Auckland: Upbeat after a 29-run victory over South Africa in a rain-curtailed World Cup game, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq on Saturday said his side would take the winning confidence through to their last pool match against Ireland on March 15.
"Of course, beating South Africa, who are really playing good cricket, everybody knows that they are a wonderful side so after that everybody believes that, all the players and team, they are confident. I think the next game is going to be really important for us," said Haq, who scored 56 runs in the Pool B game at the Eden Park that was decided via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
"We can take a lot of confidence from this, but we need to be focussed because that's a must-win game for us and I think the momentum goes with that in the knockout stage. So anything could happen," he said, referring to the Ireland outing at Adelaide Oval.
Defending a modest total of 222, Pakistan bowlers kept an impeccable line and length to skittle out South Africa for 202 in 33.3 overs. Leading the pack were left-arm seamers Mohammad Irfan (3/52), Wahab Riaz (3/45) and Rahat Ali (3/40) who bowled with steady pace and swing, sharing nine wickets between them.
"We were I think 30-40 runs short at the end but the bowlers, the way they just did the job was wonderful. When you are going with four strike bowlers, the plan is very simple and the opposition also knows that we are going for wickets and we are going for the kill," Misbah added.
