Pakistan captain Babar Azam during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
There is a stereotypical image of a back-to-the-wall Pakistan being among the most dangerous to play. The team has often fed into this by not suffering but revelling in such a setting. The most vivid example is that of the Imran Khan-led side that won the World Cup in 1992 after sneaking into the semifinals with a hat-trick of wins in its last three league encounters.
In the day game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium against New Zealand on Saturday, Pakistan will look to summon those very spirits as its 2023 World Cup campaign hangs in the balance. After snapping a four-match losing run with a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday, Babar Azam’s men will look for another win to keep alive their chances of making the last four.
Against Bangladesh, Pakistan turned in a wholesome performance, with the returning Fakhar Zaman injecting some much needed batting panache and Shaheen Afridi continuing to find ways to take wickets despite unfavourable conditions. Shadab Khan’s fitness is however a worry, with the leg-spinning all-rounder having suffered a concussion in the defeat to South Africa.
It perhaps helps Pakistan that the Kiwis are on a three-match losing streak and have an injury-ravaged outfit. Speedster Matt Henry is out (hamstring injury); Mark Chapman has a calf injury; Lockie Ferguson Achilles and James Neesham wrist. It’s only now that star batter Kane Williamson, nursing a fractured thumb, has started wielding the willow in the nets.
But the four wins it secured at the start of the tournament have acted as insurance and the expectation is now for New Zealand to not resemble a pacemaker in a long-distance race who leads for the first section before falling away.
On Friday, after a spell of blistering afternoon sunshine, heavens opened and there were gusty winds. Match-day forecast is as dicey, but the fervent hope is for the elements to not swing fortunes.