Pakistan keep faith in pace in do-or-die clash

ADELAIDE, Australia: There is this old saying that suggests that lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Pakistan will be counting on it when they take on gritty Ireland in yet another must-win World Cup encounter here at Adelaide Oval on Sunday (today).
They were struck by lightning almost eight years ago when Ireland sensationally knocked the 1992 champions out of the World Cup in 2007.
But Misbah-ul-Haq and his men are confident that they will tame Ireland and progress to a likely quarter-final clash against co-hosts Australia in front of a full house at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Much of Pakistan’s optimism springs from their much-feared pace attack.
Spearheaded by the giant-sized Mohammad Irfan, Pakistan’s pace quartet is the reason why they are still alive in this 14-nation contest.
The seamers sizzled in much-needed wins against Zimbabwe and UAE before knocking down South Africa at Eden Park last week.
Pakistan are confident that they will deliver again, this time against Ireland despite the fact that the pitch at Adelaide Oval promises to be a flat, batting track.
That’s precisely the reason why the team’s think-tank is not looking towards leggie Yasir Shah despite strong recommendation from many experts including the great Imran Khan.
“It’s difficult to drop any of the seamers because all of them have been bowling very well and taking wickets,” Misbah said.
“What we have noticed playing in Australia is that it’s really difficult once you have two spinners in your side to bowl 20 overs of spin because sometimes you lose that pressure which is built by the pacers, especially up front.
“The Irish are really good against spin. Some of their left-hander struggle against off spin. But I think overall we have noticed that even when we are playing in Ireland, they are playing spin really well. In one match we played a tie in Ireland and scored 277. In that match they played even Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman really well.”
Pakistan might curb the temptation of going into the match with an unchanged line-up in order to bring back a fit-again Haris Sohail in place of either Sohaib Maqsood or Umar Akmal.
“If we are not going with two spinners then Haris gives us an extra spin option. It’s a difficult decision because Younis Khan played well in the last match. He is a senior batsman. But we will decide for the betterment of the team,” Misbah said.
Pakistan’s captain is hoping to win the toss and bat first today.
“The toss plays an important role in Australia where seamers get more assistance under lights. We will have an advantage if we bowl second,” he said.
It might not have really worked for them in this event but Misbah said that Pakistan will stick with the plan of keeping wickets in hand.
“Our plan has been to have wickets in hand because that’s the key. If you have 6 or 7 wickets in hand around the 40th over you will have a good chance to win. The top six batters should try to bat out the 50 overs because then you can get to 300 or more.”
Pakistan will attack upfront with Irfan and Sohail Khan with the duo of Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali backing them.
“It’s a good combination,” said Misbah. “Wahab is a very good bowler as a change bowler. He is skiddy and fast off the pitch. But he doesn’t swing the ball. Irfan seams and swings and generates extra bounce. Sohail swings the ball a bit late. Then we have Rahat and Wahab. Rahat swings while Wahab uses pace. They provide us with a very good balance.”
Such is the situation in Pool B that even on the last day of the group matches today, three teams — Pakistan, Ireland and West Indies are in with a chance.
Pakistan will make the cut if they beat Ireland. They will still get through with a loss in today’s game if UAE upset West Indies in Napier but that’s highly unlikely.
If Pakistan lose and West Indies win, then Ireland will get through while the other two will face a tricky run-rate countback.
World Cup history isn’t on Pakistan’s side as they fell against Ireland by three wickets back in 2007. But overall, Pakistan have won three of the four games played between the two teams since the Kingston showdown.