This morning or afternoon depending on where you reside in the world we saw Pakistan defeat New Zealand to reach the finals of the T20 Cricket World Cup. It was only 11 days ago that Pakistan looked dead and buried after having lost to India and Zimbabwe. Everyone had written them off as the team was relying on upsets and results to go their way. Pakistan's hopes and dreams were in the hands of the Gods and now look at them.
Many feel that the team has nothing to lose as they have been given a second chance and the pressure is really off. This is when teams perform better than if they had cruised through to the finals as they have already had a scare and survived. The problem is for their opponents now whoever they might be in Sundays final is the Pakistani team will believe that they are destined to have the name on the World Cup trophy.
We have seen in other sports where teams that are expected to win a tournament often don't and this is all down to mindset. Teams that have no expectations tend to come out on top in these types of situations as they don't have the favorite tag hanging over their heads.
The last Rugby World Cup in Japan England were expected to win against South Africa yet they were outplayed and thumped. Raising your game to the next level is sometimes easier said than done as the mind has already told you you have won. This is why we saw the reaction of the players afterwards as they had believed the write ups in the media calling them the World Champions.
The English out of all the sporting nations tend to fail the most at the final hurdle and it is not down to their lack of ability, but more about preparation. The number of finals the English have found themselves in and lost tells it's own story and they only have themselves to blame.
I am not picking on England here, but am raising this as I see them defeating India tomorrow and playing Pakistan in Sundays final. If that happens Pakistan will have the edge as the favorite tag will be firmly on the English yet again. They have a chance as long as the press stays clear as they are the secret weapon of any team playing England. The way they get the country believing they are the best ever is mind blowing and only heaps more pressure setting the team up for failure.
Not only is this insulting for the opponents facing England but it gives an extra incentive to make sure you win as you will never hear the end of it. This is the reason why the English national sporting teams are hated by the rest of the world so much and why it is England vs everyone else.
Every cricket fan would love to see a repeat of the first match which saw India win against Pakistan when the Pakistan team should have won and gave it away. India just don't look strong and more hype than bite as they are not the strongest team in the tournament. England have enough to blow them away and that for me is England's final right there.
Something tells me Pakistan will win on Sunday as it is already written in the stars and England most likely or India will find it even more difficult to win the title. Having a second chance to win a World Cup title normally doesn't get squandered twice and why I am backing Pakistan to lift the trophy on Sunday no matter who they play.
