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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 Vapormax Off White Canada .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Vapormax 2020 Canada . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/air-vapormax-plus-canada/womens.html . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Vapormax 2019 Cheap .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Nike Vapormax Clearance . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Ryan OReilly got angry and the Buffalo Sabres offense got rolling.Jack Eichel scored two goals in a 2:08 span of the second period and assisted on another goal for the Sabres in a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.But it was OReillys goal earlier in the second that sparked a flurry of four goals in a 6:13 stretch for the Sabres.Hes our leader, Eichel said. Hes a huge player for our team. Steps up, makes a huge play, scores a beautiful goal and opens it up for us.Buffalo trailed 2-0 when OReilly circled from behind the net and lifted a hard backhand shot from the slot over Peter Budajs glove at 9:31 of the second period.I was just getting frustrated, OReilly said. The first (Kings) goal was clearly my fault, and being out there again, I got to create offense and not get scored on. . Its nice to do something and to get back and provide a spark for the boys.You saw it really the whole shift, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. He was taking over and taking the game on his stick. He scored an outstanding goal for us and ignited the rest of the team. We kind of steamrolled from there.Eichel scored his goals in the second and Brian Gionta also had a goal in the period.Eichel set up Evander Kane for an insurance goal late in the third period and Sam Reinhart scored into an empty net in the final minute.Kyle Okposo assisted on three of the Sabres goals, giving him 11 points in his last 10 games and a team-high 21 points this season. Okposo played after missing Mondays practice due to illness.Robin Lehner made 13 of his 30 saves in the third period and got the win for just the second time in his last 11 starts.Jeff Carter scored twice and Anze Kopitar had the other goal for the Kings, who opened a seven-game trip.Budaj made 18 saves. Jeff Zatokk replaced him for the final 6:12 of the second period and stopped two shots. Budaj returned for the third period.You have to get some saves, Kings coacch Darryl Sutter said.dddddddddddd Got a lot of goals scored on us with very few shots against.The Kings have lost three of four and are 4-8-1 on the road. They have lost eight straight in Buffalo since last winning here on Feb. 21, 2003.Were a fragile team, Carter said. Weve been doing it all year. Home, away, everywhere. Its time we take a big look in the mirror here because these next six games are pretty crucial.The Sabres entered the night as the NHLs lowest-scoring team with 56 goals through 27 games, but they scored four goals in a period for the first time since Dec. 26, 2015, turning a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead.Following OReillys seventh goal of the season, Eichel tied the game with 6:24 left in the period on a backhand pass from the blue line that slid by Budaj.Gionta gave the Sabres the lead 12 seconds later when he deflected Brian Gorges wrist shot from the point, and Eichel scored his fifth goal in seven games on a wrist shot from the slot to make it 4-2 with 4:16 remaining.Carter scored his team-leading 14th goal 4:03 into the third period and beat Lehner on a breakaway 7:34 into the second period to put the Kings ahead 2-0.Kopitar gave the Kings the lead 3 minutes into the game when he muscled his way around OReilly and jammed the puck between Lehners pads. It was Kopitars first goal since Oct. 25 and his 246th with the Kings, tying him with Wayne Gretzky for sixth on the all-time list.Game notes Sabres D Zach Bogosian skated with the team on Tuesday for the first time since spraining his knee on Nov. 1. ... Kings F Trevor Lewis earned his 100th NHL point with an assist on Kopitars goal. ... The Kings lost for the first time this season when leading after the first period. They were 7-0-0.UP NEXTKings: At Detroit on Thursday.Sabres: Host the Islanders on Friday. ' ' '