When Pakistan take on UAE in their World Cup Group B encounter, it will be a clash of similar cultures, given the majority of their opponents’ players are of Pakistani origin.
Before I write about Pakistan, I feel it is important to put the weight behind improvement shown by our neighbours in the gulf.
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People have talked about the improvement of Ireland and Zimbabwe at this World Cup but at the same time UAE have also proven their mettle; there is definite positive activity and progress in the UAE ranks.
Ireland players have got the platform of playing county cricket and in the lower leagues in the UK, while Zimbabwe are getting help from South Africa to improve their cricketers. But UAE do not have a similar platform at their disposal and they rely more on players coming from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka to fill up their team.
What UAE did against Zimbabwe and Ireland was really pleasing to see as they almost registered victories against both nations – the message is loud and clear that they will not go down easily. They have only faltered against India. That was at Perth, one of the most daunting pitches in the world and any team would have struggled so it won’t be right to write them off on that basis.
It is clear that UAE are at the World Cup to leave an impact and that has been being translated into excellent performances by Shaiman Anwar and Amjad Javed, though veteran Khurram Khan has not quite come to the party yet.
UAE have shown guts and have not been blown away by the pressure of the World Cup. Their bowling coach Aaqib Javed obviously knows the Pakistan team well but I do not think he has the set of players who could execute the plan to perfection.
Now coming back to Pakistan’s chances: I am positive that the side is on the right path and that they will be able to turn their sole victory over Zimbabwe into a winning streak with a triumph against UAE.
You could see that the passion was running high in the Pakistani side – the way they fought for every run against Zimbabwe. The only small blots were the poor fielding of Nasir Jamshed and catches dropped by Umar Akmal. There are moments that trigger individuals to become a team and that is what happened when skipper Misbah-ul-Haq took a skier off Hamilton Masakadza – the whole team ran to him.
After being cornered, Pakistan had no way but to go all out. The bowling was altogether different if compared to earlier experiences in the tournament which was the key.
It was really great to see Shahid Afridi giving suggestions to Misbah as a senior player and he remained calm even with his catches were dropped by Umar Akmal. It was very unlike Afridi, who often reacts in such situations with gestures and gets upsets. Sensing the situation, Afridi kept his composure and, along with Misbah, kept backing his team-mates.
Pakistan will have to come up with a strategy that could really open the gates for them to move into quarter-finals. This is an opportunity for them to register a thumping victory and improve their record and run-rate.
They should really be looking to beat the UAE by 100-150 runs or win by seven or eight wickets because such a chance will not present itself again versus South Africa or Ireland.
The pacers need to continue their aggression while the side must carry on playing pressure cricket because every run matters we cannot take our opponents lightly.
Pakistan’s batting vulnerability will likely come into play at some stage of the game but the players need to keep playing attacking cricket as UAE’s bowling does not have enough venom and the Men in Green should be able to rule the roost.