Lets keep our expectations low for the semi-final against England

[PukhtoonZalmay88]

Before the tournament started, i couldnt see us going past the group stages but this team has pleasantly surprised us after that horrible India game. We have already overachieved.
Its easy to overlook the key deficiencies in this team after witnessing such bowling performances in the last two games but lets remind ourselves that we are due a bad game and consistency isnt really our forte. We have the potential to beat England but realistically speaking, it isnt going to happen tomorrow.

 

[Kianig89]

Just want my team to fight and not make basic mistakes want a good game of cricket theyvhave already overachieved with some long term perpetuities

 

[bujhee kom]

Pak have done exceedingly well for their ability. 2 wins, a semi final.

 

[Pete Rose]

No I wont. I expect them to skittle england for 180.

 

[thehub]

Looks like fans are preparing for inevitable defeat. Lol. Yes Pakistan overachieved and India underachieved so far. I will be hugely disappointed if we don't win this cup as an indian fan. It's our cup to lose from here on. Aus are the only team we were worried about, now they are out of the way.

 

[thehub]

For many of my indian friends, tournament was already over and successful right after we thrashed Pakistan.

 

[coy0607]

that is the most loser-yy statement I've ever read

why even play the game? lets just forfeit

 

[Syed1]

That is not the Pakistani way. We will step out for the semi-final only to win.

 

[kamz]

people saying they need to give a fight and do basics right -abey bhai peeche reh kya gaya hai phir!!

if they were able to do that, wouldnt we be ranked in the top three then. As the top teams essentially have that. We dont! hence we are 8th

 

[moghul]

My expectation from the team

If won: I will be over the moon and will start believing miracle .

If lost but gave a reasonable fight: I'll be contended and will be fine.

If lost and performed like one we did against India: I'll be mad at the team, again.

 

[OmaIR1]

Pakistan have already exceeded my expectations, anything more than this is a bonus.

If they go down fighting tomorrow, I'll be beyond satisfied.

Not expecting them to win though.

Having said that, batting remains a concern and we need to remove non performing seniors regardless of what happens tomorrow.

 

[classic]

My expectation was low at the start of the tournament but after seeing their bowling performance live at the ground yesterday,I don't want to have a low expectation and neither should they .

Need to attack their openers from 1st ball and out fox them in their fielding and bowling.

Babar Azam / Shoaib Malik and Azher Ali will need to up their game . Hafeez should have a rest imo.

 

[COMEBACKID]

No supporter should ever say that. its like saying we may as well give up already that's the attitude for losers and sorry that's not us win or lose we expect our team to fight and fight hard and show why we are a side that should not ever be underestimated.

 

[idrizzy]

No I wont. I expect them to skittle england for 180.

That's the sprit

Or expectation...

...rather more of a dream

 

[idrizzy]

that is the most loser-yy statement I've ever read

why even play the game? lets just forfeit

Not necessarily when people had India, SA, England and Australia to make the final 4. Also a lot of people dismissed us afterthe rankings suggest we're 8th in the world.

It's a fair thread. Although I wouldn't be as pessimistic since WE'RE IN THE SEMI'S

 

[PukhtoonZalmay88]

that is the most loser-yy statement I've ever read

why even play the game? lets just forfeit

No supporter should ever say that. its like saying we may as well give up already that's the attitude for losers and sorry that's not us win or lose we expect our team to fight and fight hard and show why we are a side that should not ever be underestimated.

All i am saying is that we should keep in mind this team's weaknesses before expecting them to walk over England. Our team has some serious limitations and i would rather work on fixing them than to start a barrage of criticism and gali galoch after losing the game.

 

[coy0607]

All i am saying is that we should keep in mind this team's weaknesses before expecting them to walk over England. Our team has some serious limitations and i would rather work on fixing them than to start a barrage of criticism and gali galoch after losing the game.

there's only going to be gali galoch if Pak is all out for 150, or something absurd like that

if they can stay competitive, there should not be any gali galoch (expect for whats aimed at Inzamam- he deserves every bit of gali he gets)

no need to lower expectations

 

[Mag101]

...I think England wins comfortably. I would give Pakistan a 30% chance with the following squad:

1) Sarfraz Ahmed
2) Fakhar Zaman
3) Haris Sohail
4) Babar Azam
5) Shoaib Malik
6) Mohammad Hafeez
7) Fahim Ashraf
8) Shahdab Khan/Imad
9) Mohammad Amir
10) Hasan Ali
11) Junaid Khan

The trick is to attack relentlessly in order to win the game. Tenacity is the need of the hour!

P.S any other combination and Pakistan will not cross 220. If Imad and Shahdab play in same squad I bet Pakistan will collapse before 200 even, given there would be too many bowlers.

I feel Pakistan should bat first and get it out of the way. Then come at England hard with the ball.. Few early wickets... England could potentially crumble under sustained, acute pressure.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[coy0607]

Pak - 312 / 3 in 50 Overs

Zaman - 28 (25)
Azhar - 123 (101)
Azam - 21 (37)
Hafeez - 110 (97)
Malik - 20 (15)

bowl them out for 189 - Imad and Hafeez both take 5-fers since England cant play spin

these are my expectations

 

[Square Drive]

Why? We're favourites to win this.

 

[F0ulu]

There's no way one can keep his expectations low and still watch the match with any passion at all.
So Nothing doing!
We are going at it strongly, and we are going at it with one and only intent: that is to rip apart the english batting and win the game. The outcome of the match may or may not come out differently. But in the eve of the game, to embark upon it with a low expectation is such a meekly, defeatist attitude.
This thread, unfortunately, furnishes evidence about its creator as being a pessimist.

 

[FreakCricket]

Pak - 312 / 3 in 50 Overs

Zaman - 28 (25)
Azhar - 123 (101)
Azam - 21 (37)
Hafeez - 110 (97)
Malik - 20 (15)

bowl them out for 189 - Imad and Hafeez both take 5-fers since England cant play spin

these are my expectations

Lmaoooo easy there buddy or was it sarcasm ?

 

[idrizzy]

Lmaoooo easy there buddy or was it sarcasm ?

If you want seriousness, look no further than a couple of posts above:

Why? We're favourites to win this.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

To keep expectations low even after reaching the Semi Finals is a shame, it was fine to keep them before the tournament had begun, but not now. Let's keep full expectations from our team and hopefully we will win this Champions Trophy.

 

[Farhansk]

We are absolutely gonna give a brutal whipping to England in semi-final. Just watch English team getting out for less than 200.

Our pace trio is exceptional. Junaid has proved many people wrong, every cricket fan knows the name "Hassan Ali" now, I am hopeful that Amir will also get wickets against England as he is a sort of bowler who relishes on momentum and he got bit of that momentum in the previous game.

This team will win the champions trophy, we have somehow discovered our main strength in the form of strong bowling by just removing Wahab and adding Junaid to it.

Hasan + Junaid +Amir = Wow Wow Wow.

 

[F0ulu]

We are absolutely gonna give a brutal whipping to England in semi-final. Just watch English team getting out for less than 200.

Our pace trio is exceptional. Junaid has proved many people wrong, every cricket fan knows the name "Hassan Ali" now, I am hopeful that Amir will also get wickets against England as he is a sort of bowler who relishes on momentum and he got bit of that momentum in the previous game.

This team will win the champions trophy, we have somehow discovered our main strength in the form of strong bowling by just removing Wahab and adding Junaid to it.

Hasan + Junaid +Amir = Wow Wow Wow.

Hasan, Junaid and Amir will pull england batting lineup to pieces.

 

[zyrus]

Today's game will define our position in ODI cricket. So far we've been milking over lower-ranked minnows and out-out-sorts SA. This game will tell if we're actually unpredictable or those were fluke wins.

 

[CricFan2012]

expect it to be a close contest, see Pakistan coming on top

 

[DHONI183]

Lets keep our expectation low for the semi-final!

As a cricket lover, I´d want every fan of the Pakistan team to hope for the team to win the semi-final. Sports would lose its fun if the fans of a team come into the game with the fear of losing or low expectations. Yes, it´s actually great to be a realistic person and not to go to the extent of wrist-slitting, but all of that should be for after the match, not before it.

However, regardless of what happens today, this team deserves a lot of applause for having already exceeded the expectations. Nobody expected them to make it to the semi-final from a group of two of the world´s top teams. This is Pakistan´s first semi-final after October 2012, so you can imagine how much the team had regressed in the last five years. Sarfraz, Fakhar and the bowlers deserve a lot of credit for this.

Good luck Pakistan!

 

[shravan]

Pakistan have done well to reach h. The semis and deserve to be their unlike the deshis who only got their because of luck and are acting like they are the favourites now.