Blind T20 World Cup: We will bring the title home, says Pakistan captain

Zeeshan Abbasi confident of taming India in today’s final.

KARACHI: Undeterred by the breakfast table mishap or the gravity of the situation on the ground, Pakistan captain Zeeshan Abbasi, hospitalised after accidentally drinking phenyl, is confident of the team’s success in today’s final against hosts India.

Both teams recorded convincing victories in their semi-finals - Pakistan thrashed England by nine wickets to record their ninth consecutive win in the event while India overwhelmed Sri Lanka by 119 runs in the second semi-final.

“Each and every player is determined to win and is looking at the title,” said Abbasi from Bangalore. “I am confident that the team will return with the trophy after defeating India in the final.”

Abbasi said the team’s morale was sky high ahead of the final battle.

“We have dominated the tournament right from the beginning. We did not just defeat our opponents but have outclassed them by huge margins. We are yet to be defeated in the event and the fact is a confident booster for us. We are doing well in all departments but our batting has been exceptional. Mohammad Akram, who also set a world record of scoring 264 in a T20 innings, has been our key performer in the tournament.”

‘India using home  advantage’ 

Meanwhile, Abbasi felt that the final is not going to be an easy match for Pakistan.

“India have prepared a pitch that suits them. The track will suit bowlers as their strength lies with their bowlers. The pitches are bouncy and fast and that might pose some issues for us. But banking on our strong batting line-up, we are confident that it won’t create a lot of problems for us in the final. I just want to request the nation to pray for our victory in the final.”

Prior to the win against England, Pakistan have also trounced India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and Nepal earlier in the tournament.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2012.