MELBOURNE
\nFor a side used to tumultuous build-ups Pakistan look unusually settled ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, where they launch their bid for a second title with a Super 12 showdown against arch-rivals India on Sunday.
\nSorting out a misfiring middle order was top of skipper Babar Azam\u2019s to-do list heading into a tri-series in New Zealand as the burden of scoring runs had fallen on him and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan.
\nBabar can now breathe a bit easier after Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed came good in New Zealand, where they beat the hosts in Friday\u2019s final.
\n\u201cOur middle order stepped up in the last two matches,\u201d Babar said.
\n\u201cWhen you get that kind of performance right before the World Cup, it gives lot of confidence to the team.
\n\u201cI\u2019m fully confident they would perform well in the World Cup, too. It\u2019s a good sign for us.\u201d
\nWhile Rizwan, the top-ranked batter in T20 cricket, and Babar, who is ranked third, no longer have to worry about carrying the innings themselves they must still set the tone at the top of the order.
\nThe 2009 champions must also be careful not to run out of steam like last year, when Pakistan finished the Super 12 stage unbeaten but were sent packing by eventual winners Australia in the semi-finals.
\nSpearhead Shaheen Afridi has returned from a knee injury to join the squad, which boasts a quality pace attack that includes Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
\n\u201cPakistan always have had an abundance of fast bowlers and we currently have a very strong pace attack,\u201d Babar said.
\n\u201cShaheen\u2019s return strengthens our attack. Haris has improved a lot, both with new ball and in the death overs.
\n\u201cThis is an opportunity to showcase our skill as a pace unit.\u201d
\nPakistan have no time to ease themselves into the tournament, getting their campaign underway with a sold-out contest against India in Melbourne.
\nPakistan snapped their winless streak against India at World Cups last year and also prevailed when the neighbours clashed in an Asia Cup contest in the United Arab Emirates in September.
\n\u201cA match against India is always a high-intensity contest,\u201d Babar said. \u201cFans eagerly wait for them. On the field, we enjoy it a lot and give our 100 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MELBOURNE For a side used to tumultuous build-ups Pakistan look unusually settled ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, where they launch their bid for a second title with a Super 12 showdown against arch-rivals India on Sunday. Sorting out a misfiring middle order was top of skipper Babar Azam\u2019s to-do list heading into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-290650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n