Story Sharjah Cup FINAL - India VS Pakistan

[ashu2411]

First we will talk to the loosing captain Rahul Dravid:

Bad luck today. Very disapoointed batting from India

It was a bad day for our batsmen. Our bowlers did a great job by restricting Pakistan to only 186 mainly due to Harbhajan's good effort. But our batsmen got a little carried away and played some bad shots which let us down.

Do you think pitch played a major role in your defeat?

It was a difficult pitch to bat on and during second inning, it was definitely tough conditions with ball spinning a lot and also keeping low. But we have world class batsmen who have experience of these conditions and I believe that pitch was not the main reason of our loss. Moreover Pakistani bowlers bowled really well and picked up wickets regularly and we were never allowed to get set.

Your next match is agains world champion Australia. What will be your main strategy?

Australia is a world class team and if we have to beat them then our middle order has to deliver. I am happy with my bowlers but the batsmen need to prove their worth in team

Thank You Rahul Dravid and good luck for your match against Australia

 

[ashu2411]

Now lets welcome the winning captain Inzamam ul Haq.

What a sensational victory and a very close match.

Yeah it was a great win and once again we proved that we are unbeatable in Sharjah. Our bowlers did very well to dismiss a batting lineup like India to only 150. We were very disappointed after scoring even less then 200 runs on a good batting pitch but I think Razzaq and Malik were just superb with the ball and they brought us back in the match

Any thoughts about pitch Inzy?

In the first inning the pitch was good for batting although ball was stopping a bit before coming on the bat but stil good conditions for batting. Later in the inning, I must say that it suddenly changed to a difficult pitch which assisted all kind of bowlers and our bowlers did a fantastic job by exploiting them to the best.

Everybody was impressed today with your bowling changes Inzy.

Yeah I was just looking to not allow Indians to settle to a particular bowler and made constant changes. Moreover all the bowlers responded well to them.

Akhtar and Sami were a disappointment today

Yeah they both struggled to put ball on right areas and when they were bowling, we really had no hope of winning after their initial spells. But both are determined to perform well and you will get some good performances from them in future

Now you have four days break before your next match against mighty Australia.

It will be a hard match but we will try to make the best use of this break in uplifting over batting.

Thanks very much Inzy and good luck for your future matches.

Don't go anywhere because we still have to talk to today's Man of the Match.

 

[sachinisgod2]

Poor batting from India to loose from their.

 

[SaiSrini]

That was a meek batting collapse by India! Indian fans will surely be a lot disappointed! Losing to Pakistan always hurts!

 

[Cricketman]

u said that right sai... know all freak cricket fans will burn down cricketers' homes....lol just kidding. :laugh

 

[ashu2411]

Dont be disappointed guys. Next match is against Australia and Indian team will surely perform much better then this in batting.

 

[ashu2411]

Except Indian and Pakistani fans, there is another person who must also be looking at India - Pakistan match very closely - Australian Captain Ricky Ponting.

Did you watch the India pak match Ricky?

How can I match such a good match. These teams are always great against each other and this time I have to watch the match to analyze them too.

So what do you think was the turning point of match?

I think Sehwag wicket when he was playing well on 42 was the turning point because after him no other Indian batsmen get going at all.

Are you releived abit now for your match against India?

You can never take a team like India lightly. They have shown in the past and can bounce back very strongly. So we have to be very careful. They have best batting lineup in the world and just one failure cant make them less deadly.

What will be Australia's plan in the next match?

Match against India is going to be very crucial for us. Now India will be under pressure after loosing to Pakistan and we will try to maintain that pressure.

The pitch looks good for spinners. Do you think you made a mistake by bringing only one spinner Brad Hogg?

Yeah pitch looks good for spinners but we dont hve only one spinner. Symonds, Clarke and Katich all can spin the ball and can win the match for us with only their bowling. With them we have world's best seam bowlers - Mcgrath, Lee and Bracken.

Thanks for your time Ricky. Good luck for your match gainst India.

 

[ramesh1986]

India lost a close one there. Next match will be crucial.

 

[ashu2411]

Here is the point standing after the first match​

 

[Bala]

Wow! What an amazing turnaround. Its a pattern developing now in the story threads. Amazingly all involve a pathetic Indian batting collapse!

Great presentation Ashu!

 

[ashu2411]

Wow! What an amazing turnaround. Its a pattern developing now in the story threads. Amazingly all involve a pathetic Indian batting collapse!

Great presentation Ashu!

expect a strong comeback from India in next match buddy.

 

[brettLee]

great win for pak..

india / aus..
i am waiting

 

[ashu2411]

The second match of the Sharjah Cup is going to be big one as India takes on world champions in Sharjah Cricket Ground. These two teams previously met on two occassions - "world cup 2003 final" and League match of Planetcricket Super Cup" and on both occassions, Australia came out on top. So a good chance for India to give some answers in front of a good crowd support.

 

[ashu2411]

One day before their big match Indians had a long practise session. All Indian players participated in it and Chappel really made everyone do a lot of hardwork in nets. Indian main motive was to get its batsmen in form. Indians have to bat well if they have to compete against Australia. Realising the fact, all Indian main batsmen including Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Yuvraj had to shed alot of sweat. Even Pathan and Harbhajan provided some practise to batsmen with their swing and spin.

 

[ramesh1986]

I hope India wins against Australia.