Pakistan have once again done a Pakistan. Like in most of their recent tournaments, they have once again put themselves in a do-or-die position — in a group that many believed was set up for them to cruise into the next round.
After scraping past the Netherlands and getting hammered by India, Pakistan now find themselves in a must-win situation. If they fail to beat Namibia in their final Group A game, they will be knocked out in the group stage for the second consecutive edition.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Pakistan remain a strong outfit with a quality bowling attack. They may lack consistency, but they certainly possess the firepower to bundle out associate nations like Namibia for a modest total.
They face a gritty Namibian side that is always willing to put up a fight. Namibia are yet to win a game in this World Cup and would like to sign off with a strong performance. Their batting line-up has not clicked in any of the matches so far, and they will hope to produce some fireworks at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Wednesday, February 18.
PAK vs NAM: Team News
Pakistan’s senior players have come under intense scrutiny following the heavy defeat to India. Former captain Shahid Afridi even called for the removal of Babar Azam and his son-in-law Shaheen Shah Afridi after the marquee clash.
There will also be pressure on Shadab Khan, who endured a difficult outing against opener Ishan Kishan at the Premadasa Stadium.
For Namibia, the team is expected to remain largely unchanged, barring Ben Shikongo, who has been ruled out of the tournament.
Pakistan’s Usman vs Namibian Tariq
Usman Tariq was the talk of the town on Sunday, but Pakistan perhaps failed to utilise him effectively against India. He was introduced too late into the attack, and by the time he came on to bowl, the damage had already been done.
Namibia have their own game-changer in mercurial captain Gerhard Erasmus, an industrious bowler who uses different angles cleverly to unsettle batters.
This contest could prove intriguing, especially since even India found Erasmus tricky to handle.
PAK vs NAM: Match Details
When: 3 PM IST, Wednesday, February 18
Where: Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo
PAK vs NAM: Colombo Pitch Report
The Sinhalese Sports Club has traditionally offered good batting conditions. Ireland posted 235 runs against Oman on Saturday, highlighting the scoring potential at the venue. Since this is a day game, the surface might be slightly slower, but another high-scoring encounter cannot be ruled out.
Rain is once again expected to threaten proceedings in Colombo. Zimbabwe’s match against Ireland was washed out on Tuesday, resulting in Australia’s exit from the tournament. Could rain play spoilsport again and potentially knock out another major team?
Pakistan vs Namibia: Predicted Playing XIs
Pakistan:
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam/Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Namibia:
Jan Frylinck, Louren Steenkamp, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumplemann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo
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