Cricket: Fakhar hopes Pakistan will perform well in Asia Cup

LAHORE: Pakistan star opening batsman, Fakhar Zaman believes that Pakistan will do better against arch-rivals India in their Asia Cup match. Talking to media on the sideline of the training camp, Fakhar said: “We have an upper hand India when they meet on September 19 at Dubai International Stadium.”

The pre-Asia Cup 2018 training camp has been established at the gaddafi Stadium. Eighteen players are taking part in the training camp which wil continue till September 10. The cricketers underwent batting, bowling and fielding exercises under the supervision of the coaches. The multi-nation Asia Cup will begin from September 15 in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan has been placed in Group A alongside a qualifying team and arch rivals India.

Pakistan will kick off its campaign against the qualifying side on September 16. They will play against India on September 19. Both matches will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The top two teams in the group will advance to the Super 4 stage. Pakistan first made its Asia Cup debut in 1984 and went on to win the tournament in 2000 and 2012. The side enjoys a win percentage of 60.46.

Fakhar who is so far the highest run-getter of 2018 for Pakistan with 665 runs, said that he will try to play one more impressive innings against the men in blue.

Fakhar had played a magnificent inning of 114 runs when Pakistan last met India in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 –which Pakistan won by 180 runs.

The Mardan-born opener further said that every match has its own pressure so the team management have planned the things accordingly. “Every match has its own take but yes the match between India and Pakistan has its own worth,” Fakhar stated.

He said that the management is keeping a close eye on each player’s performance and fitness level and they are up with different plans against each team. “Fitness is the first priority for the team management and they are not letting any player get away with it,” Fakhar said. Fakhar who scored a double century against Zimbabwe in July said that he always wishes to give his hundred per cent helping Pakistan to achieve big.

“My wish is to continue the run form and to score in every match I play for my country,” Fakhar said when asked about his run-form. The 28-years-old, Fakhar is the fastest batsman in ODI format to reach 1000 runs in just 18 innings to cross West Indian great Vivian Richards who achieved the milestone in 21 innings.

The left-handed batsman scored a swash-buckling century in his only outing, so far, against India during the 2017 Champions Trophy Final to lay the platform for a memorable victory. This will be the first time since that finale when both teams will meet in any international match, and Zaman believes the team which will control its nerves better will stay in the ascendency in the high-pressure encounter. “We will have a slight advantage over our opposition because UAE is like a home ground to us as we have ample experience of playing cricket there,” he said.