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IPL, when this comes to mind, one thinks of some magnificent sixes, juicy strokes for boundaries & great fielding that might change the game around many times merely in the passage of 20 overs each side. The targets given by the team batting first is averaged at 170, and the chasing team loses all the wickets in pursuit of keeping the asking rate in control – some sloppy running between the wickets, few miss timed shots (not much of bowler’s efforts seen yet), while some chase it down with half the team still in the camp. Unfortunately, IPL seems to be a bat vs bat contest, unlike the real cricket that used to be a ball vs bat game, and how would it would be a tough competition without some of the best T20 players of the world!
Imagine the first ball of the innings, an in-swinging yorker, Adam Gilchrist finding it hard to dig the bat at it & suddenly the middle stump is out of the pitch! Umer Gul, master of yorkers, delivers one to get the wicket of one of the best batsmen of the tournament! And the crowd is stunned!
In the middle overs, comes the tiger Afridi, messing with the batsmen, showing some aggression, skidding ball here & there, continuously making the batsmen think which ball is it gonna be! Takes the wicket, does his trademark - raising his arms in the air, the crowd roars as the tiger has struck!
Shoaib Akhtar, opens up bowling against Mumbai Indians’ Sachin Tendulkar, marches to the wicket, delivering the fastest ball to clip Tendulkar’s stumps, gotcha! Crowd going ecstatic to the outstanding delivery!
And how can you forget Saeed Ajmal, who’s been blowing minds of almost every batsman, his doosras, arm ball, and the conventional one, keeping the batsman guessing which one would be! And getting a wicket out of nowhere, changing the game around, bringing the crowd alive!
Umar Akmal, exciting young prospect of Pakistan, doesn’t take much time to launch his assault, against any bowler of the world, we’ve seen him getting the better of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Zaheer Khan, Tim Southee, Brett Lee, Dale Steyn, Yuvraj Singh, Murali and list goes on! Imagine what would be like, Umar Gul bowling against Umar Akmal, which way would the ball go? Crowd would be on their feet in any case
If you’re looking for a wall in the middle order that just wont give away his wicket, the name to recall is Misbah-ul-Haq, suffering a collapse? Ask him to do the honors!
An all round performance from Mohammad Hafeez, is the tip of the ice berg, having comeback as a wicket taking bowler, he has a done remarkably well keeping opposition in check, as well as some sweetly timed shots, that just what the crowd wants!
The crowds enjoy the wickets falling, the dot balls at the death as much as the sixes & fours. Unfortunately the IPL 2011 has been more of a batsman’s paradise. But if batsmen are needed, Pakistan team can stun the crowd even there. All in all, the team Pakistan has a lot to offer to the world, the crowd would be on their feet, enjoying not just the batsmen hitting hard, but the bowlers getting the better of them in crunch situations! That’s what we call cricket!
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