Men of Steel

AHMED SHEHZAD

Pakistani fans have long believed that young Ahmed Shehzad could well be the solution to their top-order batting stumbles. The 23-year-old has gradually gone on to become Pakistan's most dependable cricketer at the top. It therefore let many down when he failed to score in the first few games of the World Cup. While he began well against India, he had scores of 1 and 0 against the West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively. Yesterday's composed 93 against the UAE though could be the start of a new chapter for the talented batsman in the tournament, and it's something that Pakistan are in dire need of at the moment.

DAVID WARNER

With free-stroking batsmen breaking records and producing match-changing innings, how could David Warner be left out? His hands were itching for a big one; there's no doubt about that. He ended the pre-World Cup games in style by hammering a century against India. However, ever since he struggled to play a big one despite getting starts. Yesterday though was different. He went all guns blazing even though Australia had lost an early wicket. With five sixes and 19 fours he may have finished on a 178 off 133 balls; but for a brief period he looked set to break the 200-barrier. In fact he would have had he chosen to eke out the singles; instead he went for the big hits.