India's batting might versus Pakistan's bowling variety
In a game that pits a powerful Indian batting line-up against a highly potent Pakistan bowling attack, it could be the pressure of the occasion that ultimately decides the outcome
Since their ignominious first-round exits in the World Cup 2007, India and Pakistan have had contrasting runs in all forms of cricket. India won the World Twenty20 final and the VB Series in Australia in 2007-08, while at home, they have been extremely impressive, winning seven out of nine series. However, after the win in the World Twenty20 in 2007, India failed to rise to the occasion in global tournaments, and crashed out early in the Champions Trophy and the two World Twenty20 tournaments in 2009 and 2010.
Played | India | Pakistan | W/L ratio | |
Overall | 119 | 46 | 69 | 0.66 |
Since 2000 | 41 | 22 | 19 | 1.15 |
In India | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0.52 |
In India since 2005 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0.83 |
In global tournaments | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2.00 |
The fact that the match will be played in India will probably suit Pakistan, if past results are any indication: they have a 17-9 win-loss record against India in India. However, in matches played here since 2005, the record is a slightly more even - it's 6-5 in Pakistan's favour.
Team & Match Type | Played | Wins | Wins (chases) | Runs per wicket | RR | 100s | 50s | 100 stands | 50 stands |
India(Global tournaments) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 32.31 | 5.02 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 11 |
Pakistan(Global tournaments) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 26.48 | 4.71 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
India(Other ODIs since 2000) | 26 | 14 | 9 | 40.42 | 5.87 | 9 | 38 | 20 | 31 |
Pakistan(Other ODIs since 2000) | 26 | 12 | 7 | 37.43 | 5.82 | 12 | 34 | 14 | 35 |
In this World Cup, India have the better average (39.46) and run-rate (5.89) than Pakistan, who average 33.13 and score at 5.07. No Pakistani batsman has scored a century in this World Cup so far, while there have been five centuries for India in their seven matches. Three of India's batsmen figure among the top ten run-getters in the World Cup, whereas Umar Akmal, Pakistan's top scorer does not figure in the top 20.
Team | Matches | Runs per wicket(batting) | RR | Runs per wicket(bowling) | ER | Avg diff | RR diff |
India | 7 | 39.46 | 5.89 | 29.41 | 5.23 | 10.05 | 0.66 |
Pakistan | 7 | 33.13 | 5.07 | 19.95 | 4.11 | 13.18 | 0.96 |
Bowlers from both teams have struggled in head-to-head matches between the two teams. Their average and economy rates are far higher than the corresponding numbers against other Test-playing nations. Gul, who has 14 wickets at 10.71 in the World Cup so far, averages over 42 in ODIs against India since 2005. Against other teams, he averages under 25 and has a much better economy rate (5.18) than against India (5.87). Afridi, the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup, has been very ordinary against India. His 21 wickets have come at an average of 68.71 and economy rate of 5.61. The story is the same for the Indian bowlers too: Zaheer and Harbhajan have had little success against Pakistan. Yuvraj, who has had an excellent time with bat and ball in the World Cup so far, has been impressive in ODIs against Pakistan, with eight wickets at an average of 33.50.
Bowler | Wickets | Average | ER | Boundary% | Avg,ER (other Test-playing teams) |
Zaheer Khan | 16 | 43.87 | 5.51 | 47.29 | 31.35, 4.89 |
Harbhajan Singh | 11 | 56.36 | 5.00 | 29.35 | 35.26, 4.40 |
Yuvraj Singh | 8 | 33.50 | 5.74 | 29.85 | 39.94, 5.07 |
Umar Gul | 13 | 42.15 | 5.87 | 56.56 | 24.86, 5.18 |
Shoaib Akhtar | 7 | 34.42 | 5.02 | 50.62 | 30.95, 5.45 |
Abdul Razzaq | 9 | 65.33 | 5.28 | 50.00 | 32.40, 5.10 |
Shahid Afridi | 14 | 68.71 | 5.61 | 36.38 | 31.37, 4.50 |
As a consequence of bowlers from both teams struggling, nearly all batsmen have far better stats in head-to-head games than they have in matches against other top teams. MS Dhoni, who averages over 54 in ODIs against Pakistan, together with the in-form Yuvraj, has formed the most prolific partnership for India in matches against Pakistan since 2005. Virender Sehwag, who averages much higher in matches against Pakistan, has scored at a slightly lower rate than he does against other teams. He still has a very high percentage of boundary runs (61.28) when compared to other Indian batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar, though, averages lower against Pakistan than he does in ODIs against other Test-playing teams.
Batsman | Runs | Average | RR | Boundary% | Avg,RR(other Test-playing teams) |
MS Dhoni | 976 | 54.22 | 5.75 | 48.15 | 44.64,5.03 |
Yuvraj Singh | 941 | 58.81 | 5.55 | 51.85 | 41.46,5.16 |
Virender Sehwag | 731 | 48.73 | 6.29 | 61.28 | 36.84,6.62 |
Sachin Tendulkar | 649 | 40.56 | 5.49 | 60.70 | 49.34,5.13 |
Younis Khan | 886 | 55.37 | 5.33 | 41.30 | 27.81,4.19 |
Shahid Afridi | 416 | 24.47 | 8.60 | 64.90 | 23.81,7.84 |
Kamran Akmal | 382 | 22.47 | 5.11 | 50.26 | 29.73,4.98 |
Misbah-ul-Haq | 334 | 47.71 | 6.46 | 41.91 | 40.60,4.25 |
Mohali, the venue for the semi-final, hosted its first day-night game when West Indies played Australia in the 1996 World Cup semi-final. It has hosted 15 day-night matches so far, and is second only to Bangalore in the total number of day-night games hosted by an Indian venue. Ten out of the 15 day-night games have been won by the team batting first. Over the years, Mohali has proved to be one of the venues that has provided a fair deal of assistance to fast bowlers. They average under 29 in the second innings, with an economy rate of 4.93. Spinners have also done much better in the second innings in day-night games, which suggests dew hasn't been too much of a factor here. While they average 32.89 in the second innings, their average is 41.20 in the first innings.
Type of bowler | Matches | Wickets | Average | ER | 4+ WI |
Pace | 15 | 141 | 31.41 | 4.96 | 4 |
Spin | 15 | 58 | 37.05 | 4.93 | 1 |