Misbah eyes Zimbabwe scalp to bring Pakistan back in the game

BRISBANE: Misbah-ul-Haq is no ordinary man. He revived his fading international career in his thirties and then went on to become one of Pakistan’s most successful captains.
But even for extra-ordinary men like Misbah there are certain limits.
And it showed on Saturday as the Pakistan captain interacted with the media here at Gabba ahead of their must-win World Cup game against Zimbabwe.
Under fire for his team’s poor showing, Misbah has been an object of criticism, disdain and even ridicule.
Though he tried to put up a brave face, it was quite obvious that Misbah has had it.
“We used to say that we are with the team all the time, but we never do it. You could say it’s always like that in Pakistan. We are always with the winning team, but when our team is in difficult times we never support it,” Misbah said when asked whether his team was under pressure because of intense criticism coming from various quarters.
“But the real supporters, you could say, supporters, they are there. They’ve got belief in the team, still supporting the team, so that’s what we need.
“I think as the management, as senior players, as captain, this is our duty here to just really motivate those guys, youngsters to keep doing good things and just be focused. Always it’s like that. You can just turn to things like that. If you’re positive, you are thinking you can do it, you have that belief that is the only way to just come out of these difficult times. That’s what we are trying to do. We’re working hard.”
Having lost their first two games, Pakistan are fully aware that Sunday’s game against Zimbabwe is their last chance to earn a World Cup reprieve.
“We have to really focus on our performance. We need to win the next game, especially after what happened in the first two games, it’s really important for us,” he said.
Misbah agreed that Pakistan needed to reignite the spirit of 1992 when Pakistan came back from the jaws of elimination to win the World Cup in Australia.
“There have been a lot of talks about 1992. You just focus on what you are doing here, and I think that is more important for our team, especially in the next game. I think everybody needs to really pick themselves up and try to win this game.”
He urged his players to get inspiration from Imran Khan’s Tigers who never gave up.
“The important lesson is to never give up. That’s what you need to do as a player and as a team. That’s what Imran Khan usually says about 1992. Even when the team was in difficult times, they never gave up. They just kept trying, kept trying, and kept trying. Finally, they just managed to do what they really wanted to do in that World Cup.”
Misbah refused to draw any positives out of the two defeats against India and West Indies stressing that his team played average cricket.
“Both of the teams really locked us down in the first two games. So we really have to come up good, play some good cricket and try to win this game because I think we were pretty average in the first two games, so we really need to improve our performance in all three areas of the game.”
The skipper said that a win against Zimbabwe can lift his team’s shattered morale.
“Zimbabwe is a very good side. But I think it’s our chance. We should just improve our performances, and try to win this game. That is the only way. If you improve your performances, if you win a game that could really change the mood of the whole team.”
Misbah said that Pakistan need to improve their catching.
“We need to take our chances, especially the catches, if we really want to be in the game all the time, and batting needs to be professional. We need to score big runs, and if one of your top four batsmen could just really play 40 overs or go to the end, you have a fair bit of chance to win the game.”
Pakistan have been accused for being the one team that is really guilty of consuming too many dot balls but Misbah defended his batters.
“It is very easy to say there are a lot of dot balls, but that sometimes happens. When sometimes the team is really bowling well, it could be difficult or tricky for you to rotate the strike. Our team relies on boundaries.”
Misbah agreed that the loss of top bowlers like Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan affected Pakistan but was quick to add that his seamers are doing a good job Down Under.
“In the past we were relying much on spin and bowlers like Junaid Khan. He was a main bowler for us. But I think at the moment these three seamers are bowling well especially with the new ball and in the death overs. We’re not getting wickets due to some poor fielding.”