NZ take on formidable Pak !

Pallekele will make her World Cup debut, as NZ face mighty Pakistan !

Shahid Afridi is a giant allrounder. He has now 14 wickets in this WC. He has not shone with the bat and when he shines, gone will be the hopes of the opposition.

Of course there are some chinks in the Pak armour. Their top order has not fired yet.

Imran had criticised the team heavily. That they are going in without a fifth specialist bowler.

NZ on the other hand is far more happier with their last win. Their opening pair put on 166 and it was a comfortable ten wicket victory.

Cricket is a game of chance and it is not easy to predict the winners. We can say that Pak is still unconquered but then NZ is rising from the ashes and showing remarkable resilience. They have batsmen, fast bowlers and spin bowlers and are a good fighting unit. Their batsmen chased wide deliveries against AUS and got out unnecessarily. They have to fix their batting. Their batsmen should learn from Yuvraj Singh, who renounced his aggression and played a solid 50 not out for his side. His aim was to bat till the end and he did that in style, taking India to victory. ODI is not just slogging ! Caution should be mixed with aggression !

As for Pak, this is a good opportunity to disprove their critics. Their top order should fire. At the moment their batting seems to be the problem, as they have a very good bowling attack. Their batting is heavily dependent on Misbah and Y Khan. They were bowled out for 184 by lowly rated Canada ! Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Razzak coming in the lower order should fire to elevate their batting. They will have to face formidable teams like AUS, SA and India. They will have to raise their game against Aus, SA and India, if their dreams are to be realised !

Afridi is a giant allrounder, who can be a game changer.

He can shine with bat and ball and can be a danger to the opposition. He has not shone with the bat so far, but then he has been amongst the wickets. He is the leading bowler with 14 wickets so far.

The pitch will have grass on it and it will be better to watch out for Umar Gul, Akhtar and Southee. A hard and grassy pitch. Fast bowlers may play a leading role.

One sided matches are boring and will not attract either viewers or spectators, leading to financial loss for the Organisers. Thrillers will bring home the bacon. Real cliff hangers and humdingers are the need of the hour.

Real thrillers - with the game going into the ultimate over - ( like the IND ENG match, 14 runs off the last over ) - wlll attract viewers and spectators and prove that Cricket is a game of glorious vicissitudes !