LONDON: Younis Khan's message to his troops was loud and clear as Pakistan faced yet another must-win match in the ICC World Twenty20 here at the Oval on Monday (today), writes Khalid Hussain.
"I've told my players to just go there and crush Ireland," said the Pakistan captain ahead of his team's Super Eights clash against Ireland that has revived the bitter memories of Pakistan's stunning defeat against the cricketing minnows in the opening rounds of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
"We lost to Ireland in the World Cup and now it's time for us to get our revenge," said Younis who was one of the senior members of the Pakistan team that crashed to Ireland at Kingston's Sabina Park to get bundled out of the World Cup at the first hurdle.
Pakistan were brimming with confidence after outclassing New Zealand in a six-wicket triumph at the Oval on Saturday but they still needed to beat Ireland by a big margin to confirm their place in the tournament's semifinals.
It won't be an easy job as Ireland made it clear that they will be no push-overs by restricting Sri Lanka to 144-9 with medium pacer Alex Cusack taking 4-18 in three overs in a Super Eights match here at Lord's on Sunday. Ireland went on to lose the match by 9 runs.
Everything clicked for Pakistan in their match against New Zealand, which is why they are unlikely to make any changes to the line-up against Ireland.
Rookie opener Shahzaib Hasan scored a hurricane 35 on his debut while comeback star Abdul Razzaq was impressive with the new ball to bolster the Pakistan line-up.
In spite of a comfortable win over New Zealand, Pakistan were still trailing Sri Lanka and the Kiwis on the points table which means that they have to win by a substantial margin against Ireland to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Their group is still open because if New Zealand beat Sri Lanka, they will be in with a chance to qualify for the semifinals.
Younis said that Pakistan will take nothing for granted against Ireland, adding that his players will have to give their best to ensure a good result against the unpredictable Irish side.
