On Saturday, captain Babar Azam urged his revitalised Pakistani team to capitalise on its recent string of four victories by winning the Twenty20 World Cup final.The 2009 champions lost to India and Zimbabwe on the last ball to start their campaign, but they recovered to go to Sunday’s final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
At his pre-game press conference, Babar stated, “We have lost first two matches, (but) the way we have come back in the subsequent four matches, we have played extremely well.There is pressure, no question, but it can only be resisted by faith in ourselves and confidence. I feel more excited than afraid.
Although Jos Buttler’s England are the minor underdogs, Babar is counting on the strength of his fast bowlers to give Pakistan the upper hand, especially during the six-over powerplay. England’s (10-wicket) victory against India to get to the finals was evidence that they are a competitive squad, he claimed.”In order to win finals, our strategy is to follow through with our plan and rely on our pace attack.
The key to winning the game will be to take as many wickets as possible during the powerplay. Regardless of any last-minute injuries, Pakistan is planning to use the same lineup, with Babar and Mohammad Rizwan leading the batting and Shaheen Shah Afridi leading a deadly attack.”
The chairman’s visit and discussion of his World Cup experience gave us a huge confidence boost,” said Babar Azam. He counselled us to remain composed and concentrate on the positive.When Pakistan played India early in the tournament, MCG was filled with more than 90,000 spectators, and they have had strong support everywhere they have played in Australia.
