Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq says his team wouldn’t mind facing India in the semi-finals if it progresses beyond the quarterfinals of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. In an exclusive interview to PTI from Adelaide, Misbah said it will be another opportunity for his side to try and break the jinx of not winning a match against the arch-rival in World Cup.
“It will be another chance for us to go there with a positive frame of mind. We would take it like another opportunity for us to break the shackles as we have never won against India in the World Cup,” Misbah said. India beat Pakistan in their opening match of the ongoing mega-event at Adelaide.
“We just have to go in with a positive frame of mind and self-belief and do our best,” Misbah said. The 40-year-old, who has been captain of Pakistan since late 2010 after the infamous spot-fixing scandal in England, made it clear he was confident his team could beat Australia in the quarterfinals on Friday.
“Even though we have lost Muhammad Irfan, which is a big blow to us, we can do it. If we can beat South Africa which is one of the finest sides than we can do it against Australia,” he said. Misbah said regardless of Australia’s form it is all about performing on the day. On the Indian team, Misbah said it had performed up to the expectations.
“They are the defending champions and they know that it is the biggest motivation for them. They have been playing in Australia for the last three months and preparing for this World Cup that has helped them. Obviously when you are the defending champions you have got all the confidence in yourself and they are now quite an experienced team playing the last couple of years with the same squad and their captain Dhoni is also a very experienced campaigner. They have performed upto expectations so far in this World Cup,” he said.
Misbah made it clear that his team had regained self belief after four wins on the trot. 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Quarter-finals Schedule: Time Table, Fixture & Venue Details of CWC 15 QF Matches.
“I can tell you this team wants to win it for our people. I also want to do it because it is my last one-day tournament. This tournament has always been important for us because people have high expectations from us since we won the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand before and we want to do it for them,” he concluded.