Twirp : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Republic Pakistan

[Naresh]

[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Pakistan out for win over rivals</span></b>[/center]

<b>Pakistan will be looking to extend their winning run and secure a place in the final of the tri-series when they come up against India on Tuesday.</b>

Shoaib Malik’s side outclassed Bangladesh in the opening match on Sunday, but the bigger test will come against Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men.

India have not played a one-day international since the 2-0 series victory over Australia early this year with the Indian Premier League taking centre stage in between.

Indeed, India’s lack of competition in the one-day game could well be in Pakistan’s favour.

Coach Gary Kirsten, on his first assignment with the Indian team, has urged his players to put the Twenty20 version of the game behind them and focus on the one-day format.

“We have worked hard in the last couple of days to ensure a smooth transition to the one-day game,” said Kirsten.

“We have given considerable thought to our strategy. Obviously our gameplan has to be suited for the 50-over game. It is very different from the IPL.”

With the exception of Virender Sehwag, who is suffering with flu, there were no injuries reported.

India were greeted by wet weather on their arrival and were forced to practice indoors due to rain on Sunday.

They have retained almost the same team which toured Australia, the notable exception being Sachin Tendulkar, who pulled out due to a groin injury.

The balance, however, looks good.

India’s batting is in good hands with the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, and Dhoni himself showing fine form in the IPL.

The bowling department, although a little short on experience, could still do damage. Irfan Pathan and RP Singh have proved devastating in the past and Ishant Sharma’s pace and bounce could be a handful.

Bangladesh’s Abdur Razzaq and Alok Kapali and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi showed spin would play a huge role, but India seem lacking in that respect.

Piyush Chawla, 19, leads India’s spin attack in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who is currently serving a five-match ban.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojah, who caught the eye of selectors with a fine showing in the IPL for Deccan Chargers, is the other full-time spinner in the ranks.

Pakistan’s last defeat was against India in Gwalior in November 2007.

Since then, they have run up a string of consecutive victories. Sunday’s 70-run win was their sixth in a row against Bangladesh and their 12th overall.

Coach Geoff Lawson was hoping his team would make it a lucky 13.

[center]<img src='http://static.ecb.co.uk/images/width140/geoff-lawson-copy-26981.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />[/center]
[center] <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo--><b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>“We would like to score a 150-run win over India,” he said.</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->[/center]

“Having said that, we don’t want to make this a must-win situation and put ourselves under pressure.”

Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf showed fine form with the bat for Pakistan on Sunday, cracking half-centuries in difficult conditions.

The bowling, however, is in need of much improvement.

Umar Gul, unlike his new-ball partner Sohail Tanvir, was left off the hook despite a wayward early spell. His seven overs came at the expense of 28 runs. Tanvir, leading wicket-taker in the IPL, was more profligate, his eight overs costing 41 runs.

Wahab Riaz, 22, playing only his third one-day international, was the pick of the seamers with a three-wicket haul.

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->