Screaming and lighting up the sky-India
"Play without pressure, play to enjoy the game, express yourself, and don't worry about the results." That has been the mantra for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Indian team over the last ten days, and the results of that philosophy have been nothing short of spectacular. The challenge for the team, and even more so the captain, is to ensure that the same principles are adhered to for one last time in the ICC World Twenty20, in a match where it will be easy to forget the plans and strategies, and worry about the results.
It's been a dream run for India, doubly unexpected because, coming into the tournament, the expectations were so low. Their Twenty20 experience had consisted of exactly one game, they had been beaten in the ODI series by England, and their three big batting superstars had opted out and been replaced by relatively unknown names.
On the eve of the final, though, all that ceases to be relevant. Instead, all those negatives have been replaced by a host of positives, so upbeat and vibrant has their performance been. What was seen as lack of experience - a drawback - has instead been a huge advantage: the younger players have raised the fielding to unbelievable levels, and the team has refused to be fazed by the win-or-perish situations that they have been confronted with more than once. The lack of superstars has been a cause to celebrate too, with Dhoni proudly announcing that as one of the pluses for India.
Along the way the team has also learnt very quickly, applied the lessons in the subsequent games, and improved in almost every aspect as the tournament has gone along. The improvement has been especially noticeable in the last three games: against England, the batting was sensational, but the bowling leaked too many; against South Africa they tightened up in the field but still allowed 11 extra deliveries; against Australia, though, the batting remained high class, while the number of wides came down from 11 to three.
Similarly, there's been a noticeable strategy to their batting too: keep wickets in hand through the early overs, even if the scoring rate isn't outstanding, so that even outrageous risks are possible in the latter part of the innings.
"The first five overs are important but not as much as the last eight overs," Dhoni explained on the eve of the match. "Against New Zealand [Virender] Sehwag and [Gautam] Gambhir gave us a terrific start but we couldn't capitalise and played poorly in the last few overs. With wickets in hand even 10-12 runs per over is possible in the last overs." The game against Australia was the perfect example of this strategy, as only 48 came from the first nine overs, while the last 11 yielded 140.
With the team in such spectacular form, there have obviously been some exceptional individual performers, none of whom have dazzled more than Yuvraj Singh. "I haven't seen anyone bat like he has over the last couple of matches," Dhoni said, while Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's captain, singled him out as the one Indian player to watch out for.
Yuvraj's scores have been spectacular, but even more than the runs scored, what has been stunning is the manner in which he has struck those sixes and fours - virtually all of them have been clean hits, thumped into spots which have been clinically picked, with strokes that seemed almost risk-free. Another match of similarly breathtaking strokes, and India will have taken a giant step towards holding the winner's trophy.
Yuvraj has by no means been the lone hero, though. Sehwag - who will have to pass a fitness test tomorrow morning on a groin injury - and Gambhir have been busy and innovative at the start, Robin Uthappa has done his bit, while Rohit Sharma made a quite stunning debut against South Africa.
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The bowling has had several stars too: RP Singh has been the most prominent with some outstanding new-ball spells and nine wickets in the tournament, but the others have played equally vital parts. Harbhajan Singh has been terrific at the death, firing them into the blockhole seemingly at will, Irfan Pathan has regained his control and consistency, while Sreesanth bowled one of the best spells of the tournament against Australia (though his excessive appealing earned him a censure both from the match referee and his captain later).
The two areas of concern for India are the venue and the run-chase: they've only played once at Johannesburg, a 2pm start - like the final - against New Zealand, which they lost by ten runs; and while they've become proficient at setting a target, they've hardly experienced chasing one, batting second only once, in the match mentioned above. The 2pm start suggests the team winning the toss might want to bat first, and if Pakistan take that route, India will be in less familiar territory.
Overall, though, it's all falling into place nicely for India - after an iffy start, they seem to be peaking at just the right moment - but the pace and intensity of the Twenty20 game is such that they'll have to be on the ball right from the start, and for the entire duration of the match. Against a Pakistan team in equally dominant form, nothing less will do.
A flow of consistency from the unpredictables-PakistanFive months on from the most traumatic period in their history, Pakistan have reached the ICC World Twenty20 final and are fully worth their place in the Johannesburg showpiece. They have bowled with variation, batted with verve and, most surprisingly, fielded well at crucial moments. The usually mercurial team has been the epitome of consistency, now they need to hold it together for one more match.
However, it won't be any ordinary match; Pakistan against India rarely is. Their previous meeting during the the tournament ended in a thrilling tie before India won the bowl-out 3-0. Although the locals will disagree, this is the final that the inaugural edition needed as it guarantees a passionate crowd and electric atmosphere.
Victory at the Wanderers would give Pakistan their first title in a global event since Imran Khan's 'cornered tigers' triumphed against England at Melbourne in 1992. As we have been reminded throughout the tournament that this isn't a World Cup, but after all that has gone in Pakistan cricket over the last few months, success here would be a significant mark in their history.
Shoaib Malik has been reluctant to talk about the Caribbean - "that's history, we are just looking forward" - but this new-look side is beginning to gel impressively under the guidance of Geoff Lawson. During the two weeks in South Africa, Pakistan have played and trained with a smile on their face, which has translated into the positive results. "He [Lawson] has only been here a short time, but we all enjoy working with him and he's a good man," Malik said.
New and recalled faces have impressed, especially Sohail Tanvir, whose wrong-footed action has flummoxed some of the best players in the world, and Misbah-ul-Haq, after his original selection ahead of Mohammad Yousuf sparked heated debate. But the absence of Yousuf, and Shoaib Akhtar, might actually have been a blessing in disguise for Malik. It has allowed him to mould a team under his command, a leadership the side responds well to from a captain who leads by example with 187 runs at 46.75.
Although the efforts of Malik and Misbah have been vital, the key to Pakistan's run to the final (unbeaten in match results, if not bowl-outs) has been their bowling attack. Most sides have had a weak link as the fifth bowler, Australia being a prime example with Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke, while fellow finalists India have also struggled despite Joginder Sharma becoming a hero against Australia. But Pakistan have been able to maintain the pressure throughout the 20 overs.
 The absence of Mohammad Yousuf, and Shoaib Akhtar, might actually have been a blessing in disguise for Malik. It has allowed him to mould a team under his command, a leadership the side responds well to  |
Tanvir and Mohammad Asif have shared the new ball, followed by a combination of spin from Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who leads the player-of-the-tournament race heading into the final with 12 wickets. Afridi has been an attacking threat, spinning his leg-breaks hard and fizzing through the rapid top-spinners. But the difference between Pakistan and other teams has come with Umar Gul who has bowled his four overs in the latter half of the innings.
"We worked hard leading into the Twenty20 with training camps," Gul said. "It allowed me to work on my bowling, especially bouncers, yorkers and slower balls and I discussed with Geoff [Lawson] about how to bowl. I have taken the new ball throughout my career, but this was a decision for the team and I was happy to do it."
The main injury concern is over Imran Nazir, who needed a runner during his 59 against New Zealand after picking up a groin strain, although he didn't appear in too much pain. If Pakistan want to look for good omens they can focus on their previous visits to the Wanderers. They comprehensively beat both Sri Lanka and Australia and have chased and defended on the ground. Also in their favour is that India's only visit to Johannesburg ended in a 10-run defeat to New Zealand. However, that will count for little on Monday and it will all be about who can handle the pressure in the Bullring.
Pakistan (probable) Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Sohail Tanvir
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