Pakistan’s chance to take revenge for the humiliation suffered in 2007 at the hands of Ireland has finally arrived as the two teams meet on Sunday (March 15) in Adelaide, Australia.
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The players will surely be fired up to make amends for the disaster which struck eight years ago that sent Pakistan out of the World Cup in the West Indies.
Misbah-ul-Haq’s charges have been on a superb winning streak since losing their first two matches, but their campaign has been halted by a week-long gap since their victory over South Africa. This was too long a break for my liking at a major tournament.
When a team hits the kind of form that Pakistan has, the best thing for them is to keep playing and maintain that momentum.
The week off will certainly have its effect and it will be important that Pakistan take control of the game from the off, not allowing them to be caught cold by the Irish.
When you play a few games on the bounce, the body and mind are in sync. This allows players to play with a confidence and freedom that breads positive results during such purple patches.
I would yet again stress that, for me, the most important factor would be the mental aspect of the game for Pakistan and how they cope with the break in their most important match of the tournament to date. Bar the India game that is, but that was a fixture of great importance for very different reasons.
The Adelaide Oval’s history suggests that it is advantageous to bat first, something which would please Pakistan considering their preference to set a total and defend it.
Even if they do not win the toss, I feel Ireland will put them in as they are confident chasing targets. This could, however, play into the hands of Pakistan.
All-rounder Haris Sohail is fit again and he should come straight back into the side at the expense of either Umar Akmal or Sohaib Maqsood. As a left-hander this gives a different dimension to Pakistan’s batting lineup, with its plethora of right-handers.
The fact that Haris can bowl a few decent overs to provide his quicks with a breather would make him my pick, even if it means disturbing the winning 11 which shocked South Africa for the first time in World Cup history.
If we bat first, the idea would be simple and that will be to cross the 300-run mark, whereas if we bat second, then someone in the top-order will need a big score or Pakistan could found themselves on thin ice.
We definitely need a big opening partnership to calm the nerves and Pakistan can achieve that an Ireland attack that lacks top class talent, other than left-arm spinner George Dockrell.
It is the Irish batting which could test the character of the Pakistan team as there are certainly some high class batsmen of proven pedigree. Whether it’s William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien, Ed Joyce or the all-rounders Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, they are more than capable with the bat. Gary Wilson is also a threat and has proven himself to be more than handy.
Tam management can certainly use the defeat of 2007 as an incentive to exact revenge. If the think tank strikes the right nerve, Pakistan could go out all guns blazing and go on to reach the quarter-finals.
Pakistan cannot remove the scars of 2007 but a win would certainly ease the pain and embarrassment that they still suffer eight years on.
