England’s “Do or Die” Mission…. [Icc T20 World cup - 09, Day 3]

Sunday…the 8th of june…the Oval is all set to witness an all important encounter between their home team England and team Pakistan. It was a do or die scenario for the English team having lost their first match to Netherlands. Day 3 of the icc T20 world cup also had another match in the going before the England – Pakistan one and that was to be played between South Africa and Scotland at the same venue.

South Africa vs Scotland: No prizes for guessing who would win the match.It was a total domination by the Proteas who never allowed the Scotts to show any of their talents if anything like that persisted at all.It was a professional display of disciplined cricket which should be a lesson for many a big teams so as to win convincingly,never ever allowing the weaker opposition to dominate,especially when the team is in the top ranks of the game.A solid start provided by a good support by the middle order was the secret of the success,not to forget the accurate bowling attack and a perfect field setup. Batting first South Africa put on a total of 211 for the loss of 5 wickets,the first 200 plus total in the ongoing series.Smith and Kallis put on 87 runs for the first wicket.Gibbs and Morkel chipped in with useful contributions. But it was the man in form AB de Villiers who stole the show and frustrated the Scotts. He made 79 runs off just 34 deliveries with 5 fours and 6 huge sixes.In reply the Scotland team played elementary cricket and had lost the match when they were crumbled to 13 for 4 within 3 overs.They lost the way and the match in the context.Except Coetzer none of the batsmen came to the party.He made an impressive 42 off 32 balls which was more than half of their teams total. The Scotts surendered cheaply and were all out for a meagre 81 in 15.4 overs, the 7 th lowest total in 20-20 internationals.Steyn, Botha,Merwe and Morkel shared the bowling honours for the Proteas with 2 scalps a piece.The verdict was – South Africa progress into the next stage and for Scotland…..it was the end of their dreams and journey…

England vs Pakistan: Having lost badly to the Netherlands team in their opening encounter,this match became a must win condition for the hosts England to remain in the race.It was an acid test which they had to pass through and more importantly they were playing against Pakistan.Batting first,England lost the wicket of Bopara very early.But after that nothing went wrong for the hosts.A consolidating 2nd wicket partnership of 53 runs between Wright and Pietersen kept the momento going and the runs were gathered at a quick pace. Wright made a breezy 34 off just 16 balls with 1 six and 6 fours out of which 5 were scored back to back.Shah, Collingwood, Masccarenhas and Foster chipped in with useful contributions which strengthened the scoreboard.But the person who stole the limelite of the match was Kevin Pietersen.England team would have thanked their stars,with this strong come back of Mr Reliable to the team.Welcome Kevin.He looked in perfect knick and it seemed that nothing could stop him when it is his day.He carried the assault into the Pakistani camp and smashed a 38 ball 58 with 5 boundaries and 3 handsome sixes. This innings became a match winning effort for England.The Englis attack led by Kevin saw a challenging total with the board showing 185 for 5.For Pakistan Gul and Ajmal took 2 wickets each.Ajmal looked impressive among the other lot.

A deadly reply was what one would have expected from Pakistan,but that was not to be so.It never looked that Pakistan were there to play a T20 world cup. They were playing ease at will and gave an impression that they were never interested to win. The match looked like a one sided affair wherein only one team is desperate to win.Never to take credit from the wounded English boys. They had done their home work well.Except Butt at the start and Younis in the middle of the proceedings,every one came in and went out just like that.Younis top scored for Pakistan with 46 runs. But that was never enough. A team effort and some one to carry on the innings till the end was required and that was what was lacking in the pathetic performance of Pakistan. They lost the match without even giving a fight. On the other side a disciplined performance all round guided England to march ahead towards the Super 8 stage. Bowling and fielding of England too were of high quality as required for a team who are on a ‘Do or Die’ mission.Broad was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wickets for just 17 runs in his 3 overs. He should have been a relieved man and this performance would have helped him to forget his nightmare run,the other night against Netherlands. Any how past is past and good players learn with experiences immaterial they are good or bad.Pakistan managed 137 runs losing 7 wickets in 20 overs, enabling England to win convincingly with a margin of 48 runs.Now Pakistan stand in the same position as England were at the beginning of the match. They have to come up strongly and play a disciplined cricket against Netherlands on tuesday,if they have to stay in competition. They have to beat the Dutch team convincingly with a better run rate.Whether Pakistan can do it or will Netherlands are upto effecting another major upset is what we are going to wait and watch.But any how….Well done England…. Keep going Kevin…..