Imam-ul-Haq doesn't want Pakistan to give up the ghost against India

On September 19, Pakistan slumped to an eight-wicket defeat against India at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in their first meeting of the 2018 Asia Cup. Barring Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam’s 82-run stand, the Men in Green couldn’t counter the venom spilled by Rohit Sharma and Co. The arch-rivals are again set to lock horns today in a Super 4 clash at the same venue.

In the meantime, Imam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s opening batsman, believes that his team will give India a run for their money in their upcoming encounter. The 22-year-old also reckons the top order’s failure attributed to the loss in a significant way and put forth their responsibility to build a platform for the batsmen thereafter to inject impetus into the innings.

“You can say we let ourselves down against India, especially in the batting department. If your openers are dismissed inside the first 10 overs, it is always difficult to bounce back in a big game. In the past six months or so, me and Fakhar and Babar have been in great form. It is our responsibility that we set the platform for lower-order hitters in our team in big games.

“We let them down but the team has backed each other and after winning such a thrilling and close match like this, you definitely generate some momentum. God willing, this time we will give it a tough fight to India,” Imam was quoted as saying in Sport 360.

We want to strike with the new ball

The Lahore-born cricketer also put forth the importance of bowling the opposition out in order to emerge victorious. Moreover, he said that they want to make early inroads into the powerful Indian batting lineup to put the skids under them right from the outset.

“For any team to win, taking 10 wickets is always important. Our strength has always been our bowling. India’s batting is strong and our aim is to get their 10 wickets. If their top-order batsmen get set, they always score big. We want to take 10 wickets and we want to strike with the new ball, the left-hander added.

Pakistan survived a massive scare against Afghanistan in their previous Super 4 match in Abu Dhabi. Asghar Afghan and Co ran them close, but a calm and composed Shoaib Malik scored his 42nd half-century and took the Men in Green home in the final over of the contest.

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