“Australia are the team to beat in this tournament,” Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, told Arab News here on Tuesday. “They are the title holders and are the only unbeaten team in the tournament. A victory against them would boost our morale and will be a perfect tonic ahead of the quarterfinal,” added Afridi.

Pakistan secured their place in the World Cup quarterfinals by beating Zimbabwe by seven wickets at Pallekele on Monday and have now won four of the five match they have played in the tournament so far.

But Afridi made it clear that the real test for his team starts with the match against Australia.

“We have had our ups and downs in this tournament,” said Afridi whose team beat co-hosts Sri Lanka in a thrilling encounter last month but was thrashed by a 110-runs by New Zealand. “We have played some good cricket but we have also made a lot of mistakes in some of the games,” added Afridi, who saw Pakistan getting bowled out by minnows Canada for just 184 earlier in this tournament.

“But now there isn’t room for ant more mistakes,” he said. “With the match against Australia, it will be a different tournament altogether. There won’t be any minnows around who will allow you to win despite playing badly. We have to learn from our past mistakes and should ensure that we give our best in the coming days.”

Australia, who are on a 33-match winning streak in the World Cup, will be the favorites to win on Saturday. But Pakistan should feel good over the fact that they were the last team to beat Australia in a World Cup match – in 1999 at Headingly.

Afridi believes that if Pakistan plays to their potential, they can beat the Aussies.

“I believe that our biggest strength is our aggression,” he said. “That’s the way to play against Australia, just attack them and I think that we have the firepower to beat them playing aggressive cricket.” The seasoned all-rounder is of the view that a win against Australia will give Pakistan the sort of momentum they need in the knock-out stage.

“It’s very important for a team to into the quarters with a victory and if it is against the tournament’s top side then it’s going to certainly give you a huge boost.” Speaking to reporters after the game against Zimbabwe, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis expressed similar views.

"Right now we are thinking of only Australia," he said. "If you win that game, then your morale will be such that you won't worry about any team you play (in the quarterfinals)." Waqar said that the game against Ricky Ponting’s men is the most important match yet for his team in the event.

“The momentum is very important and necessary. Australia are such a big team, world champions, and they haven't lost for ages. That is an opportunity. If you beat them, you leave a mark. You can look at the next matches and teams will think twice about playing against you. The bigger thing is the momentum of beating the world champions and the confidence it gives you. That game is important." Waqar is confident that if his misfiring batters clicked, then Pakistan’s bowlers will finish off the job.

"The strategy will be very similar. Try to play 50 overs first, pile up a big total, that's the key. And then, when you look at bowling sides around the world, I think we have a fairly good bowling side. If we can put a handsome total, we stand a good chance of winning that match. Or if we bowl them out cheaply, we have a good chance of chasing it."