T20 World Cup: Pakistan looks to continue invincible run against Scotland

Former champion Pakistan will look to continue its invincible run when it plays Scotland in its last Super 12 Group 2 match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Pakistan will look to continue their invincible run when they play Scotland in their last Super 12 Group 2 match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Former champion Pakistan will look to continue its invincible run when it plays Scotland in its  last Super 12 Group 2 match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Pakistan, who had claimed the title in 2009, has been simply sensational in the tournament so far and has bossed around other teams in its group to seal a place in the last four with four convincing wins.

If arch-rival India was blown away by 10 wickets, New Zealand was outclassed by five wickets, in the team's first two matches.

Afghanistan did make life difficult for it for a while, but Asif Ali deposited four sixes in six balls to bail it out before Pakistan sealed the semifinal spot with a 45-run win over Namibia in their last match.

Pakistan's openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been on fire, and when they failed to do the job, their middle-order rose to the occasion, while six-hitting machine Asif has proved to be one of the best finishers in the tournament so far.

 

 

Although they have contributed, the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik will hope to be more consistent and look to stay till the end.

In the bowling department, the pace duo of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi have been their best bowlers with seven and five wickets respectively so far, while spinners Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan, too, have done the job asked of them.

The only worrying thing will be the form of seamer Hasan Ali, who has gone for runs.

With the semifinal spot assured, Pakistan might look to rest a few players and give others opportunities in the inconsequential match.

For Scotland, it will be an uphill task, but it would hope to put up a better show than its last match and end things on a positive note.

Scotland won all three matches to qualify for Super 12 but crashed out after losing the last four games.

The eight-wicket loss to India on Friday night has been the most difficult to digest, but skipper Kyle Coetzer will hope the interaction with Indian players, including skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, in Dubai, will inspire the team to put up a good show against Pakistan.