The clash of Styles

The IndoPak match that will start in a few hours will, undeniably, be the biggest sporting event in the subcontinent in the last four years (at least!!). Opinions, conjecture and predictions about the match have been diverse and partisan. Personally, I have already made the claim in my last post that, despite a close match, India will win comfortably in the end.

Although dew wasn't a factor in India's quarter final, by all accounts, it will play its part in Mohali. No matter how many wetting agents are used, the dew will quicken-up the wicket and make it difficult for spinners. With overnight rain, there is every chance it could get cloudy in the evening and the ball may zip and skid under lights. Such events will favour the better bowling side i.e. Pakistan - to what extent, is anybody's guess.

The toss, therefore will be tricky - captains have to decide whether to take a punt on the dew or make a decision based on handling pressure. The safer strategy seems to be to win the toss and bat first in an eliminator like this.

Team selection is another tricky issue - Afridi has to make a call on Shoaib which is more of a distraction to the team than a uniting factor. Dhoni could pull some fast ones by reverting back to Chawla or Pathan or even Sreesanth but it seems unlikely that he will change the playing eleven that won against Australia - it would still be a masterstroke if Dhoni plays Sreesanth in place of Munaf.

The match itself will be high-octane, nervy and fast paced. Undoubtedly, the team which is better led and better managed will triumph.

Now, that brings me to the deciding factor in this match - the captains and particularly, their contrasting captaincy styles. The reason I left writing this preview so late, is because, most writers have correctly identified this match as a clash of captaincy styles and left nothing more for me to say!

Dhoni's calm, calculating approach should help him to make the correct close calls on the field better than his "always on the edge" counterpart. Dhoni's personality should help him and his team cope better with big-match pressure. With Afridi's explosive remonstrations on the field, his team is as likely to be spurred on to great things as it is likely to buckle under its captain's gesturings, admonishings and constant displays of adrenaline (like that shot he played in the Pak-Australia match).

Still, Dhoni for all his calmness, has been far from perfect in this tournament. For starters, his bowling plans resemble a scavenger's scrounge for survival. Dhoni, at times seems to make bowling plans to escape a hiding rather that take on the opposition. His horses for courses policy was pretty late in identifying that Ashwin needs to be in and Nehra and Chawla need to be out. Dhoni's batting has not fired yet, but he would argue that he hasn't really had a fair go with his batting in this tournament.

However, Dhoni did take great strides towards perfect captaincy against Australia. He was always on the hunt for wickets than being restrictive and will have to summon the same spirit if Pakistan bat first today. Given a bowling attack with just "3.5 bowlers", it has been Dhoni's wont to scrounge on the field but now, its time to exert pressure even with his under-par bowling attack.

With the passive-aggressive leading style of Dhoni and the flamboyant and maniacal leading style of Afridi pitted against each other, today's match will come down to which style helps their respective teams to cope better with pressure. We may still witness a couple of pivotal moments that decidedly swing the match.

Afridi seems to be reading too many reports in the media and watching too much TV to be upset by some of the comments in the Indian media. In his turn, he, along with his team-mates have been obliging the media with many opinions and aspirations. Simply put, Pakistan, as a team have talked themselves up before this match. Such chit-chat with the media betrays their big-match nerves and it seems that Pakistan, as a whole, seem incapable of treating this game as just that - a game. They seem likely to put themselves under undue pressure to excel and in the process, self-destruct. Of course, that's the last thing on my wish list - I want to watch a great and close game.

Barring an upset, India should prevail. Behold, the cup is just two good evenings away!

O India, May the fours be with you .... always!