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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>Pakistan confident ahead of must-win game 26th Oct 2006 22.00 IST By Agencies A seemingly unruffled Pakistan today promised to "play better" and make less mistakes against South Africa whom they must beat in the Champions Trophy game in Mohali on Friday to advance further in the tournament. Skipper Younis Khan said not much should be read into the defeat to New Zealand yesterday as every other team was also losing and it was difficult to sustain winning momentum for long for any side in ODIs.
Coach Bob Woolmer also said he had full confidence in the team to strike back especially since the stakes involved were very high. "We have full confidence in the team. We can't have control over people who we don't have. What I can say is we will play better. The stakes are high and the players know exactly what to do," he said on the eve of the match. Younis did not think that he made a mistake by opting to field first in the match against New Zealand yesterday. "Toss was not an issue. Any team winning the toss would have elected to field. If we had not made mistakes, we could have won the match as there was a stage when he needed 100 odd runs from 90 balls. "We also made some mistakes against Sri Lanka but those were covered as we won that match. I have belief in the team because the same players won us the match against Sri Lanka." Both Younis and Woolmer were defensive about Shahid Khan Afridi who has not struck a half-century in his last 21 innings and has also been lacklustre with the ball. "There is no guarantee that every player will perform in every game. It is a team game and if we play with energy we can beat anyone," Younis said. Woolmer, on his part, said the team wanted to support Afridi in his bad times. "It is frustrating for him. Afridi is a force in one-day cricket. Afridi is one of the very few players in international cricket who can win a match for you single-handedly. We are trying to support him during this period." Asked if Afridi's batting position would be changed from the current number five, Woolmer said, "if he comes lower down the order, he gets nothing much to do. We are trying to give him a chance to get settled. Shoaib Malik is batting very well at number six, we don't want to disturb him." About his own form, Younis said perhaps captaincy had taken away some of his focus from his batting. "I have been captain before, in fact during the third Test against India, I batted well and we won the game. But it is difficult to sustain form. "Ponting has also not scored in his last two matches. When you are the captain, your attention gets divided. It is a new thing for me and I am trying not to get affected. Younis said he was learning to handle things and would not allow the captaincy to affect his batting. "I have to go to every player and talk to each one of them. Some focus I may have lost from my batting. But I am learning each day how to handle things better. Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: Pakistan Team Page: South Africa | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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