Pakistan were in control against India in Melbourne on Sunday till Virat Kohli took the game away from them with his incredible batting in the last eight balls. However, the Pakistanis do understand that it’s time to move on and focus on the task at hand instead of cribbing about the India game.
Up against Zimbabwe at the Perth Stadium in Perth on Thursday, Pakistan look to right the wrongs of the previous game and get off the mark in this T20 World Cup. Besides, Babar’s message to the side after the agonising loss to India certainly seems to have lifted the spirit of the players. “It always hurts you a bit after losing such a big match (versus India). We can’t pretend that nothing happened. It really hurts, but we’re confident of bouncing back,” Iftikhar Ahmed, who hit a gutsy 51 for Pakistan last Sunday, emphasised.
“Babar told us that it was not our last game (of the tournament) and it was over, and we all had put in our best effort. The captain and the management have supported us. Our morale is high.” Pakistan are also backing seamer Haris Rauf, who did most things right at the MCG before Kohli took him on in the final overs. “Haris is one of our strike bowlers and we expect him to bowl better here (in Perth) and win it for Pakistan,” Iftikhar said.
Proteas target Bangla top order
Lungi Ngidi says South Africa will be looking to blast Bangladesh off the park with pace at the T20 World Cup on Thursday, targeting the top order in particular to “cut the head off the snake”.
The Proteas lost a home ODI series to Bangladesh in March and Ngidi, a key member of South Africa’s pace unit, said he and his teammates had learned some lessons from that reverse.
“Their batsmen came out pretty aggressively against us, so we’re very cognisant of that fact, so we’ll definitely be targeting their top order,” he told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. “As the bowling unit, we’re definitely looking to cut the head off the snake, take out their top order and restrict them to low total. “They outplayed us (in March), it’s that simple. But tomorrow, it’s a new day.”
