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Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali described the defeat to India as "painful" but is confident that the team has moved on ahead of their clash against five-time champions Australia. Hosts India beat arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets in Ahmedabad but Ali feels all is not lost as they have a long tournament ahead of them.
“It was painful (defeat against India). But it is not the end of the world. Our vehicle (team) was moving ahead nicely, but it was stopped against India. But there are many other big stops ahead,” said Ali during the pre-match press conference on October 19 in Bengaluru.
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Ali revealed that the team sat together and discussed the areas where they need to improve to beat Pat Cummins' Australia.
“We sat together and had a healthy discussion. We discussed the things that need improvement. Australia is not an easy team. But we are also a big team. We have come to win the World Cup and are trying to play good cricket,” said Ali.
Going into the tournament, Pakistan’s fast bowling was considered their main weapon but it has failed to pay the dividends so far. Ali is confident that they will be able to bounce back.
“Our bowling against India was not up to the mark. India vs Pakistan match is such that it can make or break your career. This is the reality.
“Maybe, if that was a match against some other team you wouldn’t be asking us this. But we are looking forward to it and the team is very confident,” he added.
Ali also talked about the scarcity of Pakistani fans. He also took a dig as a few Pakistan journalists got their visas and joined the press conference.
“Of course, we miss our fans, but that is not in our control whether the fans are here or not. As a professional, we should focus on cricket.
“Our fans have increased since you (Pakistan journalists) have come. You have got visas – we had 40 fans, now we have 43 – 45 – 47 fans,” the 29-year-old said with a satirical smile.
Ali was the last to get the ticket to India after Naseem Shah got ruled out due to an injury he picked up in the Asia Cup. Ali said that he is a wild card. Also, he does not want to put pressure on Shaheen Afridi who has looked like a pale shadow of himself.
“I think you guys don’t like my wild card entry. But I feel proud. Shaheen has won us many matches. I know he is not fit right now but very soon he will be there.
“He is a champion and he has given a lot of performances for Pakistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, opener Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the Australia game due to a knee niggle whereas Agha Salman is yet to recover from fever. Also, Haris Rauf, leg-spinner and Iftikhar Ahmed did not turn out for net practice on the eve of the match. It will be interesting to see who makes the cut for the Australia match.
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