Make hay while sun shines
Captain Babar Azam urges Pakistan to ride wave of confidence in final, but rain threatens to spoil the party
Melbourne, Australia - Captain Babar Azam told his rejuvenated Pakistan side on Saturday to ride the wave of four consecutive victories and win the Twenty20 World Cup final.
The 2009 champions suffered last-ball losses to India and Zimbabwe to start their tournament but bounced back to surge into Sunday’s final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
But rain could though spoil the party with a 100 percent chance
of showers forecast and even severe thunderstorms.
A reserve day has been set aside on Monday but the weather is again expected to be bleak, raising the prospect of a washout
and the unthinkable - the trophy being shared.
“We have lost the first two matches, (but) the way we came
back the last four matches, we’ve per-formed very well,” Azam said at his pre-match press conference.
“I’m more excited than nervous... it is no doubt that pressure exists, but it can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves. And for good results it is important that one must do so.”
Pakistan are slight underdogs against Jos Buttler’s England, but Azam is banking on the strength of his fast bowlers to give them
an edge, particularly in the sixover powerplay.
“England is a competitive team, their (10-wicket) win to
reach the finals against India was a proof of that,” he said.
“Our strategy is to stick to our plan and use our pace attack as our strength to win the finals.
“Utilising the powerplay to grab as many wickets will be essential for the match.”
Notwithstanding any late in
juries, Pakistan are set to name the same team with Shaheen Shah Afridi spearheading a dangerous attack and Azam and Mo
hammad Rizwan headlining the batting.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja met the squad
on Friday and gave them a pep talk, reflect-ing on how the Pak
istan team he was part of beat England to win the 1992 one-day World Cup.
“When the chairman came and shared his experience of the
World Cup, it put a massive boost in our confidence,” said Azam.
“He advised us to stay calm and focus on what goes well.”
More than 90,000 fans packed the MCG when Pakistan played India early in the tournament and they have enjoyed solid support wherever they have played in Australia.
“They give us confidence and (it’s) good to see when we go any-where, any stadium, they come and support the Pakistan team,” he said.
Meanwhile Buttler said the emphatic way England crushed India to reach the final “doesn’t
count for anything” as they bid to become champions in both white-ball formats. Despite the weather and injury concerns, Buttler was in buoyant mood in his pre-match press conference.
“Any time you get a chance to play in a World Cup final is a huge honour. We’re really excited as a group, there’s a nice feel around the team,” he said.
“The previous performance (against India) gives us a lot of confidence, but it doesn’t count for any-thing.
“Tomorrow we start a fresh game against a really tough opposition and any time you are fighting for a trophy you know it isn’t going to come easy.”