NEW DELHI – Only a comprehensive victory over Zimbabwe will restore some of Pakistan’s lost self-belief in Monday’s World Cup Group A match in Kandy. Ross Taylor battered them on Tuesday, hammering a 124-ball 131 to inflict on Pakistan a crushing 110-run defeat that continues to rankle the 1992 champions.
“We are trying to recover from our shaken confidence (with a win) in the next match against Zimbabwe,” senior batsman Misbah ul Haq said. “We are trying to get the basics right before the (March 19) Australia match.” One of the things they would like to fix at the earliest opportunity is Kamran Akmal’s dismal form behind the stumps that has made the diminutive wicketkeeper, who dropped Taylor twice, the butt of numerous jokes.
In his brother Umar, Pakistan had an alternative option but he is nursing a finger injury and the team management is unlikely to make him shoulder the additional wicketkeeping burden.
