Misbah warns Pakistan of hectic make-or-break week

Wednesday, 4 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq (R) celebrates with team mates Sohaib Maqsood (C) and Wahab Riaz after winning their Cricket World Cup match against Zimbabwe at the Gabba in Brisbane 1 March 2015 - Reuters REUTERS: Pakistan’s unconvincing victory against Zimbabwe on Sunday might have revived their stuttering World Cup campaign but skipper Misbah-ul-Haq warned his team any more slip-ups could lead to an ignominious exit. Thumped by India and West Indies, Pakistan laboured to a 20-run victory against Zimbabwe at Brisbane in the first of their three matches in a week and Misbah admitted the crammed schedule posed a new challenge to the team. “(It’s) going to be really tough for us. That’s how it is,” Misbah said on the eve of the Pool B match against United Arab Emirates at Napier on Wednesday. “We’re just having a lot of days off before that, seven, eight, nine days in between the games...and we have to travel in every game.” From Napier, Pakistan will head north to Auckland for Saturday’s match against South Africa. “That could be really challenging for us, but we have a job in our hand so we have to do it.” Fans have urged the team to draw inspiration from Pakistan’s 1992 campaign when Imran Khan’s team overcame a poor start to eventually win their first and only 50-over World Cup.