Pakistan won five of their six Pool games including the
big one against defending champions Australia here on Saturday to top Pool A
for a relatively easier quarterfinal clash against the West Indians, who
finished fourth in Pool B.
"We have achieved all out targets ahead of the
knock-out stage of the World Cup," Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan team
manager, told Arab News before his team's departure to Dhaka.
"Our focus was on winning as many matches as
possible in the group stages to give ourselves the sort of confidence you need
in big matches like the quarterfinals and beyond," stressed Intikhab, a
former Pakistan Test captain." Pakistan did suffer a few hiccups in an
unconvincing win over minnows Canada and were then thrashed by new by a 110
runs. But the 1992 champions bounced back with the vengeance by beating
Zimbabwe and Australia in their last two games.
"The good thing is that the boys have learnt from
their mistakes," said Intikhab. "They didn't play well against Canada
and New Zealand but recovered to give a much improved performance in our last
two matches here. It's a great sign because Pakistan are peaking at the right
time which adds to our confidence," he added.
Pakistan have played all their World Cup matches in Sri
Lanka which means that its first time in a month that they are going out of the
island.
Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, said that he would
have loved to play the last quarterfinal in Colombo on March 26 but was quick
to add that he and his team are now looking forward to playing in a front of a
'supportive' crowd in Mirpur, Bangladesh.
"It was beginning to feel like we were playing at
home," Afridi told Arab News referring to the crowd support his team
received in Colombo and Kandy since its arrival here last month.
"But I'm sure that Bangladesh will be a similar
story. The crowd their supports the Pakistan team and they will be backing us
now that their own team is not playing in the quarterfinals. The conditions in
Mirpur, will be home-like, I'm sure," said Afridi.
Afridi said that he and his fellow teammates were looking
forward to their quarterfinal match. "It's our biggest match of this
tournament yet and we all know that there is no room for any mistakes," said
the flamboyant all-rounder. "For most of the boys it's the biggest game of
their lives but I'm sure that they will live up to the expectations and give
their best against the West Indies."
Meanwhile, West Indies are confident that they will
return to full-strength in their quarterfinal against Pakistan with big-hitting
Chris Gayle and fast bowler Kemar Roach coming back in the playing eleven.
The West Indians missed the services of Gayle and Roach
in their last World Cup Pool B game against against co-hosts India as they
crashed to a big defeat just two days before their last-eight clash against the
Pakistanis.
A West Indies team spokesman said on Monday that the duo
was rested because of minor fitness problems and will be back for Wednesday's
big game.
Gayle, one of the most destructive batters in
international cricket, had to sit out of the match against India because of a
slight recurrence of the abdominal strain that ruled him out of an earlier
match against Ireland.
Roach missed Sunday's game because of a mild fever.
According to the team spokesman, Roach had a high temperature earlier this week
but played through it in Thursday's defeat against England.
According to the spokesman, the West Indies team
management wanted the key duo to be fully fit for the quarterfinals, which is
why they were rested for Sunday's match.
