Pakistan hopes for two wins before ‘incredible Indian show’

Pakistan will then take on India in Ahmedabad on October 14 in front of 132,000 fans at the world’s largest cricket stadium.

“It’s going to be an incredible show,” Arthur said Thursday.

“Personally, I can’t wait. Hopefully we have two wins under our belt before we get to Ahmedabad.”

Arthur praised the world’s number one ODI team, India.

“India are playing fantastic cricket, but so are we,” Arthur said. “I just think it’s going to be a great game. Personally, I can’t wait.”

Pakistan will be hoping to overcome a poor performance in the recent Asia Cup, where they suffered a 228-run thrashing at the hands of India and lost by two wickets against Sri Lanka.

They also lost in the two World Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia, also in Hyderabad.

Arthur said his team, however, will focus on the Netherlands and not India.

“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Arthur said. “First of all, the kids love being in India, which is fantastic.

“The pressure of a World Cup is always enormous. But I think our boys are in a very good place.”

Pakistan appointed Arthur in April this year for a second spell, duplicating his work with Derbyshire in the English County Championship.

He promised to complete the pending task of winning a second World Cup that would add to Pakistan’s triumph in 1992.

“I felt like in 2019 we were very, very close,” Arthur said despite Pakistan failing to reach the semi-finals.

“These young men have now become men and have another four years of experience.

“Look, they’re a close-knit group because they’ve played together for a long time. They know each other inside out. Not only are they teammates, but they’re generally friends.”

The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium pitch in Hyderabad is known for its high scores – New Zealand chased down 346 and Pakistan compiled 337 in a chase of 352 against Australia in the warm-ups.

“It looks like incredibly good land,” Arthur said. “The grounds we had for the warm-up games were brilliant and this ground looks no different. It looks very, very good.”

Arthur also played down concerns over the lack of form of opener Fakhar Zaman and all-rounder Shadab Khan.

“I think form comes and goes,” Arthur said. “The quality of these players we have in those positions is undoubted. It’s about making sure they are in a good place mentally, and then hopefully they click tomorrow.”

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