Thursday, May 13, 2010

The last thing what Australia needed

Well with the super eights finishing on a high note, the stage is needless to be said set for the grand semi finals no doubt which would be not grand than the finals of the tournament. No semi finals has so far been more grand than the finals of the tournament and this is no exception. However, as far as Australia is concerned, this is the last thing that they needed atleast in a world T20 tournament. By someone's grace in addition to their own efforts, Australia have so far been unbeaten in this tournament. But, as everyone is aware of, the semi finals of a mega tournament is altogether a different game altogether.

Not only in the world T20 tournament but also as far as the shortest version of the game is concerned, Aussies have so far found to have taken a set back which happened to be worse when the most successful Australian captain Ricky Ponting decided to quit from the version but continue to play in the other two formats of the game. Australia are the only team to have lost a match to Zimbabwe in a T20 world cup. No matter that there have been the West Indies team which have lost to Bangladesh in the initial stages of the inaugural world T20 tournament.

The world can never forget the way the Aussies were at the receiving of the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the group stages of the second world T20 held last year which was shocking to the entire cricketing world needless to be said. And this year for the Aussies to have come out without losing a single match on its way is indeed excellent. This is all the more expected for, it was their bad time that made life miserable in T20 world cups. One can recall the way the Australian team was bundled out for 163 in Champions trophy 2002 by Sri Lanka and they not only emerged victorous in the world cup that followed in 2003 but also thrashed their opponents.

But, Ausses will always consider it unfair to face Pakistan in the semi finals. England or Sri Lanka would have been preferable but of course not Pakistan. Australia might have defeated Pakistan in the only T20 game that was played as a part of the Commonwealth Bank series late last year and more recently in the initial round robin stage of this world T20. But still, Pakistan are not at all welcome as an Aussie for me. If at all there is any team in the tournament to beat the Aussies and in the process stop the unbeatable streak of the same, it can be none other than Pakistan and for Australia to face the same Pakistan in the semis is an uninvited guest one can say. So boring!

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