Dubai:The green shirts began their Super 4 campaign with a thrilling victory over India on Sunday. As one of the favorites for the championship game after overcoming Afghanistan on Wednesday, Pakistan. After beating Sri Lanka in the group stage, Afghanistan qualified for the tournament. Pakistan will be their opponent in what could be another exciting game.
The head coach of the Pakistani squad, Saqlain Mushtaq, stated, “Afghanistan are a good side and they have demonstrated it from time to time but we are optimistic to earn a hat-trick of victory on Wednesday. “The Sharjah weather will favor spinners but if a batter bats enough in the middle there will be enough of runs available in the later innings with shorter boundaries.
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan has already stated that going forward his team would have to work together to win the championship. “Let me tell you, winning such a tournament is never a piece of cake. To win each game you must perform at your peak. In order to defeat Afghanistan in the upcoming game, we must play our best cricket “In a press conference before the game on Wednesday, Babar remarked.
According to Saqlain, the team’s successful start against India was the result of tactically astute choices that were converted into successful performances by the batsmen, who in turn emphasised and underlined their batting talent, depth and power.
“To counter India’s leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi and to take advantage of the shorter boundary on one side of the field, it seemed strategically wise to elevate left-hander Mohammad Nawaz to number four. The five-wicket victory also highlighted the team’s bravery and tenacity as Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s most productive batsman since the beginning of 2021 and the tournament’s leading run-getter, overcame a knee injury in the first innings to record the game’s highest total.”
The victory over India, according to head coach Saqlain Mushtaq, “has definitely raised the spirit of the team and highlighted the depth of our batting unit.”
“T20 cricket is all about deft movement and we have the necessary players to pull this off at any point in the innings. We all knew Mohammad Nawaz, a utility player, had what it took to perform under duress. But it is very amazing how this young player came in and quickly eliminated India from the match.”
“Saqlain said, “What Shadab Khan and Nawaz did for us in the middle overs was genuine gold. They laid on the shackles and earned us wickets frequently, which had a significant influence on the score. We were able to limit India to 181-7 thanks to these middle overs.
“In the last over, Haris Rauf displayed tremendous bowling finesse by denying a Virat Kohli-caliber hitter any space and keeping him fixed to his crease with flawless yorkers.
“Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani are excellent with the new ball, our spinners are a threat to any team in the middle overs, and Haris Rauf is a master of the death overs, as you can see. We now have a bowling lineup that will give any batsman in the other camp the willies when Shaheen Afridi is added to the mix.” Mohammad Rizwan skipped the Dubai Academy’s training session, but he will be ready to play against Afghanistan on Wednesday. “He has had a well-earned rest in preparation for the game against Afghanistan.”