India and Pakistan at Sharjah

Time to think World Cup. One can hope that
Mofeez and CHOWK will stay in the thick of that
tournament. GO PAKISTAN!!!!

Ras

From Zeeshan Arshad:

``Atlast our boys are here in Sharjah!!!!!! With a lot in mind. They have some pretty good memories of this land of desert. It was that lucrative
six never to be forgotten by Miandad that ruined Chetan Sharma`s career??.till then Indians were on the roll and the match looked pretty
under control. Then it was Miandad?..like the Zorro he was for the Pakistanis flicking, hooking, and placing shots around every corner of
the ground. 10 runs per over was the required run-rate but he amassed that hurdle easily and at the end it was the bunny of the team
and Tauseef lined up. One ball to go?..a four needed?. A sweaty Chetan and an equally tired up Miandad at 38 degrees but still looking
confident. Chetan starts running?..bowls?..incidentally a typical one day-ball yorker turns out to be a bad full-toss and gets the right
place at the square leg over the stands for a magnificent six ??and the rest as the other is history. There was a song which then started
to earn fame in every cricket fan`s heart??A parody of Bushra Ansari`` Chakke kai Javed ko ek lakh milain gay..Tauseef bicharay ko
dirham aath milaingay.`` Since then this ground has metamorphosed into a lucky omen for the Pakistanis whereas the Indians always feel
the jitters and it is why that out of the 19 matches played between the countries to date (April 8,1999)

Since then out of the 24 competitions played in Sharjah till 13-11-1998, Pakistan have won the most (9), 6 of them in succession from
March 1989 to February- 1993. Pakistan occupied the runners up position in 6 competitions. To date Pakistan has played the most
matches by a team here in Sharjah (71 matches) and have won 47 whereas lost 24.

Pakistanis count Sharjah as their second home since the support is as exuberant and boisterous as back home in Gaddafi stadium or the
National Stadium. The other reason being the largest number of one-day tournaments won by them here then elsewhere.

Wasim`s now called ``Invincible Boys`` are on a roll especially after a successful tour of India. With two trophies under Wasim`s belt, he is
all geared up to steal the show and come out with flying colours as well as continue the dream run they are on till the World Cup. With
this performance Pakistanis are been ranked the third favourites behind South Africa and Australia. The other participants in this
tournament are India and England. The scene is all set out for a Indo-Pak finale but England are no pushovers too. Last year they
stunned the bookies by rampaging past the Indians, the Pakistanis as well as the West-Indies to win the Champions Trophy with a young
squad. Most of them though didn`t possess the experience but were all tailor-made for the one-day outfit. England comes with virtually
no competitive cricket been played since the summer Ashes series but with the record they have??Pakistan and especially India (who are
in the same group as England in the World Cup) can`t afford to take them lightly. Indians are hungry to win after an unconvincing series
back home and would like to write-off the remarks been given to them of been called a one-man team(Tendulkar of course). Azharrudin`s
return would be just what the Indians need and his fielding is what could add the much need fuel into a somewhat ordinary work been
carried by the Indians so far. Let`s see what happens as all these three teams prepare to show their skills for the last time before the World
Cup n England.``