THE hurt of losing to arch-rivals India is deep, regardless of when, or how it happens. It sometimes makes the fans, and also the players forget the great things they might have done preceding the high-voltage fixture.
In the case of the ongoing World Cup, Pakistan’s seven-wicket drubbing by the hosts has blurred the side’s blistering chase — the highest in the tournament’s history — against Sri Lanka.
It seems to be a distant memory that Pakistan opened their campaign with a fairly impressive victory against the Netherlands.
Most importantly, Pakistan are well in the running for a place in the semi-finals, placed fourth in the league round standings ahead of their Friday’s clash against Australia, who had a worse start to the tournament.
Moving to the southern city of Bangalore after the India thrashing must have given the hurting Pakistan squad much clarity before they take on Pat Cummins’ men.
Pacer Hasan Ali had no shame in admitting the element of “pain” present in the dressing room atmosphere, but is assured he and his team-mates are raring to go again.
“Yes, we agree that we didn’t play to our calibre,” Hasan said during the pre-match press conference at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. “We lost and we were in pain. We were a better team and we couldn’t perform like that. We sat together with the team and had a healthy discussion.
“We have made mistakes, but it’s not the end of the world. We have a match against a big team [Australia] but we are also a big team. We have come to win the World Cup and are trying to play good cricket.”
Five-time champions Australia recovered from their opening losses to India and South Africa to get its first points with a victory over Sri Lanka, moving up to seventh in the standings.
Australia fell flat — both with ball and bat — in the first two games, but Pakistan will be wary of a side looking to swing the momentum in its favour with another win.
While a few Pakistan players have recently recovered from fever, the Babar Azam-led side has been struck by opener Fakhar Zaman’s knee injury.
Although the left-hander was replaced by Abdullah Shafique in the playing eleven, Fakhar’s absence may force Pakistan to look up to a less experienced Mohammad Haris in the travelling reserves.
Past their health and injury issues, Pakistan struggled with the ball against Sri Lanka and India. The batters came to rescue against the former, they didn’t in the latter.
Hasan had belief that he and his fast bowling partner Shaheen Shah Afridi — who hasn’t displayed his typical rhythm so far — will eventually find their feet in the World Cup.
“Shaheen has won us many matches in Pakistan,” said Hasan. “I know he is not fit right now but very soon he will be there. “He is a champion and he has given a lot of performances for Pakistan. As a bowling unit, our effort is — obviously the games here are very high scoring. But this is not an excuse.”
Pakistan bowlers, especially the spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan, have particularly suffered during the middle-overs since the start of the tournament and Pat Cummins’ Australia are looking to hurt them further in that period of play.
“Most games of ODI cricket’s won in those middle overs, either by not conceding wickets when you’re batting or trying to get a few breakthroughs with the ball,” Cummins told reporters on the eve of the match.
“So, yeah, it’s an area of the game that we spend a lot of time on how to navigate through. But yeah, we’re always, to our players, play what’s in front of you. If you feel like it’s a good opportunity to attack, then go for it.”
Cummins said Australia’s top order was working hard to set things right after they lost their first two matches without crossing 200 runs and hoped the batting-friendly wicket at the Chinnaswamy — where the team batting first has averaged 335 in the last three ODIs — should provide the right platform to score plenty of runs.
“Especially at a venue like here in Bangalore, I dare say it’s going to be high-scoring, smaller field. The pitch is always really good here,” he said.
“Batting is super important. I think the way the guys started the last game really set the tone. Mitchell [Marsh] and Davey [David Warner] up front from the first over taking the game on.
“That’s what we want from our players and they’re working really hard, they’re doing all the right things. I’m sure plenty of runs are around the corner.”
Hasan was asked how Pakistan would restrict Australia’s batting lineup at a venue known to favour batters, and gave a witty reply.
“If it’s a batting-friendly track, we won’t play!” he said, before adding: “But seriously, we all know that it’s a high-scoring ground. That’s no excuse. As a player, you have to find a way to perform. The most simple way to stop runs is to take wickets.”
Hasan is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker at the tournament so far with seven and said Pakistan will aim to make the most of whatever is offered to keep their “car” moving.
“Yes of course, the car has slowed down while going ahead — there was a stop,” he said. “But there are many big stops ahead. “The car will drive like this. We will take two points from each stop.”
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023
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