Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman said that the Men in Green have started to find rhythm, and now their sole focus is on making it to the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
Zaman further insisted that the thumping seven-wicket win over Bangladesh on October 31 has boosted the confidence of the Pakistan team.
Fakhar Zaman said at the post-match media interaction: “Every win in the World Cup, gives you confidence. We also waited for this win. We have now started to find our rhythm. Against South Africa, we made comebacks while batting as well as bowling. We are getting our combinations right. I've been part of this dressing room for eight years now, it will improve further.”
Zaman played a brilliant knock of a 74-ball 81 studded with seven sixes and stitched a 128-run opening stand with Abdullah Shafique (68) to help Pakistan chase down 205 runs inside 33 overs.
Speaking about the same, he said: “The situation we are in at the moment, we were looking to chase it in 29-30 overs. Ifs and buts will be there, but our target is semifinal and we will try for that only.”
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Zaman missed the first five matches after Pakistan's World Cup 2023 opener against the Netherlands due to a knee injury, and on his comeback, the Pakistan opener impressed one and all.
He noted, “The injury was not that severe and I had to sit out for precaution. If the team needed me, I would have played. Today I got a chance, and did my best in team's win. The way I'm playing at the nets I've a fair idea that the ball is coming well on bat.
On Indian wickets, the key is to hang around for three-four overs and then it becomes easy to score runs. The boundaries are also short. I want to perform similarly in next matches, so that we make semis. If you spend time in the middle, you get an idea, initially our pacers were trying for more but the key here is accuracy.”
On being asked if Pakistan’s defeat against India in Ahmedabad affected them, he said: “Of course, an India and Pakistan match is a very big deal. If I say it doesn't make a difference, I would be wrong. But all the players are professional and have played a lot of cricket. Even against India, they have played a lot of matches. So, you can't say anything like that.”
Pakistan will next play New Zealand on November 4 in Bengaluru and their last league game will be on November 11 against England in Kolkata.
(With PTI Inputs)
