BENGALURU: Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel has said that the team has put the India loss behind them and is focused on their next World Cup 2023 match against Australia on October 20.
The Green Shirts will be facing the mighty Kangaroos following a seven-wicket defeat by arch-rivals India after being bowled out for 191 runs resulting in India increasing their unbeaten ODI World Cup streak against the national side to 8-0.
Pakistan will take on Australia on October 20 with the five-time champions entering the contest after securing their tournament’s first win against Sri Lanka.
Speaking to Geo News ahead of the clash, Shakeel termed the loss against India as “a bad day” and “a thing of the past”, and said that the team is focused on their next match and intends to improve their position on the points table.
“We played good cricket in the start and won two matches at the beginning [of the tournament],” the middle-order batsman said, but admitted that it’s disappointing to lose such a big game — that too against India.
“We have left what happened in Ahmedabad there and have come to Bengaluru with a rejuvenated spirit,” he added.
Australia too didn’t have a good start to the World Cup and they will be under pressure as well, Shakeel said while responding to a question, adding that the team will try to play at their strength against the Kangaroos.
The left-handed batsman also said that he has worked hard to prepare himself for white-ball cricket and practised in accordance with the number he had expected to play at.
“The goal is to go back [home] after winning the World Cup […] I intend to give a match-winning performance and contribute to the team’s win,” Shakeel said.
“[We] miss our [Pakistani] crowd in Indian stadiums,” the middle-order batsman said while responding to a question.
Schedule of Pakistan’s remaining matches
October 20 – vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 – vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 – vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 – vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 – vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 – vs England in Kolkata
The day matches which will start at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30pm (PST).
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.
If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.
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