Squeezing out a narrow win against Zimbabwe in their last game, Pakistan would now look to put up an improved batting display in order to raise their net run-rate when they take on UAE in the World Cup Pool B match here on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s batting woes continued even against Zimbabwe, before it managed to eke out a scrappy 20-run win at Brisbane, to finally open its account in the tournament.
The 1992 edition winner looked far from its once dominating self in the two earlier defeats against India and the West Indies. Owing to its poor net run-rate, which stands at -1.373, Pakistan is placed second last in the pool above UAE.
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Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has warned that his team couldn’t afford any more slip-ups. “From now on we have to play every game as if it is a knockout match,” said Misbah.
The match against UAE could be a great opportunity for the likes of Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad to be back among runs.
In the bowling department, Pakistan is likely to play leg-spinner Yasir Shah considering UAE’s weakness against the tweakers.
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As far as UAE are concerned, it has lost all its three matches so far and is languishing at the bottom of table in the 14-nation quadrennial extravaganza.
The teams (from):
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz.
United Arab Emirates: Mohammed Tauqir (capt.), Khurram Khan, Swapnil Patil, Saqlain Haider, Amjad Javed, Shaiman Anwar, Amjad Ali, Nasir Aziz, Rohan Mustafa, Manjula Guruge, Andri Berenger, Fahad Al Hashmi, Muhammad Naveed, Kamran Shahzad and Krishna Karate.
Umpires: S. Ravi and Johan Cloete.