Muneeba Ali confident Pakistan can overcome pressure against India in Asia Cup

DUBAI: Wicketkeeper batter Muneeba Ali says Pakistan’s ability to maintain belief under pressure will be crucial when they face India in their Asia Cup clash on Saturday.

The Pakistan batter pointed to her side’s recovery from early setbacks against Thailand in their opening match as evidence of the mindset that has become central to the squad.

Pakistan lost wickets early in their innings but recovered to post a defendable total before restricting Thailand to 84-8 in their 20 overs to secure a convincing victory.

Muneeba credited the team’s belief for the turnaround rather than a change in fortune.

“When wickets kept falling in the powerplay, we knew that if we got a good partnership and kept scoring runs, it would put the bowlers under pressure and give us opportunities to score,” she said during the post-match press conference.

“That was my strategy,” she added.

The batter was also candid about the improvements made by Pakistan’s batting unit following a difficult run in recent T20I series.

“In the last few T20 series we played before Sri Lanka, our batting unit did not click as such and we had our struggles,” she said.

“We have been working on those issues in camps to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes and bring in some different options in our batting.

“Today, the difference was that even when we lost wickets, the team kept believing and tried to set a total that would be defendable against the opposition on this pitch.”

Pakistan’s bowling unit complemented the batting effort with an impressive display, restricting Thailand to 84-8. Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu was particularly economical, conceding just six runs from her four overs.

“I knew there was bounce and turn in the pitch, and that it was keeping low. I just had to bowl in the right areas and let the pitch do the rest,” Nashra said.

Tuba Hassan, who took two wickets for 17 runs in her four overs, echoed her team-mate’s thoughts.

“My plan was simple: bowl wicket-to-wicket and vary the pace as much as possible because we also need to prepare for the next match,” Tuba said.

“These are exactly the things we need to learn from so that we can make fewer mistakes in the next matches and play better,” she added.