Sarfaraz Ahmed is confident that the defeat to India won’t be playing on his teammates’ minds even a bit when Pakistan take on South Africa in their must-win game at Lord’s on Sunday.

Pakistan have won just one of their five matches in this World Cup, which came in the form of an impressive 14-run triumph over England, but lost by 89 runs to arch-rivals India at Old Trafford in their most recent game.

Pakistan have had a week to analyse that loss before they take the field on Sunday, where they will try to prevail over the Proteas, who also have only one victory as of now and are just a step away from being out of reckoning for a semi-final berth.

Captain Sarfaraz insisted his team won’t be focusing on the past and that the players are confident of bouncing back in style at the Home of Cricket.

“Everything is fine after the India match,” he said at the pre-match media conference on Saturday. “

It was tough for us, but after the match, we gave our players two days’ rest. Then three days before tomorrow’s game, we started practising hard.

“Psychologically, there is a bit of pressure on you as a Pakistan captain if you lose against India in a World Cup match.

“People will say we are beaten, but it’s not the first time we have lost to them in a World Cup. So, it’s fine…

“We all are okay and we are all still backing ourselves. So hopefully, we will bounce back,” Sarfaraz added.

The team morale is still high, Sarfaraz claimed.

“Morale is still very high for us. The tournament is now open, so we have a chance and we are focusing match by match.

“Hopefully, we can start by beating South Africa,” he emphasised.

The two sides fought a highly competitive ODI series in South Africa back in January, which Pakistan eventually lost 2-3. That has whetted the appetite for Sunday’s clash, although Sarfaraz believes it’s not wise to look back to those matches that took place earlier in the year.

“If you talk about the South Africa series earlier this year, it’s different. A bilateral series brings in a different type of pressure compared to that of a World Cup.

“We played good cricket, but unfortunately, we didn’t win the series. We are very hopeful heading into the game against South Africa and we will try for our best.

His senior teammate Wahab Riaz, meanwhile, acknowledged the need for the pacers to strike early in order to gain early advantage in the remaining matches, something they haven’t quite been able to do, barring the game against England.

“As a bowling unit, we are trying hard. We are all focused to do well in the South Africa match,” Wahab said.