Previewing the ATP World Tour Finals and the tail-end of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series
Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the all-important fourth ODI at Sharjah with the series up for grabs and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals kick off in London today. The column looks ahead to what promises to be an enthralling assortment of action, endeavouring to foresee the upshot.
Murray to win the ATP World Tour Finals
ATP World Tour Finals, more often than not, proves to be a puffed up event of gaudy superstars. Hardly anyone plays to their potential in the season-ending finale, and the rigorous aftereffects of the year are clearly visible. The tournament is the only tennis event that is played on a round-robin format. The top eight players in the world are divided into two pools, with two players from each pool qualifying for the semi finals.
Group A has World Number One Novak Djokovic, vying to end a stupendous season on a high. Djokovic has home favourite Murray – looking to capitalise on his promising run, Ferrer – striving to retrace his run in 2007 and Berdych – bidding to cement his name in the Who’s Who of tennis, in his pool. Group B has the mouthwatering prospect of a Federer-Nadal encounter for the tennis aficionados. Federer, buoyed by a first ever triumph in the Paris Masters, will be looking for a record breaking 6thtitle. Nadal, on the other hand, would be looking for an elusive first WTFs title to add another accolade in his inflated cupboard of silverware. The two maestros are joined by a couple of big hitters; Tsonga – known for his staggering exploits in London and Fish – playing in his first WTFs.
Djokovic has been marred by injuries, most notably in his shoulder, after his earth-shattering run culminated in Flushing Meadows and might not be at his best this week. Murray, however, had an 18-match unbeaten run up till the Paris Masters, and might have enough ingenuity to top pool A, with Djokovic being second. Nadal has never managed to track down his peak form in the WTFs owing to the vigorous style of play that takes more than its fair share of toll on the 10-time Grand Slam champion throughout the year. Even so, with the Spaniard well rested for his assault this week and for the Davis Cup final, he might have a shot this year. Federer has been in Nadal’s pocket throughout their head-to-head, but if there is one place where Federer holds a clear upper hand it’s the indoors. Nadal’s affinity with air and wind – that aid his topspin – eventually become Federer’s tormentor in chief, and with that factor eliminated Nadal’s repertoire becomes less intimidating. Nevertheless, Federer should overcome his nemesis at the O2 arena, and should overcome Djokovic in the semifinal as well – if the two encounter each other. Nadal will have his work cut out to reach the semis, in his least favoured playing conditions and with Fish and Tsonga waiting in the wings. Either way, one fancies Murray to overcome the challenge in the semis.
A Murray-Federer final would be fascinating, and the safe money would be on Federer upping the ante against the Scott. However, Murray is riding a confidence tide, and with both Nadal and Djokovic seemingly succumbing to their physical style of play and Federer penetrating into twilight zone, 2012 could be Murray’s year to ameliorate his pedigree in the game. Murray leads his head-to-head against Federer and has downed him in crucial best-of-three-encounters in the past. If he can keep his nerves in check and not let the home expectations become a gargantuan monkey encumbering on his back, he could topple Federer. However that ‘if’ is as bulky as the weight of Federer’s trophy cabinet.
Indo-Pak Express to reach the semis
Top eight doubles teams will also be competing in the WTFs, with the Indo-Pak duo – inspired by their major ATP 1000 title in Paris – looking to station itself further up the pecking order in the world of tennis. The Aisam-Bopanna pair finds itself in Group B, with Llodra-Zimonjic, Nestor-Mirnyi and Fyrstenberg-Matkowski teams. The first two teams will be their sternest test and if one of them is knocked over by the Indo-Pak express, it could pave the way towards a semifinal berth. Both Aisam and Bopanna served brilliantly in Paris and their coordination was as seamless as it has ever been. However, being in the easier of the two groups connotes that a possible leviathan lies in the wait in the semifinal.
Group A has the Bryan Brothers, Paes-Bhupathi, Lindstedt-Tecau, and Melzer-Petzschner partnerships, in what is probably the more arduous of the two pools. Hence, who ever meets the Indo-Pak team in the semis would be a daunting opponent. But if the awesome-twosome from the subcontinent can build on their promising show off-late, they could even reach further than the semis. Losing out in the US Open semis this year, when their maiden major title loomed, was a major letdown for Aisam and Bopanna which saw them plummet into a downward spiral before their recent upsurge. However, their conquest in Paris has proven that they are a match for anyone in the game and have gradually instilled the big-stage mentality in their ever improving repertoire.
Pakistan to win the ODI series 3-2
Producing results when you’re not at your best is said to be the hallmark of true champions. Whether that billing fits our national cricket side is up for debate, but what is unambiguous is the fact that after a domineering show in the test series, we have been patchy – especially in our batting – in the first three ODIs. But then again, we’re just a win away from clinching the ODI series. The first ODI was a landslide, and that has been followed by our team being at both ends of closely contested encounters. And with the series on a knife-edge, what should we expect from the remainder of the series? The proclamation that the third ODI win was critical would be like throwing in a bucket load of clichés into the cauldron of obviousness. However, being 151-0 in 30 overs, one wouldn’t expect so much sweat in crossing the finish line. Au contraire, when Dilshan and Sangakara were clobbering the ball around, we feared the worst. Like quite so often in the near past, our spinners provided the turning point and derailed the Lankans. Ajmal has been awe-inspiring throughout the series; and indeed throughout the year. Afridi is bowling at his best and Misbah seems to have located his ideal batting position in the lower order as well. Hafeez is chipping in with his handy spells to round off probably the best spinning repertoire in the game.
However the pace-attack has not yet bore desirable fruits. Gul was impressive up front and cleaned off the tail in emblematic fashion, but he still lacks a menacing partner running in from the other end. Both Aizaz Cheema and Sohail Tanvir have run the gamut from being mediocre to lackluster. And with Razzaq you can only expect a tidy spell, maybe two, of accurate medium pace. Another wicket taking option upfront could prove to be decisive and maybe we need to give our young prodigy Junaid Khan a run in the side.
Our batting has a lot of cannon but it has only fired intermittently. After the solid start in the third ODI, the shuffle in the batting order was the right thing to do, but it was unfortunate that none of the big-hitters pulled off a blitzkrieg. Umar Akmal’s batting in the second ODI was promising, but again; patchy. He’d have a critical role to play if we are to bag the ODI series. One believes it is about time Shoaib Malik is given a run out in the team as he could be just what we need in the middle order. Having both Younis Khan and Misbah in the lineup in an overkill of solidity, and Younis Khan rarely manages to locate his accelerator – if he has one – in the ODIs. Bringing in Malik could give us a connecting bridge between the textbook players and our flamboyant array of big-hitters.
The morale is high and hence our momentum should sail us ashore in the fourth ODI, especially if our spin bowling continues to be at its menacing best. We rarely turn up for dead rubbers and that might be the case in the last ODI, if we triumph in the fourth.
Sri Lanka to win the T20 International
After being the indubitable powerhouse in T20s from 2007-2009, our side has plunged into mediocrity over the last 20 months or so. It is a natural corollary of our failure to reassemble a dexterous lineup along the lines of the aforementioned epoch which saw us conjure up back to back World Cup finals – winning one of them – and being a Michael Hussey shaped monster away from making our third final on the trot.
Love him, hate him, label him, politicise him or envy him for his marital accomplishment – Shoaib Malik was the mind behind our T20 upsurge, and his batting is a vital component in the shorter and shortest version of the game. The fact that he has the most number of gears in our batting repertoire and has a wide collection of strokes makes him an integral cog in our machine.
However with or without him, we are shorn of confidence in T20s, and a Dilshan-Malinga inspired Sri Lanka could outdo us. We need to rethink our stratagem in T20s, to retrace our apogee. And of course it doesn’t help when you have a month worth of test cricket a couple of weeks of ODIs and a grand total of three hours of T20 action in a tour. Inexplicable, is the word.
