India - Pakistan at CT

India meet Pakistan after nearly 2 years on the cricketing soil. Pakistan is desperate to defeat India while the latter is keeping mum because of various reasons. The absence of Yuvraj Singh makes it tough for the Indians who are already missing Sehwag and Zaheer.

India can win only if:

• Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni make a significant contribution with the bat
• Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh create an impact with the ball
• The youngsters prove that India is miles ahead on the fielding/catching front

Sachin, recently, is on a mission to prove that his contribution to critical matches are vital - looks like he has read all the works of the critics about his deficiencies & ready to prove them wrong.

Pakistan, on the other hand, seem to have everything working for them. The pressure of the match as well as that of their seniors (Younis and Afridi have been making statements on how Pakistan want to win this match so badly) will be a factor - can they convert it to a positive energy? Seems possible. They have a good balance in their team and look very positive - the recent T20 win must have boosted their confidence a lot. Only their inherent idiosyncrasies can bring them down.

This should be an interesting match for Pakistan's victory will almost guarantee them the spot in the Semi-finals (unless they fare very badly in the last match). India would want to start on a positive note.

Verdict - Of course, India !!!