Why did Pakistan loose the semifinal?

When you make Himalayan Blunders no amount of prayers help...

What are those Himalayan Blunders? Let me be brief.

1. Not playing the most feared bowler in the world - Shoaib Akhtar. Umar Gul should have been dropped and Shoaib taken. Is there any match between these two bowlers? None. Shoaib is a class apart. He runs through the batting line up and when people avoid getting out to him they give wickets to others. In either case team benefits.
2. Umar Gul giving away too many runs - 69 runs in 8 overs without any wicket. Afridi gave him many sessions even in the end to have a wicket in his name but he only succeeded in conceding more runs to India. One wonders why Omer Gul is the most favourite with Shahid Khan Afridi at the expense of the team.
3. Bad field placement and hence leaking runs without a deep third man. Omar Gul was never bowling to the field. Over 20 runs were lost like that.
4. Very poor fielding at least 30 runs could have been saved.
5. Four catches were dropped of Tendulkar to the extent he was embarrassed. His luck was such that even after being given out the decisions were reversed thanks to the review.
6. Such abysmal batting. Hafeez had no business to be out so irresponsibly. Where was the need of a non-cricketing shot? He must be dropped as Kapil Dev was once dropped at his peak by Gavaskar for an irresponsible stroke.
7. Asad Shafeeq had no business to cut a straight ball from that arrogant Yuvraj.
8. There was no need to bring upon themselves the pressure which they brought upon themselves. Misbah while trying to save wickets consumed far too many runs.
9. Mohammed Yousuf was sorely missed in the middle and batting flopped miserably. What was Younis doing if he could not bat? And Afridi and A.Razzak? Why were they taken? I guess to bat.
10. Kamran Akmal continued to be as bad as possible behind the stumps.
11. What about power play? It should have been taken when the captain Afridi and vice captain were at the crease.

In short Pakistan could not have had a better chance to make it to the final and possibly the cup. This is too much and it has broken the hearts of millions around the world. Now we have to listen for the next four years that India has never lost to Pakistan in a world cup. Disgusting.

Shoaib Akhtar - The fastest and the best fast bowler the world has produced...

The world's greatest bowler ever born!

Injustice done to the best bowler in the world...

We will miss him. I still hope and pray he does not retire and continues to play. If not the charm of cricket will be gone. If he goes he will be going without realising his full potential. He was extreme talent but we did not have extreme talent in management to match him. Poor management of Cricket in Pakistan has broken hearts of players and spectators alike.

How dare Naseem Ashraf the then PCB head, not give a Central Contract to a player of Shoaib Akhtar stature. Naturally he protested. Which later became cause of bitter controversy.

Talent has to be well taken care of and nurtured as is done every where in the world. So why not in Pakistan. I am not condoning indiscipline. He later was very good after realising his mistakes. We are all human we make mistakes. We must learn to forget and forgive. Now this guy was doing a lot and giving his best. His potential should be fully realised for Pakistan's sake.

Now it seems Waqar Younus and Afridi have haunted him out. It was a sad day for Pakistan when he announced his retirement. We should have a movement to bring him back. President Asif Ali Zardari should ask him to renounce retirement and be available for the national team. He should do what President Gen. Zia did to Imran Khan.

Shoaib Akhtar is the most feared bowler the world has seen. Even a half fit Shoaib Akhtar is more than all bowlers put together as Intikhab Alam had said. He would send a shiver down the spines of the world's best batsmen when he would be on the run up to bowl them.

He was the first to achieve speeds beyond 100 miles per hour and he consistently did that. In trying to play him out we got they gave away wickets to other bowlers. We benefited both ways.

However much the victory against Australia was cherished millions were sad that they did not see Shoaib Akhtar bowl on that day. I hope and pray they do not drop him in the subsequent matches. If they do then we know what is going on in the team.

There can't be another easy chance...to beat Australia!

Salman Butt the only batsman who applied himself as a test batsman but lost concentration at Ponting's brilliant bowling change and tight defensive field for just a moment and was stumped by Tim Paine it was a pavilion parade then on. The pinnacle being Shahid Afridi's penchant for sixes as if he is playing a t20 match. All the players had to do was to stay at the crease runs would have followed as they had two and a half day to achieve the target. And with the wicket playing so easy the victory was there for the asking. But our guys except the one above did not desire for it I am sure.
When you play Tests like 20x20 what else do you expect...

This a classic case of opportunity squandered. Time to think and bring back the greats of Pakistan Cricket. Send an SOS call to Mohammed Yousuf, Younus Khan, Shoaib Akhtar and Faisal. Now! With Shoaib Akhtar's genuine pace, Asif's nagging length a la McGrath, Mohammed Yousuf and Younis solidity in the middle and with a good captain there is no way we can loose.

Poor shot selection in batting and poor captaincy...

Simple follies cost us the test...
This test will go down as a classic case of opportunities lost. The bowlers set it up for us but the batsmen and the captain let us down.
Why did he let Laxman settle down? When we had India on the mat at 93/5 we let them loose by poor captaincy. When Laxman and Dhoni were new at the crease Shoaib Akhtar should have been brought right back who could have dislodged Laxman who is known to be suspect to the rising delivery, before he got set. The Pakistan captain allowed him to settle down and helped India take an avoidable lead. That was the first turning point.
This is a test not a 20/20 Then our great batsman did not treat Test as a test but a 20/20. Salman Butt was out to a good ball from Zaheer. That is OK but Younus Khan had no business for that flamboyance and gifted his wicket. What was the hurry? Could he not have grafted in. Stay on the crease runs will follow. If the bowler gets you, it is ok but for God's sake don't give your wicket away.
Indian batsmen did not play a non-cricketing shot: Compare that to Indian batting. I did not see any of their batsmen going for un-necessary or risky strokes. They played for the situation. Hats off to Dravid who fell to the best ball of the test by Shoaib. He did not gift it away. Similarly Tendulkar took scores of ball and for ever to make 18 runs and crafted yet another exquisite 56 for himself and an innings to remember for his team. He took his own time 178 minutes and 110 ten balls. He accelerated only in the end. He also has all the strokes in the book but never tried any thing foolish. He was never in a hurry like a true test player.
Learn from mistakes please: If we bat like this don't be surprised we might loose the rest of the tests too. I hope and pray our players do not repeat the mistakes.
Shoaib Akhtar is great: Although the 6 wickets he got and so few runs he gave is yet no reflection of his class Shoaib today is the best fast bowler the world has. He has to be supported by a better fielding. When that happens and our batting clicks even to half potential no team in the world can beat us.