Confident Pakistan takes on Windies
Source: Agencies |
March 23, 2011, Wednesday
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PAKISTAN captain Shahid Afridi concedes the expectations on his squad have increased following Saturday's momentous win over Australia, but so has confidence within the team.
Victory over the defending champion earned Pakistan top spot in Group A and a quarterfinal against West Indies today, a game Afridi's lineup is now expected to win.
"Yes, expectation is more now," Afridi said yesterday.
"And we feel more confident now. That's a good sign to win a big game before the quarterfinal and we all are very confident."
West Indies comes into the match after ending the group phase with losses to England and India.
Darren Sammy's side does have the benefit of having played a match at Dhaka's Sher-E-Bangla Stadium already - the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh - but Afridi does not believe that will be a factor in the quarterfinal.
"We're not Bangladesh, this is Pakistan," he said.
"Every match is different. We played two games here (before the tournament). We know the pitch and how it will play."
Pakistan was something of an unknown quantity coming into the tournament, especially after losing three players to long-term bans after the spot-fixing scandal in England last year.
However, the team made qualifying for the knockout stage look easy, losing only one match against New Zealand and beating Sri Lanka as well as Australia.
Pakistan now stands on the verge of a semifinal - possibly against rival India - and Afridi said the team's performances aren't down to luck.
"We really worked hard before this World Cup," Afridi said.
"I think we never worked as hard in our career. We had very good (training) camp sessions, we've been taking our practice sessions very seriously.
"The coaches have done a great job with the guys, especially with the fielding. There's a lot of effort behind this."
West Indies captain Sammy said his two key players Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach were ready to return to the side after missing the final group game against India.
"Both Gayle and Roach participated in our practise today. Roach bowled and Gayle batted and I liked the way they looked, so obviously everybody is in good spirits," he said.
"I know we will come out with the best combination to go out there and win us the quarterfinal."
Victory over the defending champion earned Pakistan top spot in Group A and a quarterfinal against West Indies today, a game Afridi's lineup is now expected to win.
"Yes, expectation is more now," Afridi said yesterday.
"And we feel more confident now. That's a good sign to win a big game before the quarterfinal and we all are very confident."
West Indies comes into the match after ending the group phase with losses to England and India.
Darren Sammy's side does have the benefit of having played a match at Dhaka's Sher-E-Bangla Stadium already - the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh - but Afridi does not believe that will be a factor in the quarterfinal.
"We're not Bangladesh, this is Pakistan," he said.
"Every match is different. We played two games here (before the tournament). We know the pitch and how it will play."
Pakistan was something of an unknown quantity coming into the tournament, especially after losing three players to long-term bans after the spot-fixing scandal in England last year.
However, the team made qualifying for the knockout stage look easy, losing only one match against New Zealand and beating Sri Lanka as well as Australia.
Pakistan now stands on the verge of a semifinal - possibly against rival India - and Afridi said the team's performances aren't down to luck.
"We really worked hard before this World Cup," Afridi said.
"I think we never worked as hard in our career. We had very good (training) camp sessions, we've been taking our practice sessions very seriously.
"The coaches have done a great job with the guys, especially with the fielding. There's a lot of effort behind this."
West Indies captain Sammy said his two key players Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach were ready to return to the side after missing the final group game against India.
"Both Gayle and Roach participated in our practise today. Roach bowled and Gayle batted and I liked the way they looked, so obviously everybody is in good spirits," he said.
"I know we will come out with the best combination to go out there and win us the quarterfinal."
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