Pakistan will be a 'new' team against Afghanistan: Imam-ul-Haq
CHENNAI: Right from the time of Hanif Mohammed to Babar Azam, cricketers from Pakistan have been having a great fan following in India, in particular Chennai. Asif Iqbal's Pakistan team in 1979 and the subsequent ones led by Imran Khan, Ramiz Raja, and Wasim Akram to name a few have all done well at Chepauk. Fans have supported Pakistan and have enjoyed a good contest. The standing ovation that the Pakistan team got at the venue after their Test win in 1999 is still green in everyone's memory. The Babar Azam-led side, which will meet Afghanistan in a crucial World Cup tie on Monday, will draw inspiration from the past and do well.
"Obviously, when we came to Hyderabad, we were getting very good (crowd) support and as you mentioned Chennai has been a good place for Pakistan historically and getting good support is obviously an inspiration for us," said Imam-ul-Haq, adding that although he has no memory of Saeed Anwar's 194 at Chennai in 1997, his team will draw inspiration from that.
Captain Babar Azam's form has come under the scanner as Pakistan will face another tough challenge. This time against Afghanistan on what is expected to be a spin-friendly surface at Chepauk. Imam, in his first tour of India, is confident that Pakistan will be able to deal with the spin threat and get their campaign back on track. "We have played four matches and we are 2-2. We accept that we did not play well in the last two matches. You can talk as much as you want, but it matters how you play on the day. You will see a new team on Monday in Chennai," pointed out Imam.
The opener said the team is upbeat despite recent setbacks. ''When you have two back-to-back defeats your morale is definitely down, but that is life and that is cricket. Ups and downs are a part of life and cricket. We always have a feeling of positivity in our camp and we have backed everyone. Our players know that we have the ability to win the match on the day. So now we just talk about tomorrow's (Monday) match.. If we win it, we can go from here with four points," he insisted.
On the other hand, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott too is hopeful that his team can keep their campaign alive by pulling off a win against Pakistan. The former England player insisted that the passionate rivalry between the two teams, who are desperate for a win, would make it an interesting contest.
''I think for them (Afghans), it's a rivalry that excites them. It's a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate. But I'm sure we'll see an exciting game on Monday. It's just the nature of the rivalry. And both teams respect each other but are very desperate to win," said Trott.
The wicket for the game is one that will play true in the afternoon and could aid spinners as the match progresses. Once again, many former players insist that it could be a battle against spinners of both sides. But Trott insists that his team is more than just spinners and he wants a 'collective' performance from his squad.
"Chennai is normally a good wicket. So with regards to the mindset, it's important. The mindset we have here is that it's a team game. It's not just the spinners. So everybody's got to put in a good team performance if we want to beat the likes of a strong side like Pakistan, but we've had a series against them recently where we should have won a few games. We didn't. So hopefully we can put them right tomorrow (Monday) night," opined Trott.
Currently, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side will play their second game at Chepauk. Afghanistan are at the bottom of the points table, having lost three of the four fixtures they have played so far. Their only victory came against defending champions England. The game against Pakistan is a must-win of sorts for Afghanistan. "Every game is a must-win game. This is a World Cup and every game is important," said Trott.
Pakistan is headed into the match having suffered back-to-back losses against India and Australia. Trott asserted that his team would like to exploit this situation against an under-pressure Pakistani side. "We always look to put the opposition under pressure straight away, so we'll be looking to do that on Monday. There are a lot of other things that come into the game with regard to the rivalry and the history and the passion of everything. We know the Pakistan team will be very determined to win and certainly want to sort of snap that losing streak of the two games," he said, insisting that his team will put up a good fight.