About Their Cricket And Character…
The two teams facing off in the semi-final later tonight couldn’t have been more different from each other. South Africa, on the one hand, have fine-tuned their skills in every department of the game with the precision of a classical sculptor, and won with unquestioned and unparalleled inevitability. And that too in a format that is inherently unpredictable. Scary… Pakistan, on the other hand, have stumbled, been temperamental and oscillated wildly and suddenly between being brilliant and annoyingly incompetent. They have also almost certainly won the grudge of a few teams as word is going around that they have been ‘lucky’ in an easy road to the semi-finals. While that may be true to some extent, it will be unfair to put their success down to that. They did not have the kind of luck that allowed them to make merry straight to the top. They had to fight to lift themselves from a mess with no second chances in the bank, twice over. And against motivated teams eager as hell to make them pay. They came through on both occasions in style, and with no divine intervention, just a play of sheer skill.
However, there is no denying that in beating Ireland, Holland and New Zealand, they haven’t yet tasted any success against the quality of opposition that South Africa has crushed on its way here. The only two genuinely good teams that Pakistan played against – England and Sri Lanka – both beat them comprehensively. Unless Pakistan can lift their fielding, show some urgency in running between the wickets and find form in their late middle order, they might well be swatted aside by the rolling juggernaut of South Africa too. It is not like the Pakistan players can’t field well or run fast or bat innovatively, with purpose. The problem is that it depends upon their inclination and mood, both of which are inherently undependable. Pakistan, of course, don’t need any reminders of how dearly South Africa can make any lapses pay. They have been dominated by the Proteas in all forms of cricket over the last several years.
South Africa, on their part, will not be taking their mercurial rivals lightly. After all, it is that part of the tournament when the ghosts of years gone by could come back to haunt them again. It is almost as though they carry a curse in the world cups, each time falling dramatically in crunch situations. And apart from their bad luck against England in ’92, 
So, while Pakistan themselves are not the most intimidating rivals, South Africa face the task of beating two enemies over the three hours of the encounter tonight– Pakistan, and the weight of 17 years of history stacked against them.
Leaving ponderings about history, destiny and characters aside, and considering the contest from a purely cricketing perspective, both teams should know the questions facing them ahead of the clash later tonight, fairly well.
Pakistan
The best part of Pakistan’s performance in this tournament has been their bowling, with Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal being the top two wicket-takers of the tournament. Newcomer Mohammad Aamer and wily leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, have both also been very impressive. Backed further by the experienced Abdur Razzaq and Shoaib Malik, and Pakistan’s bowling reads the kind of depth and quality matched only by South Africa themselves. However, while they might be able to bank on their bowlers to fire, the problems for Pakistan lie elsewhere.
The major problem has been the form of their middle order, particularly the later half that are crucial in the final overs. Shahid Afridi’s one dimensional play doesn’t seem to give anyone sleepless nights anymore, and Misbah-Ul-Haq, hero of the last edition of the World T20, and Shoaib Malik have failed to make any impact either. At least one or two of these three need to come good against South African to make the game a contest. 
The less that is said about their fielding, the better. Apart from the one sensational catch by Afridi that started the slide for New Zealand, they have nothing to show. Their campaign has been marred by mis-fields, lazy efforts and shocking inconsistency. It is highly doubtful that they will be able to lift themselves against South Africa. At any rate, they won’t be winning that game on fielding. The bowlers and particularly the batsmen will simply have to make up with extra effort.
South Africa
Not much really needs to be said about any questions that South Africa need to answer, as far as cricketing skills go. There aren’t any. They nearly have a dream team in T20 cricket, and if their players can play to potential tonight, there is nothing that Pakistan will be able to do to stop them.
The best part of this South African team is that apart from a typically potent pace attack, they have two quality spinners, who showed just what they are capable of, against India a couple of days ago. The fielding is as good as it has always been, Kallis has found the answer to batting in T20 cricket and there are genuine middle order batsmen who can shift gears at will. In Boucher, Albie Morkel and Roelof Van Der Merwe, they also have explosive hitters. Intimidating strength exists, wherever one looks.
The only change that South Africa might consider after their game against India is retaining Morne Morkel. He bowled with pace and venom and got disconcerting bounce because of his height – a weakness of the Pakistani batsmen that Boyd Rankin of Ireland, equally tall, exposed very effectively. As an added point in his favor, the wicket being used in this match is a fresh one and will almost certainly be faster than what was used against India.
Yet, the question is, ‘who goes out if Morne Morkel has to come in?’ Kallis will certainly be back, the middle order has looked very solid and the bowlers cannot be touched. The only two players whose places might be in question are Duminy and Albie Morkel. Neither has really hit form in this tournament, yet both carry big reputations and fine skill. Albie Morkel has the kind of big-hitting caliber not seen since the heyday of Lance Klusener, and Duminy has had an excellent year and adds extra meat to the batting in case a couple of wickets fall early. It is a problem of plenty that will have to be left to the day.
The Pitch
The venue is the same as the game against India, but don’t expect a square-turner. The pitch being used, as mentioned above, is a new one and should offer more pace and bounce. Neither bowling attack will be too concerned with the nature of the wicket though, as they have enough resources to exploit any kind of a surface. However, if the wicket has genuine bounce and pace, it will definitely be to the advantage of the South Africans. The wristy Pakistani batsmen, eager to jump on to their front foots, don’t like pace and bounce. Neither do they have any experience or memory from any hostile onslaught on fast wickets going back several months.
Whichever way one looks at it, it’s a mouth watering clash of two opposites, a romantic’s delight, even though one can’t discount the possibility of a one-sided demolition job by South Africa. They go in clear favorites and all the pressure will be on them, but this does not mean that the Pakistani fans will be easy on their team and understanding to deal with, if their team loses. However, if Pakistan does turn out feeling good and they are in the mood for it, it might just be a down-to-the-wire classic.