Cardiff (UK): Ahead of the third T20I against England, Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf is confident of his team’s ability to bounce back in the series and said they can beat any opponent on any given day. The first T20I between England and Pakistan was washed out due to rain and in the second game, the hosts defeated the touring side by 23 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-game contest.
The 30-year-old said the team is “confident” to beat any opposition and to play better cricket in the remaining two matches of the series. “When you lose a game it hurts, but as a team, we are confident. We feel we can beat any opposition on any day. We’ve done it in the past, too. When you make mistakes you learn and try not to repeat those mistakes. We’re looking to play better in the next few games and make a comeback,” ICC quoted Rauf as saying in the press conference before the match.
“The camp is relaxed. We’re enjoying ourselves. We’re trying to follow our game plans and execute them well. The results haven’t often been in our favour recently but if you stick to your plans they can sometimes follow,” he added.
Rauf made his comeback in the last match after spending three months on the sidelines. He returned with the figures of 2-34 in his four overs after leaking 17 runs in his first over. The right-arm pacer dislocated his shoulder during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February which made him miss the home series against New Zealand and Ireland tour earlier this month.
Reflecting upon his injury layoff time, Rauf said it was a “blessing in disguise” and it allowed him to reassess his game plan. “I was injured the last few months but if you believe in yourself, then the layoff can be a blessing in disguise. Because you have time to recover and reassess your game plans. I felt good coming back to cricket. When you play for your country, it makes you very proud,” he said.
He added that the rehabilitation process was a struggle and attaining the pace and accuracy is difficult after returning from an injury. “It’s hard. It’s a struggle during your rehab, and it’s difficult when you come back to maintain that pace and accuracy. But if you believe in yourself, it makes things easier. When I wasn’t on the team and rehabbing, I had a lot of time to think about my game and work on myself. Thankfully I’m back now, and the [T20] World Cup is coming up,” the pacer added.
Rauf said the ongoing series against England is difficult but whatever the outcome will be, it will give them a learning before heading to the T20 World Cup. “Before the [T20] World Cup, if you win a series, it gives you confidence, but even if you lose, you understand where you made mistakes and you learn from them,” he said.
“This series is difficult, but we’ll try to win it. The focus is of course on the World Cup, which we aim to win to make our country proud,” Raud added.
The third T20I will be played in Cardiff on Tuesday.
–IANS
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