Pakistan aim to seal semis spot

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

A confident Pakistan will take on a resurgent Namibia at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Pakistan, after winning all their three matches so far, are riding a wave of success and brimming with confidence.

They have six points and will play minnows Scotland and Namibia in the remaining two games.

Their semi-finals berth is almost certain barring any catastrophe, which causes an unprecedented upheaval.

They got their campaign under way in style by beating India in the opener and followed it up with victories against New Zealand and Afghanistan.

They are comfortably placed on the top of their group and will look to confirm their ticket to last four with Namibia romp.

Meanwhile, Namibia are enjoying a fairytale run at the tournament as they progressed to Super 12 with wins against Netherlands and Ireland.

They also defeated Scotland in Super 12 and must be fancying their chances of an upset victory against the mighty Pakistan.

They will bank on Ruben Trumplemann who broke the back of Scotland batting line-up with three wickets, to restrict Pakistan.

While David Wiese is another player in the squad, who is quite experienced and can show them the way ahead against Pakistan.

It is likely to be a lopsided affair but the surprises are the forte of the shortest format of the game.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said the loss of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for the rest of the T20 World Cup is a big blow to the team.

He added that the team will miss his leadership and calmness in pressure situations apart from his all-around utility.

Bangladesh have lost all three matches in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage and face South Africa on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

“Shakib is obviously a big loss for the balance of the side. But also, in terms of his leadership and the calmness that he brings around the environment in pressure situations, that aspect will be lost. But it does provide an opportunity for someone new to maybe make his first World Cup appearance tomorrow,,” Domingo said.

Domingo insisted that his team is determined to do well in their last two matches of Super 12.

Their chances for a semi-final spot is almost over as they are placed in the group of death.

They stormed into the Super 12 on the back of two victories but failed to keep the momentum going and fizzled out on the biggest stage of the game.

They had a good chance to beat West Indies and keep their hopes alive but they ran out of the gas and could not score 13 runs off the last over to lose the match by three runs in a nail-biting finish in Sharjah.

Liton Das had played a nervy innings to keep them in the hunt and passed on the baton to captain Mahmudullah, who failed to take them over the line. In their second match, they were mauled by England, who chased down the target for the loss of two wickets.

Bangladesh have no replacement for Shakib as the experience and value that he brings is unmatchable. They are already playing without star opener Tamim Iqbal.

Despite having a pretty decent squad, they have failed to click as a unit. In their first game, batters got enough runs on the board but bowlers let them down with wayward bowling as Sri Lanka chased down a fighting total of 171.

On the other hand, South Africa are coming into the game on the back of two wins.

After going down against Australia in the opener, South Africa bounced back in style and defeated West Indies by eight wickets before pulling off a thrilling victory against Sri Lanka.

Chasing a modest total, they wobbled in the middle as Hasaranga took a hat-trick to push them on the back foot. But captain Temba Bevuma held the innings together and took the match deep before David Miller and Rabada shared an unbeaten partnership for a winning flourish.

South Africa’s strength is their bowling. Pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are a delight to watch bowling in tandem.