Islamabad
\nPakistani middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed talked to the press ahead of the Green Shirts\u2019 most-important round match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on November 4.
\nIftikhar, 33, who has accumulated 139 runs in the mega event so far, said that the team\u2019s morale is lifted after the latest seven-wicket win against Bangladesh in Kolkata.
\n\u201cTeam\u2019s morale is high after the [latest] win, we will try to play our best cricket in the remaining games,\u201d Iftikhar said while talking to the press. \u201cWe can only do hard work, and our entire team is doing that, we only trust what is in our hands.\u201d
\nIftikhar then joked that everyone says that we eat a lot of Biryani when we lose but not when we win.
\n\u201cWhen we are losing, everyone says that no one in the team is giving their best, but when the team is losing no one says that we are eating Biryani, please tell me why is it like this. If someone is eating Biryani or doing something that damages the country\u2019s name, then we are against it,\u201d he said with a little smile.
\nThe 33-year-old also weighed in on his role in the team, both with the bat and ball saying that he comes to bowl early according to a plan.
\n\u201cI come to bowl in the starting overs with a plan. I only play according to my role in the team. I will come to bat at whatever position the team wants me to bat,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cWe know that we have to maintain our net run rate (NRR). We have played in Bengaluru before [against Australia] so we are aware of the conditions. In Indian conditions, you have to score runs quickly in the early stages.
\n\u201cThere is nothing much for bowlers in Indian wickets. We set our field according to the pitch. If the ball isn\u2019t moving much, then we take a slip,\u201d he added.
\nIt is worth mentioning that Pakistan face an injury-riddled New Zealand on Saturday in a must-win World Cup match, a defeat in Bengaluru tomorrow would end their hopes of playing the semi-final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Pakistani middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed talked to the press ahead of the Green Shirts\u2019 most-important round match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on November 4. Iftikhar, 33, who has accumulated 139 runs in the mega event so far, said that the team\u2019s morale is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-365912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n