Analysing the Kiwis

[Saj]

So its New Zealand at Jo'burg for Pakistan.

Players missing - Oram, Ryder, Tuffey.

Key players - McCullum, Vettori, Taylor and Bond.

I think Pakistan has enough firepower to beat New Zealand, but they shouldnt underestimate their opponents. New Zealand are an efficient and well drilled unit and in Taylor and McCullum have 2 batsmen who can turn a match in a few overs.

The Pakistan plan must be to get rid of McCullum early and not to allow Bond to make early inroads into the Pakistan batting order. Also to keep Vettori at bay and look to score heavily off the remaining bowlers other than the skipper and Bond.

Key battles :-

Bond versus Akmal
Aamer versus McCullum
Vettori versus Yousuf
Ajmal versus Taylor

Your thoughts on the Kiwis and the Pakistan gameplan?

[ringo16]

Guptill is our form batsman and has the best stats - I think he'll be crucial as well. Taylor's had a poor series, but as our most talented batsman I hope he'll fire. It's just a shame that we've lost Ryder to injury.

[Kray_jackson7]

i think we have a good chance. they have good playuers but not the best team in the world. im suprised they got here. inshallah we will win, with players like afridi,ajmal,akmal they should be worried

[mindless slogging]

Guptill is on top form lately.

But I expect the biggest challenge coming from Kyle Mills and Ian Butler moreso than Shane Bond on a bowling wicket.

I think their batting line-up is the weak-point. If we get Taylor/Guptill/McCullum out early, they don't have any dangerous batsmen.

[sehsan]

Its in Wanders and thats the problem, Pakistani batsman might struggle on a bouncy track. lets hope pakistan openers give a good start and we can win this match easily

[hussein]

I dont think Pakistan have bowled to Ryder yet...
Pakistan beating New Zealand [in semi finals] is like South Africa choking, the latter didn't dissapoint and nor shall pakistan.

[Ayyub]

Originally Posted by hussein I dont think Pakistan have bowled to Ryder yet... Pakistan beating New Zealand [in semi finals] is like South Africa choking, the latter didn't dissapoint and nor shall pakistan.

ryder , tuffey and taylor is out :aamir

[who_dares]

Originally Posted by hussein I dont think Pakistan have bowled to Ryder yet... Pakistan beating New Zealand [in semi finals] is like South Africa choking, the latter didn't dissapoint and nor shall pakistan.

If you don't know, Ryder has been ruled out due an injury

[Extreme Pace]

Too early to say but Wanderers has been a bowl first wicket in the last few matches batting becomes easier for the team batting second. So if we win toss we should look to bowl first and if we are put into bat i don't think we need too many runs should look to bat the first 15-20 overs without losing too many wickets and NZ just don't have enough batsmen to chase 250+

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Saj So its New Zealand at Jo'burg for Pakistan. Players missing - Oram, Ryder, Tuffey. Key players - McCullum, Vettori, Taylor and Bond. I think Pakistan has enough firepower to beat New Zealand, but they shouldnt underestimate their opponents. New Zealand are an efficient and well drilled unit and in Taylor and McCullum have 2 batsmen who can turn a match in a few overs. The Pakistan plan must be to get rid of McCullum early and not to allow Bond to make early inroads into the Pakistan batting order. Also to keep Vettori at bay and look to score heavily off the remaining bowlers other than the skipper and Bond. Key battles :- Bond versus Akmal Aamer versus McCullum Vettori versus Yousuf Ajmal versus Taylor Your thoughts on the Kiwis and the Pakistan gameplan?

Agree with most of the stuff you've said Saj bhai.

But Dont you think Kamran and Nazir, if they play Bond defensively, will just be playing into his hands.
First off, both are natural stroke players and feel uncomfortable defending and ofcourse they will not be sticking to their strengths.
Secondly, we have seen earlier in the tournament that Bond crumbles when attacked, like against Srilanka.
Thirdly, we have an example at the wanderers when Mccullum attacked James Anderson who was moving the ball miles both ways. He played and missed when he was pushing and prodding but made good contact when he was playing his game.

Having said this though, I im in no way implying that Nazir does his blind slogging but instead choose the balls to attack.

[cricket_fever]

If I am not mistaken, Pak has excellent previous records vs the Kiwis especially in semi finals of tournaments. If Gul can do a "Gul" again it would be 'tops'.

[AZ]

well let's analyse:

Bekaar
McCullum
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bekaar
Bond


I like our chances

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar well let's analyse: Bekaar McCullum Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bond I like our chances

Umm being a bit overconfident arent we.

You are forgetting Taylor who is quickly becoming a class act.
You are forgetting Guptill who has had a great start to his international career.
You are forgetting Dan Vettori who is now a complete all rounder and great spinner.
You are forgetting Kyle Mills who could be more than a handful on a seaming wicket at the Wanderer.

Ofcourse add McCullum and Bond and suddenly Nzlander dont look like walkovers.

[AZ]

Originally Posted by *sallu* Umm being a bit overconfident arent we. You are forgetting Taylor who is quickly becoming a class act. You are forgetting Guptill who has had a great start to his international career. You are forgetting Dan Vettori who is now a complete all rounder and great spinner. You are forgetting Kyle Mills who could be more than a handful on a seaming wicket at the Wanderer. Ofcourse add McCullum and Bond and suddenly Nzlander dont look like walkovers.

oh PUHLEASE! Taylor and Guptill?! Vettori (most overrated player ever) and Mills? gimme a friggin' break

[muhammad saad]

The only players I rate from the current Nz lot are Bond ,Mc Cullam and Ryder (to some extent) and one of them isnt playing ,It has to be a piece of cake if we manage to see of Bond early.

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar oh PUHLEASE! Taylor and Guptill?! Vettori (most overrated player ever) and Mills? gimme a friggin' break

Did you see Taylors batting in the IPL?

Guptill averages over 47 with a strike rate of over 80 in his 16 innings so far.

Vettori has been a class act over the years, and Pakistan have a history of weakness against left armers.

As for Mills, I dont think very highly of him but I do think if the Wandereds wicket behaves the way it has so far generally, his ability to move the ball could be a handfull.

I would still say Pakistan go in as favourites, but certainly the attitude of treating New Zealand as pushovers is way over the top

[AZ]

1 - so now IPL is the benchmark of a class player, is it?

2 - he could have an avg. of 500, I couldn't care less, no Kiwi batsman will be able to play our spinners

3 - not even an average bowler, laanat on our batsmen if he gets a wicket against us

4 - chucker, shouldn't even be playing intl. cricket...but yes, he may give us some trouble

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by cricket_fever If I am not mistaken, Pak has excellent previous records vs the Kiwis especially in semi finals of tournaments. If Gul can do a "Gul" again it would be 'tops'.

Pakistan have lost to NZ in their only semifinal meeting in Champions Trophy.Besides that,Pakistan also lost their group match against NZ in 2006 CT..So,I hope we open our account against kiwis this time around in CT.

[161]

most important battle will be our openers against their pacers.

i have almost no confidence in nazir on that track against bond ... we need to find someone else to open.

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar well let's analyse: Bekaar McCullum Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bekaar Bond I like our chances

Dont forget our batting in bowler friendly conditions. Dont underestimate the kiwis.

I think we have to make sure that the kiwi new ball bowlers dont get wickets. Even if the run rate is around 4, it doesnt matter. Get the new ball out of the way without too much damage, and we know what we can do in the middle and end overs.

[ringo16]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar 1 - so now IPL is the benchmark of a class player, is it? 2 - he could have an avg. of 500, I couldn't care less, no Kiwi batsman will be able to play our spinners 3 - not even an average bowler, laanat on our batsmen if he gets a wicket against us 4 - chucker, shouldn't even be playing intl. cricket...but yes, he may give us some trouble

Nice attitude man. I guess we shouldn't even bother to show up.

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar 1 - so now IPL is the benchmark of a class player, is it? 2 - he could have an avg. of 500, I couldn't care less, no Kiwi batsman will be able to play our spinners 3 - not even an average bowler, laanat on our batsmen if he gets a wicket against us 4 - chucker, shouldn't even be playing intl. cricket...but yes, he may give us some trouble

Haha,
seriously, you guys are treating NewZealand like we're playing Uganda or Nigeria or someone.

IPL maynot be the benchmark of a class player but it does give you an indication of the players ability. And its not like Taylor hasnt been a success at international level. He has been a consistant performer for New Zealand

As for you opinion of Vettori, he took Maliks and Razzaks wickets on a much flatter track the last time the teams met in the t20 world cup.
His figures 4-0-20-2
His last few bowling efforts have been
2 for 45
1 for 34
2 for 21
1 for 31

I don't know what ur classification of a good player is, but if a guy performs for 6-7 years then he must be pretty damn good player

[Rizwan25]

I think NZ is a very good team and conditions in Jburg suit them more then us. They are used to playing on bouncy tracks and we are not so its gona be tough for our batsmen to pull this one off. Our bowling is good but if there isnt enough score posted on the board to defend then there's nothing much our bowlers can do. If I was younis I would go with Misbah instead of Nazir since its going to be a low scoring game and we will need some solid innings in the middle of inning. I would also play 4 seamers and drop Ajmal to adjust Asif. Ajmal has bowled really well thru out the tournament but I don't think any spinner has succeded in Jburg wicket so far. One last change I would make is bring Omer Akmal ahead of Yousef so he can give our run rate a little boost.

[Jive Jive Pakistan]

Pakistan needs to show the intensity the showed for the last 10-12 over thorugh out the game on saturday

Inshallah they have the talent, its about being focused at the job in hand

[Imr4n_Khan]

If we bat first, Imran Nazir should be given the license to take the attack to New Zealand; get quick start like we did against India and then let middle order play sensible keep wickets in hand and attack at the end.

If we bowel first, then Pakistan should look to make inroad to New Zealand batting. Especially get McCullum out early. Don't let NZ recover and then finish them off.

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Rizwan25 I think NZ is a very good team and conditions in Jburg suit them more then us. They are used to playing on bouncy tracks and we are not so its gona be tough for our batsmen to pull this one off. Our bowling is good but if there isnt enough score posted on the board to defend then there's nothing much our bowlers can do. If I was younis I would go with Misbah instead of Nazir since its going to be a low scoring game and we will need some solid innings in the middle of inning. I would also play 4 seamers and drop Ajmal to adjust Asif. Ajmal has bowled really well thru out the tournament but I don't think any spinner has succeded in Jburg wicket so far. One last change I would make is bring Omer Akmal ahead of Yousef so he can give our run rate a little boost.

2 points:

It was turning a mile today for Harbhajan and Mishra

Ajmal is a much better bowler than both put together

[BD-fan]

Collapse vs collapse. Whoever can resist that wins the game. simple equation.

[Muhammad]

Originally Posted by *sallu* I don't know what ur classification of a good player is, but if a guy performs for 6-7 years then he must be pretty damn good player

He's been performing for longer than 6-7 years, though it's fair to say his game has gone up a notch or two in that time. Still got a few years left in him, only 30.

[jusarrived]

NZ wer my favs to win CT even before the start ...Taylor happens to be my fav batsmen outside the indian team & along with the likes of Guptil & McCullum it has one of the best top order ..Ryders absence will hurt them imo ...dont rate their bowling a lot , apart from Vettori ..but if Bond is in form & with good support from Mills ..they can bother battinglinups on helpful pitches .

Weakness : batting against spin and very prone to collapse .

Would give a 50-50 considering Paks record against them in big tourneys

[waqar_ahmad]

Yeah, I think people here are getting overconfident. Kiwis can beat pakistan. Ouur battin gis very brittle. But honestly, if we can put up a good total, I think kiwis will crumble to our bowling.

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar 1 - so now IPL is the benchmark of a class player, is it? 2 - he could have an avg. of 500, I couldn't care less, no Kiwi batsman will be able to play our spinners 3 - not even an average bowler, laanat on our batsmen if he gets a wicket against us 4 - chucker, shouldn't even be playing intl. cricket...but yes, he may give us some trouble

1 - no its not , but hes performed in Intl matches as well ...easily the top3 talented batsmen in the world

2 - by that logic your batsmen wont score a run aginst Bond

3- Vettori is the best ODI spinner

4 - so is Ajmal , but thats ok I guess

[Muhammad]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad Yeah, I think people here are getting overconfident. Kiwis can beat pakistan. Ouur battin gis very brittle. But honestly, if we can put up a good total, I think kiwis will crumble to our bowling.

True, neither team has a reliable batting line up, but bowling of both sides is pretty good, though I'd say ours is a bit better.

Only area the kiwis might shade us is in having a slightly stronger lower order.

[ali110]

If it's Centurion Wicket, I would say Pakistan would be a clear front runner. Since the match is in Jo'berg, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.....Bond, Mills, Butler are all capable of wrecking havoc in our fragile middle and top order batting. Vettori is world best spinner in ODI's. The only thing going in our favor is our batting as compare to their week batting lineup but if Mccullum or someone struck quick 80+ runs then it would be difficult for Pakistan. I am just hoping if we can win the toss and bat first and score in excess of 180+ or if batting second, they should restrict NZL to less than 150.

[zaid65]

Pakistan always has a history of beating Kiwis in a key battle. Having said that, anything can happen to any team at any day. But I would be putting my money on team Pakistan knowing the opponents are Kiwis.

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by jusarrived 1 - no its not , but hes performed in Intl matches as well ...easily the top3 talented batsmen in the world 2 - by that logic your batsmen wont score a run aginst Bond 3- Vettori is the best ODI spinner 4 - so is Ajmal , but thats ok I guess

1. Agreed

2. Agreed

3. Its a matter of opinion. Pakistan's spin attack is much better than kiwis, and I mean much much better

4. Just coz someone was called, doesnt mean he is a chucker

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad Yeah, I think people here are getting overconfident. Kiwis can beat pakistan. Ouur battin gis very brittle. But honestly, if we can put up a good total, I think kiwis will crumble to our bowling.

but would you want to be facing Bond and Mills early on ? from what i have seen Kiwis always seem to have a problem setting a target , especially when the opposition has spinners bowling in middle overs

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by jusarrived but would you want to be facing Bond and Mills early on ? from what i have seen Kiwis always seem to have a problem setting a target , especially when the opposition has spinners bowling in middle overs

That's a good point. I think Bond wil be dangerous no matter what. He is a class act, even though he hasnt bowled too much.

My scenario was targeting pakistan's bowling, and how well we can defend a score. Of course, bowling first, we can get them out cheaply as well.

But either way, Kiwis are a very dangerous ODI side. We are slightly ahead in terms of being favorites. I don think its going to be that easy for either side

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by jusarrived 1 - no its not , but hes performed in Intl matches as well ...easily the top3 talented batsmen in the world 2 - by that logic your batsmen wont score a run aginst Bond 3- Vettori is the best ODI spinner 4 - so is Ajmal , but thats ok I guess

Here wo go
From one extreme to the other

I guess being logical is just not on is it?

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad 1. Agreed 2. Agreed 3. Its a matter of opinion. Pakistan's spin attack is much better than kiwis, and I mean much much better 4. Just coz someone was called, doesnt mean he is a chucker

Vettori has been the best for the past few years .Paks attack may be better now , but they will have to perform consistently for at least an year to be called the best .

Murali , Harbajan , Ajmal , Praveen Kumar , Akthar are all chuckers , just cos they are allowed to play dosen change things ..my opinion though .

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad That's a good point. I think Bond wil be dangerous no matter what. He is a class act, even though he hasnt bowled too much. My scenario was targeting pakistan's bowling, and how well we can defend a score. Of course, bowling first, we can get them out cheaply as well. But either way, Kiwis are a very dangerous ODI side. We are slightly ahead in terms of being favorites. I don think its going to be that easy for either side

Both teams having similar Weakness in Batting , this could be a toss Captain might want to lose .

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by jusarrived Vettori has been the best for the past few years .Paks attack may be better now , but they will have to perform consistently for at least an year to be called the best . Murali , Harbajan , Ajmal , Praveen Kumar , Akthar are all chuckers , just cos they are allowed to play dosen change things ..my opinion though .

Ajmal is not a chucker. Rest of them are

Tell me honestly. If you were to pick, would you rather have vettori in your team, or ajmal and afridi?

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad Ajmal is not a chucker. Rest of them are Tell me honestly. If you were to pick, would you rather have vettori in your team, or ajmal and afridi?

lest agree to disagree on the chucking , cos no pak fan will be convinced at this point .

Ajmal
Vettori
Afridi

in that order , but its only on current form

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by jusarrived lest agree to disagree on the chucking , cos no pak fan will be convinced at this point . Ajmal Vettori Afridi in that order , but its only on current form

SO, pakistan attack, is better, even if on current form.

By the way, one important thing here is pak batters' inability to play left arm spinners.

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad SO, pakistan attack, is better, even if on current form. By the way, one important thing here is pak batters' inability to play left arm spinners.

Never denied Paks attack is better , they will also be most effective against NZ batsmen who are arguably the worst players of spin now ...Taylors wickst will be huge imo , not a great player of spin , but better against offspin ... if hes set , his slog sweep can do a lot of damage .

I think we are doing too much analysis here , the game could shape very differently for all we know

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by jusarrived Never denied Paks attack is better , they will also be most effective against NZ batsmen who are arguably the worst players of spin now ...Taylors wickst will be huge imo , not a great player of spin , but better against offspin ... if hes set , his slog sweep can do a lot of damage . I think we are doing too much analysis here , the game could shape very differently for all we know

Cant argue with that.

Who are you rooting for JA

[coy0607]

both teams havnt really played a lot against each other recently, other than 1 t20 game......our spinners are basically our strongest card, and gul is going to be the wildcard, the kiwis are definitely going to look out for him....and bond hasnt been up to usual standard in this tournament....if nazir and akmal can keep wickets intact the first 4-5 overs, then we can score a lot of runs against them.....i dont think vettori will be a huge threat to us, these guys are too good against spin

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad Cant argue with that. Who are you rooting for JA

today it was pak , so the next match would be NZ

[Nazir_ Rules]

Come on Pak, lets show nz what we are made of! Inshallah we win! Go Pakistan!

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by jusarrived today it was pak , so the next match would be NZ

You rooted for India(vs Pak),India lost!
u rooted for Pak today,they lost
now u are supporting NZ,so goodluck to them,but I m giving them no chance whatsoever..thats pretty unfortunate for Kiwis.

[AZ]

Originally Posted by ringo16 Nice attitude man. I guess we shouldn't even bother to show up.

that would be a good idea

[Inswinging Yorker]

NZ batsmen r big and tall with the ability to hit 6s at will, pak have just akmal and overated afridi.

Malik younis, and Moyo...though can score better than a run a ball eventually ,still takes a bit of time to get going...as was seen today being dismissed after taking so many deliveries
can backfire.

Nz tall bowlers will exploit the pak batsmen esp if there is bounce and movement. Daniel vetorri is a bowler who is difficult to get away and is always a bowling threat.

Pak can match NZ in the bowlin dept, but its Paks batting which will determine the outcome.

Thats is why i give nz the edge.

[Amjid Javed]

The kiwis have a good CT record vs Pakistan and will be confident of keeping that record. Mcullum and Bond being their two keys player.

Fixtures between these two sides are rare in recent times and some of kiwis will be a slight unknown quantity.

Pakistans bowling should fare well but on a pitch offering pace and bounce pakistan fragile batting is a worry.

I hope we do perform and atleast reach the final.

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by Inswinging Yorker NZ batsmen r big and tall with the ability to hit 6s at will, pak have just akmal and overated afridi. Thats is why i give nz the edge.

are u sure ? or its just the rush of blood ! :iamlegend

[lumber121]

Pak will take Kiwis apart..as we been traditionally doing it in many past semi's against them..
Bring em on..

[Inswinging Yorker]

Originally Posted by Seen Sheen are u sure ? or its just the rush of blood ! :iamlegend

pretty sure.....nazir may score 20 max and throw his wicket away, afridi
between 0-10. Akmal is probably the only hope provided he does not inside edge on to his stumps.

Akmal is the one player who can take apart the bowlers in the first 15 overs, because being short he may not be affected with bounce as the other batsmen.

[Genghis]

Its going to be a tricky one this one, no stroll in the park like some are suggesting especially since we are playing at the Wanderers. Mills and Bond will be a handful, and if they bowl like they did against England, it will be hard work for our batsmen.

I think batting is NZ's weakness and if we bowl first and get them out for a low total, that might be our best option.

[classic]

i just hope someone in the Pakistani camp is reading all the brilliant comments being displayed on this truly wonderful board and seriousley takes note .

IMO Pakistan should stick to the winning team that wooped India with the inclusion of Asif instead of Gul.

[classic]

I am just glad that Pakistan have come this far and in style ...bearing in mind how little cricket they have played over the years they have proved to the world they are the true champions and i am sure some of the older folks will be remembering the 92 era.

Even if Pakistan don't make it to the final i still think they have been the most entertaining team to watch over the years and with such talent displayed have won many hearts around the cricketing world including India even though they may find it hard to admit at the moment.

Looking forward to a great match with NZ i am quietly confident in Pakistan reaching the finals and then its anybodys game.

[Stewie]

this is ridiculous.. its starting to sound like we have already beaten them.


bhai this is cricket. anything can happen.. i think toss and the pitch will play an important role.. if we end up batting on a pitch like the west indies game and bat first, i would say we have only a 25 percent chance of winning.

[Random Aussie]

Unless Bond does the damage this game is Pakistan's to lose.

Same for the other semi for us. Substitute Bambi for Bond.

[sali]

its not going to be a cakewalk for Pakistan. NZ have beaten SL and Eng at Wanderers...they will like the match up as long as the new pitch is same as the first two. I think they will fancy their chances against Pak. We need to promote Umer Akmal and play him at no 4 so he is not coming to control the damage. he is the only one who could be told to hold one end without blocking and keep rotating the excersise. I think Yosuf is also trying to stay on the wkt, he could make a difference.

[zulfiqar]

RA u mean its Pakistans to win right? Team batting first will find it difficult to set a target. Not going to be easy as everyone is predicting. Past records mean absolutely nothing. Will be a low scoring encounter, need younis and moyo to fire!

[Random Aussie]

Originally Posted by zulfiqar RA u mean its Pakistans to win right? Team batting first will find it difficult to set a target. Not going to be easy as everyone is predicting. Past records mean absolutely nothing. Will be a low scoring encounter, need younis and moyo to fire!

Yeah sorry I mean Pakistan should win the game unless they stuff it up (or Bond run amok).

[pun500]

its all about the toss and who bowls first if nz bowls first i give them a fair chance considering pak bats weakness against swinging ball

key players for nz

mccullum , bond , mills , taylor = game breakers

[IMMY69]

Originally Posted by lumber121 Pak will take Kiwis apart..as we been traditionally doing it in many past semi's against them.. Bring em on..

why so? a team is allowed to get better or simply have a very good day and beat the opposition, no matter whether its an icc tournament or a local club match...

By your logic, Pakistan should have lost to India on Saturday since India have more or less licked us in pretty much every icc tournament barring 2004...

[moz]

A side i have always admired, once Ryder Oram and Tuffey return, with the re-initiation of Bond, they will surprise a few teams..but as for the semi's, Pakistan will win i expect.

Great to see Bond back though...

[muhammad saad]

I say Nz wont manage anything over 150 irrespective of batting 1st or 2nd.

[hussein]

Originally Posted by ringo16 Nice attitude man. I guess we shouldn't even bother to show up.

is it just me, but how comes ur username has 'newcomer' wrriten under it

[IMMY69]

grant elliot is another danger man..he bowled very well against england..

if the wicket is anything like the one they played against england on then i'd expect a real struggle for our batsmen..hopefully they'll apply themselves and keep wickets until the end.

[LG]

Some over-confident opinions flying around. But I'm sure the last thing YK would do would be underestimating the opponent.

[whatever]

I think NZ bowling would be very good in these conditions. If Moyo, YK , and one more batsman apply well it will be pakistan's semi.

[ali_786]

I've got a bad feeling about this match.... unfortunately they're right most of the time.

[Stewie]

ali.. i am with you.. for some reason i have this sinking feeling in my gut that tells me it will be a green seaming track and NZL will bowl first and destroy us.

[AZ]

have some ENO, you'll feel better

[pakcricketfan]

I think our bowling is capable enough to handle the NZ batting.
However, I have a few concerns about our batting, especially since we are to play at Wanderers. Bond vs Akmal/Nazir will be a good contest.. Bond and Vettori might create a few problems for Pakistan..

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar have some ENO, you'll feel better

HAJMOLA can also do the job..

[Wasim_Waqar]

Anybody that thinks NZ will be a walkover is living in cloud cuckoo-land. I was 11 when I claimed there was no way India could beat defending champs Pak in 1996- and look what happened. Cricket is a funny game.

We must bat very well. If we do, I am confident the bowlers can do the job.

[slix10]

Well atleast our team is not thinking of it as "a walk in the park". The Pakistani team hasn't shown any overconfidence or "We will CRUSH them easily!" type of statements yet.

Doesn't really matter what the fans think (since they won't be on the crease)

[Stewie]

bhaio tum log hans rahey ho lekan seriously meri halat buri hai.. i do have a bad feeling about this and i am worried our team will become complacent.

urge our batsmen to use extreme caution while batting and fielding... dont muck it up u hear me?

[On_the_up]

My feelings before the matches were as follows:
West Indies (Win, win, Win)
India (we will win)
Australia (not sure)
New Zealand (feeling positive about this match)