Pakistan seek tri-series final berth

KARACHI:

Pakistan will look to extend their winning run when they face England in the third match of the ODI tri-series at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on Sunday.

The match will start at 1pm PST, with victory securing Pakistan a place in the October 31 final.

Pakistan have won both their matches, beating Sri Lanka by 37 runs before defeating England by 87 runs in Rawalpindi.

For England, the match is crucial. Having lost both their opening games, they must beat Pakistan to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.

Pakistan have twice defended 300-plus totals, but the Green-shirts will need to adapt to a new surface at Gaddafi Stadium, which could offer different from those in Rawalpindi.

England, meanwhile, were stunned by Sri Lanka in a two-wicket defeat the other day after the hosts completed a world-record chase of 430 runs with one ball remaining.

Pakistan’s captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said his team would focus on maintaining its momentum rather than worrying about the opposition's performances.

“We don't bother about the other team, what runs they scored and what their mindset is. Our mindset is that we have to win the match,” Shaheen told a news conference on Saturday.

“We will try to stick to our plans. We will try to carry on our normal discipline, and we have to win the match,” he added.

“If we bowl first, we will try to restrict them to 250, and we are capable of doing so as a bowling unit.”

Shaheen also backed openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, stressing their importance to the team's plans.

“If you pick five or six top ODI batters, you will find Saim scoring runs. His benefit to the team is that he is a utility bowler also. You saw against England that he contained the batters when we badly needed it, and he is also a good fielder. We will pray for him to perform,” Shaheen said.

“Fakhar is also one of Pakistan's main players, and his presence in the team is very important,” he added.

The Pakistan captain said the team was working towards settling on its best combination, noting that there had been few changes in the previous matches.

He described Abrar Ahmed as a very good bowler and said the leg-spinner could be included when conditions were expected to favour spin.

Shaheen also highlighted the need for a specialist all-rounder at number eight. He also said that T20I captain Sahibzada Farhan could be considered for future opportunities as Pakistan plan ahead for the World Cup.

“If we feel the need for Sahibzada, as he is the T20 captain, we will give one or two players a chance in future matches and decide about him,” Shaheen said.

England’s all-rounder Will Jacks, meanwhile, remained optimistic about his team's prospects, saying they had an opportunity to revive their campaign.

“I think we have got a good chance to bounce back. We have still got two more games in this series, and we know now we are in a very simple situation: we have to win both matches to give ourselves a chance. We are looking forward to the challenge,” Jacks said.

He also expected Lahore to provide favourable batting conditions, although England would assess the surface after training.

“They have definitely got the ability here to have a wide variety of pitches. We have obviously seen Rawalpindi is a good place for batting in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. I am expecting something similar here in Lahore,” he said.

“We have only just got here, so we will need to have a look tonight, see how the training pitches play and then assess tomorrow.”