Men's ODI WC: Chennai leg will decide Pakistan's fortunes, admits Imam-ul-Haq

Chennai, Oct 22 (IANS) Having lost two matches in a row to India and Australia, Pakistan are set to play two matches at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai against Afghanistan and South Africa which will decide their fortunes in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023. 

Babar Azam's team lost to India by seven wickets in Ahmedabad and then went down to Australia by one wicket in a high-scoring encounter at Bengaluru.

The match against Afghanistan on Monday followed by an encounter with South Africa at the same venue on October 27 will be very crucial for the 1992 winners, Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq agreed that the Chennai round will decide their fortunes and said the team will have to perform as a unit to maintain their chances.

"Yes of course when you have two back-to-back defeats your morale is definitely down, but that is life and that is cricket. Ups and downs are a part of life and cricket. We always have a feeling of positivity in our camp, and we have backed everyone. Our players know that we have the ability to win the match on the day," he said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Afghanistan on Sunday.

"So now we just talk about tomorrow’s match, that we will win it and so that when we go from here our points will be 4-2 [if we win both matches in Chennai]," he added.

Imam said there was no extra pressure on the batters and said every unit would have to perform for them to 

win all the remaining matches so that they can make it to the semis.

"Yes, these two matches will probably decide. But the thing is, it's a team game. It's not a batter's or it's a bowler's team. It's just that whatever - when we came to the dressing room, we know that if you're chasing 350 or 250, it's a team game, you know, and we really back our bowlers and it's not a pressure, to be honest, we don't feel any kind of pressure.

"Yes, there will be some time when we lose two matches and the same there is positivity in the dugout and we are very looking forward to tomorrow's two matches and when we will go to Kolkata, we will be four – two [if Pakistan wins both matches in Chennai]," he added.

Imam-ul-Haq said the pressure on the bowlers was high because the margin of error was low for them.

"See if you see here all matches are very high scoring. It is not that it is only against our team. If you look at the other teams also, they are scoring 350 – 360, like yesterday there was a score of 400 – so it’s not that only our bowlers are being beaten. The grounds here are small, the wickets are good, and when the batsmen are set, the margin for the bowlers is very low," he said.

He admitted that the Pakistan team has been able to execute its plans properly in matches but said things will come together as they have worked hard in the training and are able to execute their plans.

They will have to be cautious in Monday's match as Afghanistan have already caused a huge upset in the tournament by beating England. 

--IANS

bsk