Pakistan cricket team will be commencing their 2018 Asia Cup campaign against Hong Kong on September 16 before locking horns with the arch-rivals India, three days later. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed said they will be eyeing to generate momentum in their opening encounter which will help them prepare for the much-awaited clash.
Talking about the match, Sarfraz said, “Momentum is very important. 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.”
In Champions Trophy 2017 final, the arch-rivals locked horns for the last time and the men in green had won the match by a huge margin of 180 runs. But Sarfraz wants to put the past behind and would rather focus on the future.
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Elaborating his point further, the skipper said, “Every match against India is important. 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.”
However, apart from Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong are the other four teams who will be looking to get their hands on the coveted trophy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sarfraz doesn’t want to take any team lightly. He feels that all the teams will have to play very good cricket if they are to win the tournament.
UAE has been home to Pakistan for quite some time now, and with all the matches to played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (as well as Sharjah), Sarfraz gave insights about the conditions and pitches. he said, “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. 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.”
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He further added, “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.”
The 2019 World Cup is less than nine months away and Pakistan has a full-fledged season ahead of them, starting with the Asia Cup. They will then host Australia and New Zealand before traveling to South Africa. The multi-format tour will be followed by the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League.
