent job this time. If the batsmen can provide a defendable total to the Pakistani bowlers, the results could have been different for this team.

Anyhow Pakistan is now already eliminated. So they will strive hard to perform better today and end their Champions Trophy campaign on a high note. On the other hand India would like to continue their winning momentum. Three more wins to them and they can be crowned the Champions Trophy winner.

Although India looks favourites today, let us expect some spirited performances from Pakistan. Let us wait and watch who would be the winner! 

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