Pakistan won't mind another crack at India: Misbah
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Misbah-ul-Haq says his team won’t mind another crack at India, should both teams progress to the World Cup semi-finals, a report in The Times of India said.
Terming the possibility of another showdown between the two sides as a golden opportunity, Misbah said Pakistan would be glad if they win the semis and end up breaking the India World Cup jinx in the process.
“It will be another chance for us to go there with a positive frame of mind. We would take it like another opportunity to break the shackles as we have never beaten India in the World Cup,” he said.
Talking about India’s performance at the World Cup, Misbah said MS Dhoni's men had performed like defending champions so far.
“They are the defending champions and it is the biggest motivation for them. They have been playing in Australia for last three months which has helped them in preparations for the World Cup,” he said.
“India is quite an experienced team and have been playing the last couple of years with the same squad.”
India beat Pakistan by 76 runs in their opening match at Adelaide on February 15 but before the possibility of revenge presents itself, Pakistan would have to get past Australia in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The 40-year-old Misbah was confident of his team’s potential.
“Even though we have lost Mohammad Irfan, which is a big blow for us, we can do it. If we can beat South Africa which is one of the finest sides, then we can do it against Australia too.”
Misbah said a team’s form did not have much say in how it performed on a particular day.
“It’s all about performing well on the day of the game,” he said.
After suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of India and West Indies, the wins over Zimbabwe, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Ireland breathed new life into Pakistan.
“The team has regained self-belief after four wins on the trot,” Misbah said.
“I can tell you this team wants to win it for our people. This tournament has always been important because people have high expectations from us and we want to win it for them.”
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On DawnNews
Comments (115) Closed
Mar 18, 2015 05:09pm
pehle australia se jeeto bhaijaan !!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:13pm
Win Aussies then WC is yours !!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:16pm
Best of luck boys, make us all proud.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:18pm
For once the entire indian subcontinent will be rooting for the same team when pakistan plays australia this friday
good cricket hope pakistan wins so we can have another india pakistan clash
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Mar 18, 2015 05:19pm
All the best to both teams!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:20pm
Sir ji Please focus on QF because you have to face toughest competitor of the tournament Australia. If you keep dreaming like this then you will cracking your TV set in home while watching other team,s Semis.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:20pm
Misbah you are right. The kind of mindset Pakistani team have at this point of time, they can beat any team now. The momentum is such that they are unstoppable. Although I am an Indian, would surly like India should lift the trophy, but the way Pakistani team is playing now no team in the world can beat them. Even , Australia will find difficult to play with them. If, India and Pakistan meet in semifinal, this time Pakistan is going to break the jinx. But, still I would wish India should win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:21pm
we really hope ..good luck 2 u misbah..
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Mar 18, 2015 05:22pm
Misbah you need to beat Australia first before you can even think about India. Media Bloomer you should have stayed off the subject and instead should have said something like "our mind is only on Australia at the moment" and left it like that. Don't give the media an excuse to run a story and especially when it concerns India....because there is alot of hate from the other side of fence and you will take note of all the posts from the Indians below.
NB Sack your Media Manager and get an English one please.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:22pm
Believe me no Indian wants Australia for semifinals. Its much better for us if Pakistan wins.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:24pm
Pakistan will win by the grace of Allah !!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:26pm
We Indians too wait for the day when we have world cup final between india and pak.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:26pm
Over Confidence.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:30pm
@A A
your comment is confused comment.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:31pm
i am telling you i started enjoying shoaib akhtar in star sports ,looking forward for india pak match ,when kapil sir and shaoib akhtar will entertain us.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:33pm
"Former Australian batsman Mike Hussey picked Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand as the four teams who could make the World Cup 2015 semi-finals and said his country would go on to win the trophy for a record fifth time. Hussey also said Aussie tearaway Mitchell Starc was his pick of all the bowlers in the World Cup so far"
Any mention about Pakistan????.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:35pm
take game at a time Misbah, your answer to TOI reporter should have been "We are focusing what's in front of us i.e. Australia game" not thinking beyond qtr final...
wish you good luck but hope Pak team keeps focus on Australia game.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:39pm
Go for it, Misbah. We are with you
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Mar 18, 2015 05:41pm
First, let's hope Pakistan thrash the arrogant Aussies in their backyard and India beat Bangladesh. Both results are by no means foregone conclusions. Both India and Pakistan will have to play well (Pak will have to play out of their skins actually).
Then the Indo-Pak semi final. Hope this is a closer affair than the previous one (previous five ones actually) but India wins by 2/3 wickets or by 10 - 15 runs.
Go India!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:44pm
@A A what do you want in life...first pls take a definitive stand,you are not sure of which team to support....look Pakistan have defeated only South Africa and you are thinking they have already become the world champions...Pakistan with the given set of players are actually lucky to be playing the quarters...by now they should have been back in Lahore....and do not say they momentum....only one team has the momemtum here and that is India
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Mar 18, 2015 05:45pm
Just concentrate on world cup, better selection and decision making.
Insha Allah whole nation will be behind you.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:46pm
Misbah ....you are truly a gentleman.Respect!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:53pm
Does this mean India will definitely win against Bangladesh who beat England?
Wow!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 05:54pm
first win against australia then talk about India
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Mar 18, 2015 05:59pm
@sachin
Yes,we will beat Aus.
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Mar 18, 2015 05:59pm
I wish a very best of luck to Pakistan for Australia match, beat the yellows. And let us enjoy the Indo-Pak match again.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:02pm
mauka mauka
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Mar 18, 2015 06:05pm
All what you are saying and showing by actions clearly shows that you had already accepted the defeat from Australia
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Mar 18, 2015 06:05pm
@A A its a game , whoever plays better will win, as a country men we should support our own .
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Mar 18, 2015 06:06pm
First beat Aussies man and certainly you wont mind to face India again because you know the outcome of that very match!
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Mar 18, 2015 06:07pm
@T.M. Reddy Cannot compare india with england, and as for Bangladesh odd are in fovour of india. thas it other wise me n u all know how unpredictable cricket can be .
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Mar 18, 2015 06:10pm
Sorry to be a party popper. It will be a India vs Australia semi - final.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:12pm
Do you have choice If you mind ???
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Mar 18, 2015 06:16pm
Don't make India the reason for this world cup. India is just one of the many teams in this tournament. All the best for your match against Australia. May the best team win.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:16pm
According to some GREAT Cricket Pundits. The semifinal will be Payed between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
So Gents we will have to wait for this crack for another 4 years.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:17pm
If Pakistani viewers to decide the result of the game then nobody would be champion other then Pak team. But it is not going to happened. Article should have been published on Friday.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:23pm
Dear Mishah,
I like to see a Pakistan vs India semi finals ..... But first think about beating Australia ...... This is not the Australian that you beat 3-0 in Sharjah .... Not even the Australia that we beat 4-0 in India......Even if they are 10/3 they are capable of making a comeback
.... India too needs to beat Bangladesh before we get there ..... Bangladesh too are a better side today then ever before
Please don't count the chicken before they hatch
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Mar 18, 2015 06:24pm
Yo Misbah......Try crossing the bridge that is Australia first.....That should be your ONLY worry and nothing else....This is why Dhoni gets my vote...The guy has his feet firmly on the ground and takes each match as it comes.....He even went as far as to say that the loss of 2007 is still in memory and it will not be easy facing Bangladesh....Misbah's priorities seems all messed up and at a very very crucial time....
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Mar 18, 2015 06:27pm
We will back Pakistan for their game against Australia similarly like you backed us against Ireland...
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Mar 18, 2015 06:27pm
Aus will do the same to pakistan what SA did to SL
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Mar 18, 2015 06:34pm
suddenly its bangladesh vs australia sf..haha
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Mar 18, 2015 06:35pm
@Mann
Sorry buddy, the way it is with the fixtures, South Africa will play either Aus or Pak in Semifinal and winner of India /Bangladesh would play winner of NZ/WI . So India would be able to play Australia only in the final if they both go through.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:36pm
There will be no greater joy than watching arch rival india and pakistan clashing in semis. Bt i sincerly doubt that pak can beat australia. Bt if paki batsmen can see off duo of starc and johnson peacefully, they are game.
On the other hand i can predict an easy win for india over bangladesh.
All the best pakistan from an ardent indian fan.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:39pm
@Chirag Patel -- yes mauka mauka. To make 72-52. :)
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Mar 18, 2015 06:41pm
@A A Pakistan in form???? What a joke.... They just narrowly Escape the South African defeat... Else All there defeats came against UAE, Zimbabwe and Ireland.... Can anyone say win against these lesser countries said as out standing....
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Mar 18, 2015 06:45pm
Can someone please wake him up...
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Mar 18, 2015 06:46pm
Just try your best, we will be glad if the loss comes in a graceful manner.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:50pm
Let's not discuss about meeting again at Semi for which both Pakistan and India has to cross the Quarter Final bridge. Let both the teams work on it first.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:01pm
@Kamran Khan Pundits have gone one step further, they are saying final will be played between Bangla and Pakistan and asking us to guess the winner :D..
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Mar 18, 2015 07:03pm
@Awais Ali good advice :) lets focus here please
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Mar 18, 2015 07:05pm
please concentrate only on the upcoming game, leave rest of the politics aside. Is this the time to be making such comments.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:17pm
@criclover I guess India will be cheering for Australia
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Mar 18, 2015 07:23pm
Bring it Onnn !!!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 07:25pm
Like Imran Khan said, Beat Australia and world cup is yours
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Mar 18, 2015 07:29pm
Mr Mis bah.. conceed this Over confidence.. You are not in Lahor /Karachi.. Beatinig Australia in Astralia is not easy as beating Ireland or UAE.. our 1.2 billlion Indian wishes are with you.. we want to see one more IND vs PAK again in this world cup 2015..
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Mar 18, 2015 07:44pm
Mishap we were proud of you and Pakistan team. Just be humble. Allah likes that.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:46pm
"Won't mind", as and when we have a mind that is.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:48pm
Kaptaan its time to retire after Australia game...
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Mar 18, 2015 07:50pm
But I think, this time it is not possible...Not in near future.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:55pm
@sachin Though I'm an indian, I'm a big fan of Pakistan's genuine fast bowling! Fast bowling brings the excitement to the game. To bad my team india has such a boring bowling attack that I don't even watch the game. Instead I watch New Zealand, Pak, SA and Aussies...
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Mar 18, 2015 08:07pm
I dont know what people are critisizing him. he is giving self belief tp the team that they will go through. if a captain doesnt say with confidence that hes going to semis.who will?
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Mar 18, 2015 08:07pm
If Pakistan beats Australia then that will make things even easier for india.
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Mar 18, 2015 08:12pm
Australia will thrash Pakisran by 200-300 runs
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Mar 18, 2015 08:12pm
Pakistan please defeat Australia.. It will be easy for India to reach final..!!
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Mar 18, 2015 08:21pm
Yeah same old story. Our players are too weak to handle pressure. Without Irfan if we luckily beat Australia then we will be blown away by Kohli, Dhawan, Sharma or Raina.
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Mar 18, 2015 08:23pm
We all know (including the bookies who have money riding on this) that the expected result is an Australian victory. The Australians are under more psychological pressure as they are supposed to win this time. Pakistan knows that a loss in this game will not bring much opprobrium back home .
I expect India is under similar pressure against Bangladesh as they are also supposed to win.
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Mar 18, 2015 08:25pm
pak searching for another " MAUKA "
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Mar 18, 2015 08:26pm
Oh my God, this obsession to beat India is what throws the Pakistani team into a great deal of nervousness, which is the prime reason why they find it difficult to beat India. It is not as if Pakistan is not a good team, but when you want something very desperately, there is an associated fear of failure. This fear is directly proportional to your desire to win. Relax, Pakistan, just treat cricket as a fun game, and then see how you perform. For example, just watch how Kohli plays, and you will notice that the guy is simply enjoying on the field, with seemingly no pressure. That is what you need to do as a team, in order to win. Good luck
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Mar 18, 2015 08:31pm
We Indians desperately want Pakistan to win their QF against the Aussies. Even I want India to win their QF against Bangladesh. Anything could happen in the game of cricket, but I would predict an India - Australia clash. I think Pakistan might go down to Aussies coz they are fantastic batting, bowling and fielding unit and my Pak friends also know that it is tough to beat them.
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Mar 18, 2015 08:39pm
@Sikandar Bashir ...Mishap? Come' on man. Give him some respect
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Mar 18, 2015 08:41pm
We all Indians wish a very good luck to pakistani against aussies, not even a single person wants another world cup for aussies.
And for Indian this will be the final 7-0 win against pakistan they wish for. Hereafter, indians will stand with pakistan in next indo-pak matches because now every Indian feel pity for pakistani and where we find no excitements now.
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Mar 18, 2015 08:55pm
For that you may have to wait till 2019
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Mar 18, 2015 09:23pm
@sachin
don't worry, Pakistan is determined to beat India. Best of luck for Pakistan.
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Mar 18, 2015 09:24pm
@Lifestealer Perfectly said, Indians are supporting for Pak to win against Aus!!!
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Mar 18, 2015 09:27pm
This is too pre-mature. Pakistan has to win the game against Australia first. May the better team win
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Mar 18, 2015 09:41pm
If Pakistan is able to defeat Australia, it will smash India in semifinal. This is for sure.
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Mar 18, 2015 09:44pm
First thing first. Lets focus on Australia and win that match. Good Luck Greenshirts.
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Mar 18, 2015 09:58pm
First try to beat the aussies then dream of Semis...
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Mar 18, 2015 10:14pm
It would be nice for Misbah and other players to now overestimate themselves and start talking about beating India badly. Sri Lankans did the same by repeating the choker tag about RSA and we all know how that turned out.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:17pm
@Hari Wait till Friday bhai, then see.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:19pm
@Mann "Sorry to be a party popper. It will be a India vs Australia semi - final" I will be looking for you on Friday. Don't go away! Watch this space.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:23pm
It is Misbah's last world cup so that is why he feels like this. Other boys are still young. Sadly Misbah has been given charge of the weakest Pak world cup squad in history.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:23pm
Good on you, we need a bit of positivity. Irfans injury is in a region, which renders him seriously injury prone for the rest of his career now. They need to use him in shorter, fast and more meaningful spells. But to compensate for reduced overs, he would have to improve in other areas massively. This would give us opportunity to have somebody like fawad alam, who could double up by sharing some bowling and middle order duties at the expense of Sohaib Maqsood, who has been a disappointment so far.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:26pm
The prayers of 1.25 billion Indians are for Misbah and his team to win against AUSTRALIA and meet Pakistan in S/F.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:51pm
Pak will win Australia.
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Mar 18, 2015 11:00pm
@siddharth ...and we pakistanis will win.
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Mar 18, 2015 11:02pm
@someone_else "@Mann Sorry buddy, the way it is with the fixtures, South Africa will play either Aus or Pak in Semifinal and winner of India /Bangladesh would play winner of NZ/WI . So India would be able to play Australia only in the final if they both go through."
Wrong. Winner of Pak Australia will play winner of India/Banladesh in SF.
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Mar 18, 2015 11:19pm
Pakistan beating Australia will be good for India. That will improve India's chances of making it into the final. India has been in Australia for over 3 months, and the Australians have India all figured out. The know our strengths and weaknesses. It will be hard for India to beat the Aussies in the SF.
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Mar 18, 2015 11:25pm
@KHAN No wonder your team is where it is...
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Mar 18, 2015 11:29pm
Of course u won't mind....but Australia will mind in letting u reach semis
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Mar 18, 2015 11:49pm
@Akram : And I will be looking for you on Friday. Don't run away and watch THIS space. Ind-Aus semis!!
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Mar 19, 2015 12:01am
Bangladesh and Pakistan semi final!
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Mar 19, 2015 12:06am
@Patriotic "We are with you" for what.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:12am
Misbah with all due respect fate has it..... then atleast put up a fight against India..... all the best and again saare zor se gaao.... Mauka mauka.....
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Mar 19, 2015 12:19am
India got QF with Bangladesh a crappy team they can easily win while Pakistan got QF with mighty Australia.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:28am
A good statement. Should help getting over the nervousness of playing Australia.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:31am
Australia is a grossly over rated team as we will find out.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:32am
I would rather we met Pakistan in the Semis. No disrespect but we have a good chance against Pakistan and we have pretty bad odds of winning against Australia.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:48am
Self belief is the most important factor in winning. A great Japanese general once said" All battles are won or lost before a single bullet is fired. It all depends on your self belief." ..... if you have, the right answers always come to you.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:48am
Good to think ahead. Australia is not going to be a problem for us. It is no more what it used to be.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:52am
@A A It is easy to go overboard. But look at the quality of the Indian win over RSA and then at the Pak win over RSA - at least view the highlights. Again look at how India blew away Pakistan. It is easy to go gaga over a team, but the professional, calm results speak for themselves. Use your head over the heart.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:53am
It will be quite exhilarating for sport loving fans of the subcontinent if India and Pakistan meet again in the present edition of theWorld Cup. It was satisfying to find all the four participating teams of the subcontinent-India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and SriLanka to have made tothe quarter finals. The game as usual will be high voltage encounter, flashy exciting, thrilling and above all entertaining. It will attract record number of spectators on the field and viewers in front of blazing TV screens. Both teams are almost equally balanced and it will be that days performance that will decide the outcome. We will have first to wait for two days to see if they are able to overcome their respective hurdles.
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Mar 19, 2015 01:32am
@ you fogot NEW ZELAND
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Mar 19, 2015 01:38am
Mike Hussey is Australian, he would pick his own country.
New Zeland is playing well, South Africa has lost two games, as for Indian they have been playing well now, after playing so badly.
So anything can happen.
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Mar 19, 2015 01:42am
Waqar Younis, Please include Yasir Shah. He took 7 wickets against Australians in the very first Test Match. Pakistan needs a good spinner.
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Mar 19, 2015 02:25am
What if it is Bangladesh v Pakistan and Pakistan loses! That will be too much to bear, right?
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Mar 19, 2015 03:19am
@jamesmartell not really!! We indians are as passionate as you guys when it comes to indo-pak cricket.
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Mar 19, 2015 05:06am
Cart before the horse.....both teams need to win qf to meet in semi. my feeling is one of them will not make it to semi...will have to continue waiting till 2019 for next indo-pak match.
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Mar 19, 2015 05:44am
All the best and taek one at a time but this is Great Mind game to show Austrlia that we will beat you and looking forward...good strategy..All the best
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Mar 19, 2015 06:15am
@dawn reader benefit of winning all the matches in group stage. not to mention bangladesh's heroic against england
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Mar 19, 2015 06:32am
i bet if bangladesh beat India, nothing can stop them from lifting cup, not even Australia
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Mar 19, 2015 07:22am
If Pakistan defeats Australia it will have a very good chance of winning the World Cup. However New Zealand and South Africa should not be discounted as potential champions.
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Mar 19, 2015 09:40am
@ very correct analysis
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Mar 19, 2015 10:58pm
Hope Pakistan win tomorrow & their key to success is that they should focus more on Australia than on India.But Misbah is going another way so that's not a good sign.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:13am
i belive in you Pakistan you might have a chance to beat australia
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