London: Pleased with Pakistan’s convincing win over South Africa in their crucial World Cup fixture, former speedster Shoaib Akhtar is hoping that Sarfaraz Ahmed and the boys play fearless cricket in the remaining games and make it to the semi-finals. “I recommend Pakistan to hold their ground, play pressure-free cricket, play according to the best of their abilities and display their talent,” Akhtar said on Monday.
“Pakistan have a good chance of making it to the semifinals. They need to play fearless cricket without any pressure. If England lose their three matches against Australia, India and New Zealand, Pakistan can come through,” said Akhtar.
“South Africa looked disintegrated. After losing the toss, their morale went down. Their batters, especially Quinton de Kock, didn’t look interested in getting South Africa out of hot waters by scoring a hundred. Faf looked a very average captain. They bowlers could not manage to bring out the magic.” IANS