The Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has promised to meet fire with fire in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final with India. Led by captain Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's attack has been a potent weapon on their run to the last four but their sternest test so far awaits them in Mohali when they encounter the most accomplished batting line-up at the tournament.
India's explosive opening duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have combined for 721 runs so far, while 341 runs from the bat of Yuvraj Singh and 269 from Gautam Gambhir adds to the threat to the Pakistan attack.
However, Pakistan showed their teeth to the full in their quarter-final demolition of West Indies, dismissing their opponents for just 112 before easing to victory by 10 wickets. "India's batting line-up is very strong but our bowling is very good and equally up to the task," said Gul, who has taken 14 wickets in the tournament, seven fewer than his captain.
"Afridi is the leading wicket-taker. We have a bit of an advantage with our bowling but I am happy with the way the batsmen played in the quarter-final," continued Gul, who has set his sights on the early scalps of Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir if Pakistan are to have a realistic chance of victory.
"The first three wickets are very crucial for us. They are depending on the top three," he said. "I am in good form and am looking for these three wickets."
Pakistan have never defeated India in a World Cup match and Gul concedes the stakes could not be higher: "Whether it is a knockout match or a league match, any match against India is a big match always, a high-pressure match," he said. "The last time we played here, we chased 327 but it depends on how the wicket behaves. The average good score here will be 270-280."
The experienced Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is also expecting amomentous struggle in front of 30,000 partisan Indian fans. "It's a huge match for everyone, the players, the fans, everyone involved in it," he said. "A World Cup semi-final can only be surpassed in one-day cricket by the World Cup final itself. The added spice to the occasion of course is that the opponents are India and that the match is in India itself.
"For the Australian and English players the Ashes is a big series and for Indian and Pakistani players, the matches against your arch-rivals have a special meaning. The whole world will be watching and following the match and it should be a fantastic occasion. These are the sort of matches that you look forward to playing in and dream about."
After so many negative headlines in recent months, Ajmal is delighted the Pakistan team has managed to put together a strong showing on the game's biggest stage.
"We knew that many had written us off before the tournament and said that we would make it to the quarter-finals at best," he said. "We wanted to prove those people wrong and the best way to do that was to let our cricket do the talking. We won our group, we beat Sri Lanka, we defeated Australia but the job is only half done yet, we want to go further in this tournament."
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