A meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja — a part of the Imran Khan-led winning team in the 1992 World Cup final at the MCG — on Friday has been “a massive boost” to the confidence of Babar Azam and Co.

Confidence and self-belief will certainly be crucial, but Pakistan are banking on their pacers against England’s explosive batting line-up going into the decider in Melbourne.

“Pressure exists, but it can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves. England are a competitive team and their win against India to reach the final was proof of that. Our strategy will be to stick to our plan and use our pace attack as our strength,” Babar said on Saturday.

His counterpart Jos Buttler, too, acknowledged how important it will be for England to counter Pakistan’s quicks. “Excellent fast bowling is a huge part of why Pakistan get to a World Cup final.

“We expect a really tough challenge. They are a team we’ve seen lots of in the recent past, and we’ve had some brilliant matches against them played in a fantastic spirit, and I’m sure tomorrow (Sunday) will be no different,” Buttler said.