Paceman Hasan Ali has warned Australia that his Pakistan side are ready to hit back strongly after their World Cup hammering by India.
'Pained' Pakistan ready to hit back against Australia
Pakistan may have suffered a heavy defeat last week to India at the World Cup but their fast bowler Hasan Ali says "it's not the end of the world" as the 1992 champions look to revive their campaign against Australia.
Pakistan claimed comfortable victories over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their opening two matches but were outclassed in the seven-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India, suffering a batting collapse to go from 2-155 to all out for 191 before India coasted to a seven-wicket victory with nearly 20 overs to spare.
Hasan said Pakistan were aware of the flaws exposed by the defeat, telling reporters: "We agree that we didn't play to our calibre. We have made mistakes but it's not the end of the world.
"I will say this and you might have heard this many times – nothing has changed. We lost and we were in pain. We are a better team and we shouldn't perform like that. We sat together with the team and had a healthy discussion.
"We have a match against a big team in Australia but we are also a big team. We have come to win the World Cup and are trying to play good cricket."
Pakistan face Australia tonight (7.30pm AEDT on Fox Cricket, Kayo and Nine) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, a venue known to favour batters with its shorter boundaries.
Asked how Pakistan's bowlers would restrict Australia's batters, Hasan said joking: "If it's a batting-friendly track, we won't play!
"But seriously, we all know that it's a high-scoring ground. That's no excuse. As a player, you have to find a way to perform. The most simple way to stop runs is to take wickets.
"Their batting line-up is very strong but we also have experience. Our bowlers are also good. We're looking forward and we're confident."
Hasan, who was a late addition to Pakistan's squad after an injury to Naseem Shah that has him unlikely to feature in Pakistan's tour of Australia this summer, has performed well at the tournament despite having last played ODI cricket in June 2022.
"I wasn't in the team for a year but I haven't changed anything about my style," said Hasan, who has taken seven wickets in three games.
"I've just worked on my basics, focused on performing whenever I played and grabbing any opportunity I could.
"Now I have the opportunity to play at the World Cup and show my experience at this tournament."
Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures
October 8: Lost to India by six wickets
October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs
October 16: Beat Sri Lanka by five wickets
October 20: v Pakistan, Bengaluru (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT
November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
2023 World Cup standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points