Pakistan are in poor form, have out-of-sorts batsmen and a depleted spin attack, says guest writer Saj Sadiq of www.pakpassion.net, but they CAN win the World T20 for inspirational captain Shahid Afridi… On a beautiful Kolkata evening on April 3, in front of thousands of cheering spectators, and witnessed by millions around the globe, a grateful and proud Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi lifts the ICC World Twenty20 trophy.Its been a tumultuous few months leading up to this momentous occasion for a team of mavericks, who until this tournament, have never looked like world-beaters with consecutive 20-overs series defeats to England and New Zealand and a disastrous Asia Cup campaign to boot.The nation rejoices and Shahid Afridi bows out from international cricket with a victory of great proportions which a cricket-mad country will treasure for many years.This is indeed a fairytale finish to the ICC World Twenty20 of 2016 and a fitting farewell to Shahid Afridi that many in Pakistan will hope to see - but even the most fanatical of their supporters will understand the magnitude of the leap of faith required for this dream to come true.Lets start with some recent history first - as if the series losses to Bangladesh, England and New Zealand within the last 12 months and then a disastrous Asia Cup were not bad enough news for Pakistan, the chaotic build-up to the World Twenty20 due to security issues could well have knocked the wind out of any group of players.Coming back to the recent cricket performances, it is true that there have been flashes of brilliance here and there, though the overall standard of cricket from this team has been well below par. The performances have been bereft and deficient of any confidence, planning and aggression and a ranking of seven is not inaccurate. Afridi has probably grimaced a few times after his sides recent T20 performances While the form of several players is an issue, it is widely agreed that the 15-man squad is more or less the best the selectors could have chosen, although the route taken to achieve this goal may have been rather circuitous. The picking and dropping of Khurram Manzoor and vice versa for Ahmed Shehzad being the prime example of this painful approach to build a squad which, on paper, has some merit.With Indian pitches known for aiding spin, it is a fact that there are still issues with Pakistans spin department. A spin attack heavily reliant upon Shahid Afridi, an unproven Mohammad Nawaz and an out-of-sorts Imad Wasim hardly fills anyone with confidence.If we look at Pakistans Twenty 20 performances in previous World Cups, spin has played a massive and crucial part in their success. In addition there is the small matter of the absence of Pakistans spin hero of old, Saeed Ajmal, from whose absence the team has not recovered completely. Pakistan will have to do without Saeed Ajmal in India Add to that the current ban on Mohammad Hafeezs bowling and one gets the impression that spin will not be Pakistans main weapon in this World Cup. With Yasir Shah also cooling his heels on the back of an ICC ban, Pakistan will need to have Shahid Afridi firing and will pray and hope that the young back-up spinners will provide adequate back-up to the skipper in the spin department.Pakistans pace attack, however, is a completely different kettle of fish. Led by the superb and ever-improving Mohammad Amir and containing in-form pace aces Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami, with the dangerous Wahab Riaz, the pace quartet has the ability of changing any game very quickly. If runs are put up on the board by the batsmen, Pakistans pace bowlers have the ability to defend any decent total. While the pace attack has variety and experience, with each member keenly aware of their role, the same cannot be said with any degree of confidence about Pakistans brittle batting line-up.If the shocking batting performances of late are any guide, Pakistan batsmen have the ability to render any good performance of the bowling attack and negate any advantage their hard work brings to the table. The bowling will only be useful if the team is capable of posting or chasing good totals.Mohammad Hafeezs questionable form, Ahmed Shehzads inability to rotate the strike, Shahid Afridis non-existent batting contributions and Shoaib Maliks on and off cameos, are all massive problems that Pakistan will have to contend with.The issue will be compounded on flat pitches if none of these batsmen fire and while Umar Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed have been great fighters of late, they cannot be relied upon to rescue the team every time. Mohammad Amir will be a key man for Pakistan in the World T20 If the fairytale is to come true, a spell of magic is necessary to provide the batting performances which the bowlers will gladly defend or use to their advantage.The truth is that Pakistans batting has consistently failed lately and in a very tough group, and facing some quality bowling attacks, if the batting continues to misfire, Pakistan may well fail to progress in the group stages.If recent performances are any guide then purely from the teams point of view and considering their poor form, getting out of the group may well be the only success Pakistan can hope for.However despite the chaos, confusion and poor form, Pakistan cricket teams have the ability to astound and surprise. Their best performances are usually saved in the face of adversity.The class of 2016 may not be among the favourites at the World Twenty20, but write this team off at your peril.Sky Sports is the only place you can watch all 35 games in 27 days of the 2016 ICC World T20. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Afridi: Pakistan are ready Pundit World T20 picks How to watch World T20 Sky Cricket on Twitter Cheap Manchester United Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. Joel Castro Pereira Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.manunitedfcpro.com/Kids-Sergio-Romero-Jersey/ . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Paul Pogba Jersey . 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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Riley LaChance gave Vanderbilt a second-half spark, which was just what Vanderbilt needed.The junior guard scored nine of the Commodores first 11 points in the seconds half as Vanderbilt pulled away for a 75-52 win over Norfolk State in the on-campus portion of Las Vegas Invitational on Friday night.His surge turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage and the Spartans (2-2) never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.Riley played his best five minutes of the season to start that second half, Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said. He gave us a lot of energy on both ends, which kind of started on the defensive end, I thought. He really got out in transition and hit some 3s that were key for us.Matthew Fisher-Davis led Vanderbilt (2-1) with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and LaChance added 12, highlighted by three 3-pointers.I was definitely in a good rhythm and my teammates did a good job of pumping me up, and we do a good job of pumping each other up, LaChance said. I think when we made that run in the second half we had really good energy and really good togetherness.Jeff Roberson grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 11 points for the Commodores, who hit 10 of 28 from 3-point range.Norfolk State lost to a Southeastern Conference team for the second time in a week, including a 78-74 defeat at Mississippi State on Nov. 11.A lot of it was our defensive mistakes, to be honest with you, Spartans coach Robert Jones said. We left Fisher-Davis three times on rotations and he had wide-open 3s, so a lot of it was us, not them really. The overall energy wasnt how we play for whatever reason.Jonathan Wade remained hot for the Spartans with 20 points and seven rebounds. Wade scored a career-high 34 points in Tuesdays 91-55 rout of Elizabeth City State.We kind of bbeat ourselves tonight, Wade said.dddddddddddd If our energy level is not there, were not the team were capable of being. We kind of have mental lapses sometimes as a team.The Spartans made only 30 percent of their shots from the floor, hitting 18 of 60.Norfolk State led by three points before Vanderbilt went on a 10-0 run to take a 32-25 lead on LaChances 3-pointer with 3:26 left in the first half.The Commodores missed their first six shots from the floor, but hit 14 of 16 foul shots in the first 20 minutes to help them go on top 37-28 at halftime.BIG PICTURENorfolk State: The Spartans werent able to contain Fisher-Davis and LaChance, and their perimeter defense couldnt stop the Commodores 3-point shooters. Vandy hit 10 treys, Norfolk State was 2 of 11.Vanderbilt: The Commodores have found a rhythm in the past two home wins under first-year coach Bryce Drew, who spent the previous five seasons at his alma mater, Valparaiso. Vanderbilt passed the ball crisply with 16 assists, compared to two for Norfolk State.GOOD WEEKFisher-Davis has looked good in both of Vanderbilts wins this week. Hes played a complete game, Drew said. We all know how well he shoots the ball, but hes been putting the ball down on the floor a little bit and hes been passing it and on the defensive end I think hes done a much better job taking pride in defending his man.UNBALANCED SCORINGWade was the only Spartan in double figures. Alex Long, Zaynah Robinson, Micah Goss and Carrington Ward went a combined 6 for 33 from the floor.UP NEXTNorfolk State visits Butler on Monday for the second game in a 10-day road trip.Vanderbilt hosts Bucknell on Monday in the final of a three-game homestand. 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