One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
Pakistan grabbed a World Cup quarter-final berth on Sunday following their seven-wicket victory against Ireland that also cleared West Indies' last eight passage from Pool B.
The national team manager Intikhab Alam has blamed captain Shahid Afridi for Pakistan cricket team's recent poor performances, including at the World Twenty20 in India. The report states that Afridi was involved in 'needless controversies' during the World T20. In the five-page report submitted to the PCB and fact-finding committee of the PCB, Alam said that the team failed to sustain the stress and the pressure associated with the world event. "The recent Asia Cup and the ICC World T20 have made it evident that we have critical gaps both in batting and bowling and our fielding keeps on leaking runs, thus releasing pressure. In bowling, with the exception of Muhammad Amir, we do not have a bowler who can win us matches. "Our death bowling also is way below par. And the same goes with our batting line-up, where we do not have reliable pinch hitters and the top and power hitter to clinch us games," Alam wrote in his report, leaked to media.
Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi will be replaced as Pakistan's T20 captain after the World T20 in India, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan announced on Monday, while hinting his days as a player were also numbered. PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters in Lahore on his return from Kolkata on Monday that the board and Afridi had a understanding that he would retire after the World Cup. "He is captain till the World Cup under this understanding and he has said he will retire after the event. Even if he changes his mind and wants to carry on we will have to see whether he can be picked as a player or not," Khan said.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
Steve Smith cracked his maiden 50-over century as Australia routed Pakistan in 36.3 overs to secure a comprehensive 93-run victory in the first One-day International on Tuesday.
Mitchell Marsh not only prevented Lahore Lions from making it to the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20, but also paved the way for Chennai Super Kings' entry into the last-four stage.
Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam struck quick-fire fifties and combined in a record 147-run sixth wicket stand as Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets with one ball remaining in the first one-day international at Hambantota on Saturday.
Zimbabwe completed only their 11th Test victory with a dramatic 24-run win over Pakistan at Harare Sports club on Saturday to draw the series 1-1.
Their arrival itself was mired in drama and a mercurial Pakistan would look to bring the focus back on their cricket when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh.
Embattled Pakistan finally opened their account in the World Cup as they laboured to a narrow 20-run win over a spirited Zimbabwe in a Pool B match in Brisbane on Sunday.
Images from the World cup match between India and Pakistan at Adelaide.
Statistical highlights of the Asia Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
Australia romped into the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup, trouncing Pakistan by six wickets in the third quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval on Friday. They will meet defending champions India, who beat Bangladesh, in the second semi-final slated for March 26.
Militant group Al-Badr has claimed responsibility for the twin suicide attack that rocked Samba sector in Jammu region on Thursday.
Pakistan's jinx against India in World Cup continues
Describing India's clinical win over arch-rivals Pakistan, in their World Cup campaign opener, as one of the biggest in his career, India batsman Virat Kohli said he was happy to have played his part in the "amazing" victory.
The 8th Champions Trophy begins in England this week. Rajneesh Gupta captures the tournament in all its statistical glory like only he can.
Thirty-four-year debutant Zulfiqar Babar took three key wickets then struck a six off the final ball of the match to give Pakistan a two wicket victory over West Indies in the first Twenty20 international on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has been accused of being non-serious throughout the Asia Cup and World Twenty20 in a report filed by under-fire coach Waqar Younis, who is furious about it being leaked to the media.
The win at Edgbaston was not the first time an Indian team had vanquished Pakistan in an ICC competition. Rajneesh Gupta surveys the landscape of India-Pakistan encounters in ICC contests.
Factbox on the third World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor scored centuries as New Zealand completed their World Cup preparations with a crushing 119-run win over Pakistan in Napier on Tuesday. It was their eighth win in their last 10 completed matches.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
Images from the Asia Cup T20 cricket match between India and Pakistan on Saturday.
Penpix of the Pakistan squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Photos of the third quarter-final match between Australia and Pakistan being played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday
'It was a good performance,' M S Dhoni said after the match. It was a little bit more than that, in that it came just when the team needed to reverse trends, to find self-belief, to be able to look ahead rather than behind.'
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Pakistan pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory over hosts Bangladesh to storm into the finals of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, knocking India out of the title race.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
Australia's 111-ball 60 against England in the fourth Ashes Test is the shortest all-out first innings ever in Test cricket history. Rajneesh Gupta presents other such shocking collapses on the first day of a Test in recent times.
When the defending champion India take on Pakistan in their potentially high-octane campaign opener of the ICC Cricket World Cup on February 15 at the Adelaide Oval, the awe-inspiring Sachin Tendulkar would be conspicuously absent for the first time in a match between the two arch-rivals in the showpiece event.
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
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