Colombo, March 28
The second semifinal to be played at Mohali on Wednesday has almost become bigger than the game itself with top dignitaries and heads of state scheduled to visit the venue and use it as an opportunity to bridge the political divide. But the first one to be played here tomorrow will be a low-key affair in comparison, with the spotlight being solely on cricket.

a dash of Sherry By Navjot Singh Sidhu Kiwi prey in Lankan web

So as it turns out, the only ‘outside’ team that has been able to survive the sub-continent is New Zealand. But to have come this far should be of little comfort for the Kiwis as now they will have to face the lion in its own den, when they take on Sri Lanka in the first semi-final.

They will have a formidable task at hand as Colombo breeds ideal conditions for the Sri Lankans. A sluggish pitch, which dies on you, will be very conducive for the Lankans to blossom into the final. It will be a big mountain to climb for the Kiwis but then if you don’t climb the hill, you will never see the view.

The task at hand for New Zealand gets tougher when you look at what the Lankans will have on offer. For a team that has been known to be vulnerable, susceptible and timid in facing quality spin, they will be coming up against a side with four spin bowlers. Their last outing in the sub-continent had resulted in a 5-0 whipping, if history is to be considered a factor. Although Vettori will himself lead in a decent spin attack, even the likes of Warne or Swann have not cut any ice in Sri Lanka.

Swann in fact, turned out to be a goose gobbler. For all great spinners, when they played against non sub-continent teams, their bad balls were at times not punished. But against teams from the sub-continent, I have seen their good balls hit for sixes. I remember seeing VVS Laxman drive Warne through mid-wicket and mid-on for boundaries, innumerable number of times.

For someone like Swann, bowling against the likes of India and Sri Lanka was a nightmare, but the same bowler gobbled up three wickets and loomed like a demon over the South Africans. Against India, or probably any sub-continent teams, a spinner is like sausage in a dog house! What is true by lamp light is not true by sunlight.

The Kiwis play spin from the crease and are hell-bent on sweeping at every given opportunity. This in turn spells doom for the batsman as it gives the spinner an opportunity to get on top. ‘Come into my parlour, says the spider to the fly’. This is exactly what the home spinners will say to the Kiwi batsmen as they spin a web around them.

The Sri Lankans have top quality spinners in Murali, Mendis and Herath, and when you add the likes of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Tharanga and Samaraweera to the batting line-up, you get a very solid looking side. This team indeed has it in them to tower like a colossus in the semi-final. It looks like it will be hard for the Kiwis to give wings to their dreams.

The New Zealanders had a golden opportunity when they played Sri Lanka in Mumbai. There was juice in the pitch for the first hour, but they failed to capitalise. Can they do so in the lion’s den? For them, it is not as bad as it looks; its worse.
But despite my money being on the island nation, the Kiwis are the Italian Stallions of this World Cup, the dark horses. They also probably have a stronger middle-order than the Lankans, with the likes of Styris, Oram, Nathan McCullum and Vettori in it. They do have players with all round strength. But the past is the best prophet to predict the future and the past tells that the Kiwis have come a cropper against spin.

In all fairness, the odds heavily favour the Sri Lankan team. In my book, it is almost 80-20 to them. The race is not necessarily to the swift, nor the battle to the strongest. But that is the way to bet.

Kolkata, March 28
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan today lashed out at Interior Minister Rehman Malik for his warning to Pakistan cricket team against indulging in match-fixing during their crucial World Cup semi-final against India in Mohali. The cricketer-turned-politican hit out at the minister's statement and said he should better keep a watch on himself as he was absconding few days back.

Imran, who heads Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, also made fun saying that the minister did not know English and his comments might have been misconstrued. "I would rather watch Rehman Malik than the cricket team.

I am serious. He was absconding. My worry is not the cricket team but it's him," Imran made a terse statement when asked about Malik's comments.

"I know the minister, he does not have a strong command over the English language. So perhaps, he must have said something and something else could have been interpreted. There are much better things to do. I don't think Pakistan team will be bothered about it." The skipper of the victorious 1992 team said he was confident that the national team would put pride before all else to try and beat India in Wednesday's clash at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

Earlier, Malik told mediapersons, "I gave a warning that there should be no match-fixing. I am keeping a close watch. If any such thing happens, we are going to take action." Malik was speaking in Karachi ahead of the World Cup semi-final clash between India and Pakistan in Mohali on Wedndesday that will showcase one of the world's most intense sporting rivalries.

Malik said that though he was "sure the team has very clean members", intelligence is gathering information on the Pakistani cricketers, including "who are meeting them and the phone calls that they are receiving." — PTI 

Mohali, March 28
For someone always relegated to playing the second fiddle, Umar Gul has really come of age. Always relegated to playing the supporting role to Shoaib Akhtar in his prime, and then Mohammed Aamer and Mohammad Asif, Gul suddenly found himself in the thick of things, whittling out batsmen at the top of the innings and then coming back to put a halt to proceedings towards the end.

And now he has come to a stage where he is practically ruling the fast bowling roost for Pakistan, though that doesn’t seem to have much of a difference for the young man.

“The first three wickets will be crucial for us,” said Gul, speaking to the media after the team’s practice session here, when asked if Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag would be the prime targets for him. “I will naturally be looking for those wickets.”

Ironically, it is now Gul’s turn to give a vote of confidence to Shoaib, who has been the icon for many of the speedsters who have played for Pakistan recently. “It would be great to have Shoaib back in action. All the pressure in the last few games was on me, so having him around will be great. He is feeling good and has always done well against India.”

Asked if the Pakistan Cricket Board or the players were upset with Shoaib about his reported tiff with Kamran Akmal, Gul said, “No one is upset with Shoaib. The team is united and there is no ill-feeling. He was given some rest after the New Zealand game, that is all. I am sure he will do well if selected.”

So how does he deal with being the person behind the scenes, while the stars in the side take all the accolades? “Everyone naturally wants some attention and fame, but there are some people who get it anyway, regardless of whether they do anything or not. They are idols at any time.”

Gul says the Pakistan team has put all the issues about the match-fixing scandal behind them. “We have been under pressure for the last five-six months, but we have put all of that behind us. We did well against South Africa and won series, both Test and One-day, in New Zealand. The dressing room atmosphere is good and the team is united. That is the main thing.”

An India-Pakistan match is always a pressure game, and this one is no better. “There is always pressure and the teams would naturally like to play their best game against each other. But cricket is the winner in all of this, since the game doesn’t only affect the players or spectators, it also works towards improving relations between teams.”

Wise words, for a player who was a small actor in the big drama of Pakistan cricket not too long ago. But things have changed and Umar Gul has grown, both in stature and credentials. 

Mohali, March 28
Punjab Cricket Association President Inderjit Singh Bindra today said that there was no miscommunication regarding the sale of tickets and the PCA had been quite transparent about the entire process.

“The tickets were sold out on March 21, well before we knew that this was going to be an India-Pakistan match,” Bindra said at the PCA Stadium here this evening. “Not one of the other associations anywhere has given as many tickets proportionately to the public as the PCA has.

“The stadium capacity is 27000 and we have sold 14000 tickets. Apart from that, 6000 tickets were given to the International Cricket Council (ICC), 1800 to the PCA members and 1800 more to the state associations.”

He claimed that there was nothing new in this, since it was a tradition at the PCA to ensure that a maximum number of people saw the matches held here.

“Even in the case of Pakistan, we have gone out of our way to facilitate them,” Bindra added. “Initially they had asked for 50 tickets but they woke up when they realised that Pakistan may play here, and started asking for more tickets. We have given them 200 more tickets, which were allocated to our members. We have denied our members, and only today, we have sent these 200 tickets through a representative to the relevant authorities.

“We have even approached the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and asked them about how many visas they can sort out in a day, and they said a maximum of 200,” Bindra added.

Asked which stars who would be here, Bindra retorted: “The two teams are the stars, and the former India captains, the captains of the other sides, who are doing commentary on the match, are the stars. In PCA, the stars will always be cricketers.” 

fast track By Michael Holding Kiwis need more from Oram

Succeeding in cricket has a lot to do with adaptation. Look at the innings Jesse Ryder played against South Africa. Ryder has a reputation of being a bit of a flashy stroke-maker. Against South Africa in Mirpur, he adapted to suit the conditions and match situation. It’s all well being flashy but you need to be able to get down and dirty and rough it out. I think there are a few players who carry such reputations and they need to learn to adapt. They can take a cue from Ryder.

New Zealand have rarely had massive stars. Instead, they have players who contribute, a little here and there. When you put these individual parts together, they all add and exceed on whole. Not a lot of outstanding players, but they all produce together.

This game is where New Zealand may need to bank on Jacob Oram and Scott Styris. The pair has a lot of experience. Now they need to produce, especially Styris. Oram has admitted that he’s the fittest he’s been for some time and that last match was proof of that. Styris has retired from Tests and has no excuses. Since he’s put everything into one-day cricket and is playing the World Cup, you’d expect more out of him. How they perform could be vital to the side’s success.

With Daniel Vettori not at his best owing to injury, senior players become important. Vettori is struggling but New Zealand need him. The players look up to him as a leader. His thinking, knowledge of the game, ability to deal with pressure situations and overall mindset are vital.

New Zealand’s bowling has carried them so far and I think Allan Donald has had a role to play where Tim Southee in particular is concerned. Donald will not be able to change much with the older bowlers, but with Southee, he seems to have had an effect. Southee has been consistently taking wickets and he’s been bowling at good pace. That could be a result of Donald’s working on his action and fitness.

It’s tough to spot weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s unit, but I feel that their bowling is not as dynamic as the other sides. They kept England to a low total but the English batsmen didn’t venture out of the crease. Against Sri Lanka’s spinners, batsmen will have to use their feet. There’s no point looking to just score through the gaps on the off-side or sweeping down the leg-side.

You’re need to be inventive and also score down the ground. Teams that don’t do that are going to struggle. If New Zealand manage that, they can exert pressure on Muralitharan and Mendis. Murali is vastly experienced but at the end of his career he isn’t as threatening as he was. Mendis is not a big spinner, so even though a batsman might not be able to pick his deliveries easily, hitting straight over his head should not be as difficult as some make it.

New Zealand will have to be positive in handling Sri Lanka’s spinners. I think Lanka will again go in with three spinners because a fair pitch is expected, and it’s a tactic that kept England quiet.

The real danger is Lasith Malinga. He can destroy New Zealand. He’s fast and very clever with his variety. He’s got a very good slower ball and yorker. New Zealand will have to be careful against him.

Sri Lanka look like favourites but then so did South Africa in the quarter-finals. I expected South Africa to beat NZ but look what happened. New Zealand have been consistent in World Cups, as five semi-finals prove. Going into their sixth semi-final, they look a balanced side but Sri Lanka have the edge. — PMG

arjuna’s eye By arjuna ranatunga SL can’t get complacent

In my last article I had said that home advantage gave Sri Lanka a golden opportunity to make it to their second successive final. Make that platinum! With South Africa crashing out inexplicably against New Zealand, it seems an even easier ride for the Sri Lankans.

However, a team that has felled one giant of the tournament could slay another, so the hosts should be on guard when they take on New Zealand on Tuesday. But more on that game later.

I am in India right now, and it’s all about the Indo-Pak finals. There is as much action off the field as on it, with the political atmospherics kicking in.

If I can please put on my political hat for a couple of minutes, the Indian Prime Minister’s initiative to invite the Pakistan Prime Minister and the acceptance of that invitation shows that a game of cricket can rise above itself to actually bring two countries closer.

Be that as it may, the cricket is going to be intensely competitive and India posses a slight advantage going into the game. Only a slight one, though, and I would state it is a 51-49 advantage.

India have to remember that Pakistan are a competitive, ruthless side and have beaten Sri Lanka and Australia - two of the top teams - in the tournament.

They have the best bowling attack and while their spinners have been effective so far, they have the pacemen to take India on as well.

India should be prepared for some attacking cricket from their neighbours. Pakistan know that they are just two games away from making history and the way they have been playing they are capable of beating anybody if they get it right.

However, the Indian batsmen are experienced and they have all had some big scores. The sheer experience and quality of the Indian batting makes it hard not to tip them as favourites, if only by a slight margin.

Coming back to the Sri Lanka game, the only danger for them is complacency and the lack of tight games, especially for the lower middle-order. Either Kumar Sangakkara or the openers have done the job in every game and the only game they were tested in was against Pakistan, a month ago. I hope the top order holds out for a couple of games more so that we don’t have to put too much pressure on the lower middle order.

It’s often been said that New Zealand are an aggregative side rather than a side that relies on a single match-winner. Their players all pitch in and the weight of the whole team pulls them across the line. They are also a spectacular fielding side and that was what won them the game against South Africa.

No side can be under-estimated in the semi-finals and it’s important that Sri Lanka plan, prepare and execute well for the game. Vettori and his spinners are in good form and while Sri Lanka play spin well, they must not get ahead of themselves.

It’s a platinum opportunity for Sri Lanka to make their third World Cup final and it’s important they are well-prepared.— Gameplan 

Amritsar, March 28
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi’s younger brother Mushtaq Afridi found himself stranded at the Wagah border today as he attempted to enter India to watch the high-profile World Cup semi-final between the arch-rivals on Wednesday.

Mushtaq, himself a first class cricketer and dashing batsman like his brother, was stopped at the Wagah border by the authorities here as he did not have proper documentation for his match-ticket.

“It is not a big issue. I had the copy of the ticket from the internet but the authorities wanted to see the hard copy. It is being sorted out now,” Mushtaq said.

“I am confident that I will be able to reach my destination by tonight,” he said. Sources said that Mushtaq had contacted his brother in Mohali for assistance and the matter was now being sorted out.

“Shahid (Afridi) is taking care of things. Because of the high demand for tickets and the expected rush for the semi-final, the authorities are obviously taking no chances and wanted to see the hard copy of the ticket,” one source said.

Mushtaq said he was going to Mohali by road as he did not want to miss the big match. “I am praying for a Pakistan victory but I know this is going to be one hell of a match,” he said. — PTI 

Pamaal (Ludhiana), March 28
A small piece of Ludhiana land would be featuring in the India-Pakistan match at the Mohali cricket stadium.

It is because the clay used in laying the pitch has been taken from Pamaal village, about 20 km from Ludhiana city. It is basically lifted in mud form from the bed of a drain. The mud spread in layers over the pitch is hardened with water and rolled and beaten to a level with traditional tools. The hardened surface helps in the bounce of the ball. That is why pace bowlers are more successful in Mohali than elsewhere in the country.

"We feel very special that one of the world’sbest cricket pitches is made from the sand of our village. Pamaal is world famous for the clay," said Pritam Singh Sekhon, Sarpanch of the village, adding that the village never prevented any Government or Non-Government Organisation from taking the soil.

Srinagar, March 28
Jammu and Kashmir State Chess Association, affiliated to All India Chess Federation organised 39th Jammu and Kashmir Chess Championship which concluded here yesterday. The event was inaugurated by its president, Comrade Abdul Rashid.

In the sub-junior category Mehroz Sajjad (6) secured Ist position (girls), Zaraib Ashai secured Ist position U-15 years, Salah Rashid Ist U-17 and Muneera Bashir Ist U-19 category.

In the men’s category, Fasal Farooq secured Ist position in seniors; Mohab stood Ist U-25, Nayeem Shafi Ist U-19 Aazim Rashid Ist U-15, Hyder Ist U-11 and Rozal Sajjad Secured Ist position in Sub Junior U-9 category.