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Thursday March 28, 2024

Pakistan hope to end dismal run on lively Gabba pitch

BRISBANE: There is a hint of green on the Gabba wicket which is expected to offer ample bounce both to pacers and spinners when Pakistan meet Zimbabwe in what is a must-win World Cup game for both the teams.Blessed with a trio of wicket-taking pacers and likely to recall leggie

By Khalid Hussain
March 01, 2015
BRISBANE: There is a hint of green on the Gabba wicket which is expected to offer ample bounce both to pacers and spinners when Pakistan meet Zimbabwe in what is a must-win World Cup game for both the teams.
Blessed with a trio of wicket-taking pacers and likely to recall leggie Yasir Shah, Pakistan should be salivating at the idea of exploiting the lively wicket to their advantage.
But low on confidence and under-pressure from all quarters, there are fears that Pakistan might instead go into their shell against a Zimbabwean side that is featuring in the World Cup with a seemingly toothless bowling attack.
They’ve done that twice before in the World Cup. Against India and West Indies they leaked runs and then flopped while chasing sizeable targets. And now languishing at the bottom of the points table, Pakistan are facing the humiliating prospects of catching an early flight back home.
Misbah-ul-Haq, however, hoped on Saturday that it will be a different story here on Sunday (today).
“When you’ve lost two games in a row in a World Cup, there’s a bit of pressure on the players, but I think this is a chance for us to just get our confidence back,” the embattled Pakistan captain said on the eve of the crucial Pool B encounter.
Pakistan have never lost their first three games in a World Cup and an upset result on Sunday will virtually end their hopes of reaching the last eight.
Misbah was confident that his boys will improve in all three areas of the game to bounce back into contention for a quarter-final berth.
“Both India and West Indies scored 300 runs,” Misbah said. “Then it was really difficult throughout the World Cup when some of the teams score 300-plus runs, it’s really difficult to chase it down.
“So that’s what we need to do. We just have to press all the time, even in the middle overs, to get batsmen out,” he added.
Though Misbah said that he was sure on what line-up will play on Sunday he refused to share it with the media.
But it is likely that Pakistan will bring back Yasir Shah to exploit Zimbabwe’s weakness against quality leg spin. Also the out-form Younis Khan is expected to make place for stumper Sarfraz Ahmed who will open the innings with Ahmed Shehzad.
The Gabba wicket is fresh and despite offering pace and bounce seems to offer plenty of runs. The team that wins the toss should bat first considering that cooler evenings make the task of batting trickier under lights.
While Pakistan have struggled while chasing, Zimbabwe have batted impressively even against higher-rated teams like South Africa and West Indies.
They will be looking to their coach Dav Whatmore hoping that the Australian will use “inside info” to device a winning formula against Pakistan.
An ex-Pakistan coach, Whatmore is at the helm of Zimbabwe’s World Cup campaign and is confident that his current charges have the guts to qualify for the quarterfinals.
In terms of spectator interest, today’s Pool B clash is not a big match but it is expected that a sizeable Pakistani crowd is likely to turn up and cheer for their team.
Teams (likely):
Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Irfan.
Zimbabwe: Sikander Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Elton Chigumbura (captain), Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Tafadzwa Kamungozi.