Pakistan are preparing to take on Namibia in the crucial 35th match of the T20 World Cup in Colombo on Wednesday. For Pakistan, the situation is very grim, as they need to beat Namibia in order to qualify for Super Eight. After a bruising defeat against India and slipping behind the United States on net run rate, Pakistan can't afford to make mistakes.
Their Super 8 hopes now completely depend on their own performance. So far in the tournament, they have been inconsistent, making things difficult for themselves. They nearly suffered an early embarrassment against the Netherlands before a cameo from Faheem Ashraf pulled them back from the brink.
That narrow escape gave them a positive start to the tournament. They returned strongly in their next match, beating the USA. However, their much-anticipated clash with India once again exposed their weak areas.
In fact, they struggled to outplay India across all departments.
For Pakistan, the top order has not consistently provided solid starts, and the middle order has failed under pressure. Sadly, their bowling attack has failed to dominate at crucial times. Namibia, on the other hand, are already out of contention for the Super 8, and their only task is to challenge Pakistan.
Head-to-head
Matches - 1
PAK Won - 1
NAM Won - 0
Pakistan likely XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi/Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Namibia likely XI: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (C), JJ Smit, Zane Green (WK), Ruben Trumpelmann, Dylan Leicher, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo