Umar Gul concerned about India top order

It will all come to a head in Mohali on Wednesday when Gul opens the bowling against the strongest batting contingent of the event. It is his first spell that could dictate how the rest of his team’s overs go, but Gul has identified what he needs to do. The first three wickets in the top-order are very crucial. They are depending on the top three.

Umar Gul is the man who operates in the shadows of his more colourful companions of the Pakistani bowling pack. Behind his captain Shahid Afridi among Pakistan’s leading wicket-takers at this World Cup – 14 wickets to Afridi’s 21 – Gul has emerged as the searing inquisitor with the new ball en route to Pakistan’s arrival into the semi-final.

Were Gul to run into India’s top three in their hotel corridor between now and Wednesday afternoon, there would be handshakes, smiles and pleasant chit-chat. It is a fact that most of the fans on both sides find hard to to digest, particularly two days before the World Cup semi-final that once again sets up one of the most over-heated rivalries in sport.

Gul said that given the strength of the Indian batting, the World Cup had taken his bowling to the rhythm it needed at the right time. Afridi is the leading wicket-taker. Gul is happy with the performance and form. Pakistan have a bit of an advantage with their bowling the way batsmen are playong in the quarter-final.