Asia Cup 2018: Pakistan still believe they can reach the final despite India loss

Denzil Pinto 22:04 20/09/2018
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  • Shan Masood says the camp is positive on Thursday

    Shan Masood says Pakistan still has what it takes to reach the Asia Cup final after describing the mood within the camp as positive despite their eight-wicket defeat to India on Wednesday.

    Less than 24 hours after the one-sided defeat in Dubai, the two-time Asian champions were back in the nets at ICC Academy with captain Sarfraz Ahmed and opening batsman Fakhar Zaman among the players to take part in an optional training session.

    Mickey Arthur’s side face Afghanistan in Friday’s Asia Cup Super Four stage and Masood insists the team spirit is still high after the loss to their arch rivals.

    “The mood hasn’t changed much,” said Masood on Thursday evening. “We all knew that winning the first group stage would guarantee qualification (to the Super Four stage). The hard work and real work will start from now because whatever we do will have repercussions. A win would benefit us while a defeat will cost us. The mood is still positive and we’re looking to play the Asia Cup final.”

    Pakistan were in trouble from the word go at Dubai International Cricket Stadium when openers Imam Ul-Haq (2) and  Zaman (0) were both dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar that left them 2-3 after just four overs. Arthur’s side went on to manage 162 but India chased down the target with more than 21 overs to spare.

    Masood said it is unfair to criticise both openers following their recent good form but is confident they will bounce back.

    “We can’t look at one innings and start pointing fingers at people,” said Masood, who has yet to win an ODI cap but has played 12 Tests. “If we look at Fakhar and Imam, they have performed consistently and managed to break a few records. Imam has scored four hundreds in 10 ODI games so that speaks volumes in itself.

    “It was probably his first India-Pakistan game and anyone who plays it for the first time does come under nerves. He is a great player and Fakhar is an outstanding player and at the moment, one failure doesn’t matter.”

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