Pakistan vs Canada : Pak in no mood to show mercy to minnows

It might be a match against one of the weakest teams in the tournament but Pakistan aren’t willing to lose focus as they play Canada in a Group A match at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Thursday.

For Pakistan, a hard-fought 11- run win against Sri Lanka will give them a boost as not many gave the team much of a chance at the start of the World Cup. The way the batting and bowling has come off so far, Pakistan are no longer just the dark horses of the tournament.

Apart from openers Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan are firing on almost all fronts. The middle order of Umar Akmal, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq is in good nick with power hitters like captain Shahid Afridi and Abdur Razzaq coming in late. The fast bowlers have given a good account of themselves, with Shoaib Akhtar and Razzaq looking in rhythm.

There are, however, a few fitness issues which need to be tackled. Misbah and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman have hamstring troubles and it would be interesting to see if the two get to play against Canada. Misbah’s injury isn’t that serious, but Rehman is said to have a more serious ‘adductor muscle rupture’ and the team management would want to give him more rest.

Also, there are talks of replacing Gul, who didn’t have a good outing against Sri Lanka, with leftarm pacer Wahab Riaz and see if the latter can be called upon in the later stages of the tournament. Also, there is the uncapped fast bowler Junaid Khan in the squad and it could be an ideal situation to give him a go.

The one aspect of the game that Pakistan have slipped in is fielding. A host of spilled catches and a missed stumping will give coach Waqar Younis a lot to think about. Canada will have no false hopes from the match. Having received thorough drubbings in their games against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, they will be hoping for an honourable defeat, if not an upset.

Their batting relies on veteran John Davison but he has been off-colour so far. Age seems to have caught up with the 40-yearold and the Canadians will be hoping that he can show a glimpse of the 2003 World Cup innings against West Indies at the Khettarama on Thursday.

Their last match against Sri Lanka was in news for more than just the keen contest on the field. Sri Lankan players Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were accused by a local TV channel of fixing the match and losing the match intentionally.

For Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, it was a welcome relief, in a way, that at least no one was accusing his team of fixing. “It feels good (not being accused of fixing). But seriously, the games have been fair. The tournament is clean as far as I am concerned. The team that has played well has gone on to win the matches. People say a lot of things, but I am glad that at least Pakistan is not accused this time,” Waqar said.