Pak look to seal Super Eight berth

Title aspirants Pakistan would look to ensure a Super Eight berth by topping their pool when they take on Bangladesh in their final Group D clash of the ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament here on Tuesday.

Pakistan have an unbeaten record against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 internationals, scoring five victories. Pakistan, the 2009 World T20 champions, are among the favourites to clinch a second title. Led inspiringly by opener Mohammad Hafeez, the team looked every bit a genuine contender in its 14-run triumph over New Zealand in their opening group clash on Monday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, were blown away by the Kiwis in their lung-opener and it would be tough for them to regroup easily against another tough opponent.

It was a rare clinical performance by the infamously temperamental Pakistan with the entire top half of batting making decent contributions. The bowlers were also disciplined with their miserly spells, stifling the Kiwi line-up — Saeed Ajmal being the star with a four-wicket haul.

Led by Hafeez, all the top order batsmen, be it Nasir Jamshed or Imran Nazir, made good contributions. Umar Akmal too was in his element during his cameo but all-rounder Shoaib Malik remains a worry.

Sending him ahead of the aggressive Shahid Afridi against New Zealand didn’t work as Pakistan’s scoring rate suffered and it would be interesting to see how the line-up shapes up against Bangladesh.

Most of Bangladesh batsmen, including the reliable ones like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, failed to fire in the opening game. The bowlers were also taken to the cleaners by the same Kiwis who just could not take off against Pakistan.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said he feels blessed with a varied bowling attack, led by Ajmal.

“What else can you want when you have such a variety in your bowling attack,” said Hafeez, who along with Ajmal and Shahid Afridi holds spin responsibilities, with rookie left-armer Raza Hasan in reserves.

“As a captain it is a blessing for me. This is something I am very pleased to have that I have so many options in bowling and whenever I throw the ball to any of my bowlers he is ready to bowl,” said Hafeez.

Hafeez, however, said Bangladesh will not be taken lightly. “We are not thinking that we have already qualified, we have to win against Bangladesh. They have lost their first match so they will come down hard on us. We are not going to take Bangladesh lightly,” said Hafeez.