MELBOURNE, Australia — Captain
Babar Azam told his rejuvenated Pakistan side on Saturday to
ride the wave of four consecutive victories and win the Twenty20 World Cup
final.
اضافة اعلان
The 2009
champions suffered last-ball losses to India and Zimbabwe to start their
tournament but bounced back to surge into Sunday’s final against England at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“We have lost the
first two matches, (but) the way we came back the last four matches, we’ve
performed very well,” Azam said at his pre-match press conference. “I’m more
excited than nervous... it is no doubt that pressure exists, but it can only be
suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves. And for good results, it is
important that one must do so.”
Pakistan are
slight underdogs against
Jos Buttler’s England, but Azam is banking on the
strength of his fast bowlers to give them an edge, particularly in the six-over
powerplay.
“England is a
competitive team, their (10-wicket) win to reach the finals against India was a
proof of that,” he said. “Our strategy is to stick to our plan and use our pace
attack as our strength to win the finals. Utilizing the powerplay to grab as
many wickets will be essential for the match.”
Notwithstanding
any late injuries, Pakistan are set to name the same team with Shaheen Shah
Afridi spearheading a dangerous attack and Azam and Mohammad Rizwan headlining
the batting.
Pakistan Cricket
Board chairman
Ramiz Raja met the squad on Friday and gave them a pep talk,
reflecting on how the Pakistan team he was part of beat England to win the 1992
one-day World Cup.
“When the chairman
came and shared his experience of the World Cup, it put a massive boost in our
confidence,” said Azam. “He advised us to stay calm and focus on what goes
well.”
More than 90,000
fans packed the MCG when
Pakistan played India early in the tournament and they
have enjoyed solid support wherever they have played in Australia.
“They give us
confidence and (it’s) good to see when we go anywhere, any stadium, they come
and support the Pakistan team,” he said.
Read more Sports
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
