DHAKA (Bangladesh): Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is optimistic about the performance of his players who take on India in the tri-nation one-day international series final at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here on Saturday (today). Lawson believes his team will bounce back on this important occasion against their archrivals. “We will enter the field for a win and use our best resources in bowling, batting and fielding,” he told reporters on Friday. India had a 140-run victory against Pakistan and a seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh. Pakistan advanced to the final after beating Bangladesh on Sunday by 70 runs.
Lawson said Pakistan would enter the field with an aim to win the final. “The world doesn’t end with a defeat. We are going in the final match with an aim of victory. And even if we lose, we would pack up and go home to prepare for the next series,” he maintained. Lawson said Pakistan had a hectic season ahead of them and they should concentrate on that after the final. “We have three important tournaments after this final and are fully prepared for the upcoming events,” he replied to a question.
He said the players had worked hard on all their gray areas and would surely give an improved performance. “The main reasons for Pakistan’s failure in the last match were dropped catches, sloppy fielding and poor batting.” He said he had told the players that he wanted their maximum focus on the field. Regarding changes in the playing eleven, he said this issue would be decided after a close inspection of the wicket before the match.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not make any tall claims and said that one-day games can end with unexpected results. “Every ODI is different from the previous one. This is also another one and we would take it just as a new match instead of do-or-die final,” he told a press conference. He said he wanted his players to go out and play good cricket. “They should just give their hundred percent and the results will be in our favour,” he maintained.
Teams:
Pakistan (from): Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbahul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Khan, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Fawwad Alam, Bazid Khan and Naumanullah.
India (from): MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Manpreeta Gony, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Pravin Kumar, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha.
Pakistan clash with India in tri-nation final today
DHAKA (Bangladesh): Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is optimistic about the performance of his players who take on India in the tri-nation one-day international series final at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here on Saturday (today). Lawson believes his team will bounce back on this important occasion against their archrivals. “We will enter the field for a win and use our best resources in bowling, batting and fielding,” he told reporters on Friday. India had a 140-run victory against Pakistan and a seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh. Pakistan advanced to the final after beating Bangladesh on Sunday by 70 runs.
Lawson said Pakistan would enter the field with an aim to win the final. “The world doesn’t end with a defeat. We are going in the final match with an aim of victory. And even if we lose, we would pack up and go home to prepare for the next series,” he maintained. Lawson said Pakistan had a hectic season ahead of them and they should concentrate on that after the final. “We have three important tournaments after this final and are fully prepared for the upcoming events,” he replied to a question.
He said the players had worked hard on all their gray areas and would surely give an improved performance. “The main reasons for Pakistan’s failure in the last match were dropped catches, sloppy fielding and poor batting.” He said he had told the players that he wanted their maximum focus on the field. Regarding changes in the playing eleven, he said this issue would be decided after a close inspection of the wicket before the match.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not make any tall claims and said that one-day games can end with unexpected results. “Every ODI is different from the previous one. This is also another one and we would take it just as a new match instead of do-or-die final,” he told a press conference. He said he wanted his players to go out and play good cricket. “They should just give their hundred percent and the results will be in our favour,” he maintained.
Teams:
Pakistan (from): Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbahul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Khan, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Fawwad Alam, Bazid Khan and Naumanullah.
India (from): MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Manpreeta Gony, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Pravin Kumar, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha.
