MCC vs ROW: Top 5 individual battles to watch out for

One more match. That’s all we can get from some of the stalwarts of the gentleman’s game who retired from the sport years before. Even though many of them have not been playing competitive cricket lately, they have been training hard in the nets and will produce fascinating battles when they take the field on Saturday at Lord’s to mark MCC’s 200 years of greatness.Special Mentions:Adam Gilchrist vs Daniel VettoriYuvraj Singh vs Saeed Ajmal

#5 Virender Sehwag vs Shaun Tait

The Nawab of Najafgarh will look to dominate the match from ball one and when you have a bowler who can rip in some furious balls at 150 kmph, it does make the contest a must watch.

Having the most attacking attitude, the opener will risk everything to succeed and the same with Tait. The bowler will target the stumps with his wily in-swingers and given the right-hander’s lack of feet movement, none can predict anything, but a contest to look forward to.

In powerplays, Veeru might pummel the Aussie into all parts of the Lord’s outfield but a possibility of a failure follows him like a shadow.

#4 Kevin Pietersen vs Brett Lee

The controversial England star after being sidelined by the national team is starving for top quality cricket and will relish facing one of the best fast bolwers to have played the game in Brett Lee.

The right-arm speedster will be looking to get his Ashes rival out cheaply. It can be remembered that Pietersen made his famous Test debut against the formidable Australian line-upthat included Lee in it.

Pietersen emergedas the man of the match in the last Test,denying the Aussies a chance to level the series.He became a star too soon in his carrer at the expense of Lee who was smashed for 4 runs an over in that innings of 158 after being dropped earlier off him.Moreover, it is always a battle to look forward to as both can change the course of the play in a matter of few overs.

#3 Brian Lara vs Muttiah Muralitharan

What will happen if you have the batsman who is in no mood to lose his wicket and the bowler who thrives to get him out with all his might.

This will be the case when the Sri Lankan spin wizard bowls at the West Indian great Brian Lara. The left-hander has scored 5 Test hundreds against Sri Lanka including two double centuries.

Muralitharan has dismissed him 5 times out of 14 innings the two played against each other in whites. With the red ball that is about to be used for the match, it will be another close contest between the greats of bat and ball.

#2 Rahul Dravid Vs Shahid Afridi

‘The Wall’ once again joins hands with the genius in Sachin Tendulkar and together these two have scripted many remarkable and memorable partnerships which are unforgettable. Dravid will be batting in the middle order where the leggie Shahid Afridi operates.

The India-Pakistan rivalry will not be the same in the friendly match involving the legends but the competitive nature of them will be a treat to watch.

Out of Dravid’s 5 Test hundreds against Pakistan in 2000s – within a span of 2 years, Afridi has played opponent in 4 matches apart from the two ODI hundreds. The middle overs won’t be having any dull moments with these two up against each other.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne

No wonder that this is at the top of the most sought after battles. The Desert storms of April 1998 at Sharjah, that caused nightmares to the master of spin is something that will be etched forever in the memories of cricket fans.

After practising heavily by facing Lakshman Sivaramakrishnan (former Indian leg-spinner who turned commentator) in the nets, the little master tackled the mighty Aussie with dominance that reflects in Warne’s career average of 47 in Test matches and 56 in ODIs against India.

Consistently using his feet against the spinner, Sachin will look to be drawing the first blood in the epic battle.

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Edited by Staff Editor