Pakistan open their Asia Cup campaign on the second day of the tournament against Hong Kong. They are taking the match against the minnows as an opportunity to gain momentum which can be carried into tougher contests. That’s the key to success for them. Pakistan’s Champions Trophy triumph last year taught them the significance of carrying momentum in multi-team tournaments.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed spoke about it at the end of his side’s week-long training camp in Lahore. “Momentum is very important,” he said. “During the Champions Trophy, we carried forward the momentum which we had gotten against South Africa and Sri Lanka. We will try to do the same here… We will try to gain momentum in our first match [against Hong Kong] and go into the contest against India with full preparation.”
Three days after their tournament opener, Pakistan will be up against their arch-rivals India. Due to the dearth of Indo-Pak matches these days, it is the most-anticipated contest. The Champions Trophy final, which Pakistan won convincingly by 180 runs, last year remains to be the last encounter between the two. But, that match is in the past and it won’t have much effect according to Sarfraz.
“Every match against India is important,” he said. “That match [Champions Trophy final] is in the past. It was almost one and a half years ago. So, I don’t think we should consider it that much. If we play India in the final, then we will be playing them thrice. All professional teams put the past behind and look forward. Both teams will do the same.”
Of all the six teams, Pakistan are the most-aware of the local conditions in the UAE as they have been forced to host their home fixtures. They might have a profound Test record, but their one-day record doesn’t make for good reading. On the two grounds – Dubai and Abu Dhabi — that are to host the tournament, Pakistan, post-attack on the Sri Lankan team, have won only 17 out of the 40 matches there.
During his media talk last week, Shoaib Malik had pointed that it is due to the difficulty of batting under lights. Sarfraz echoed his sentiments. “The weather is hot, so it becomes difficult to bat in humid conditions under lights as the fast-bowlers get to swing the ball in humidity,” the 31-year-old said. “We will try to access the conditions. We have two-three sessions under lights. Of course, every side will look to bat first and put runs on the board due to the hot weather.
“Pitches are on the slower side in the UAE, so spinners will have a role to play. Our batsmen and bowlers are in top form. We will look to score more than 300 if we bat first because we possess a bowling unit that can defend that total. We are not focusing on one area, we will focus on all three aspects of the game and try to put a good show.”
