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Johannesburg: Pakistan captain Younis Khan won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy at Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Pakistan remain the Champions Trophy's best bet for an excitable climax. Both wildly unpredictable and exhilarating, the team is finally looking to cut out the rough edges and achieve uncharacteristic consistency.
Hunger will give them the edge over an impressive New Zealand, but the demons they need to tame will be more in the mind than outside on the field. Pakistan have a tendency to implode and cut off from the mainstream cricket calendar till recently, there is pressure to re-establish their presence as a major force. A follow-up win to the World T20 title will be impressive muscle-flexing.
Their talisman, not in deeds but in desire, remains their skipper Younis Khan, who has taken it on himself to reiterate, time and time again, how important the event is for the team. Almost everybody has rallied to the cause, their blow-hot blow-cold efforts traded for new steel.
For Pakistan, then, the event has taken a context of its own, raising morale and keeping the self-belief simmering. The short, sharp format has worked to their advantage. The spinners, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, have outshone others in the event.
Shoaib Malik looks to have shaken off the apathy which dogged him for years. There is a problem of plenty with the pacers. But as always with Pakistan, the fine print is not as consequential as the cause.
New Zealand, in the semis, are far less tougher mentally, though they have won this tournament before and have a solid record in ICC events.
Pakistan's main problem could be the equally unpredictable Wanderers pitch where the Kiwis have notched up two impressive wins, though a buoyant Younis scoffed at the suggestion.
