Pakistan were overwhelmed by India in their first match, and now cannot really afford another loss. The Asian powerhouse's bouncebackability will be seriously put to the test, though, when they face Australia, one of the big favourites for the World T20 title, at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.
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The batsmen failed to come to the party against India, managing only 130 after being put into bat first, which their archrivals managed to overhaul comfortably.
On Sunday afternoon, against an Australia side filled with ridiculous power-hitting batsmen, Pakistan will need to ensure all their departments come to the fore, with the men in green, no doubt, set to rely on their spinners to do the trick against the Aussies.
"They [Australia] can be [troubled when facing spinners], but of course they've been playing really good cricket for a very long time," Pakistan coach Moin Khan said. "But I still believe in my spinners. I think we're capable to get them.
"We have lots of options in the team. We didn't bowl Shoaib Malik [in the opening match against India], but we've got the option there. We have good spinners with us, so we'll see. It depends on the type of pitch we get in the next match. So we'll definitely do according to the opposition."
Pakistan have three quality spinners in Saeed Ajmal, Mohammed Hafeez and Shahid Afridi, two of whom can also contribute with the bat, or indeed are expected to. At the end of the day, Pakistan's fortunes in this tournament will hinge on how well their batsmen back their bowlers up. If they fail to shine, like they did against India, then this match could be another forgettable outing.
At the other end, Australia, riding a wave of a stunning run of results across all formats of the game, will be confident of starting their World T20 campaign with a win. With Group 2 looking like the much more difficult group, Australia, and Pakistan, will be aware of the pitfalls of slipping up.
"Whoever wins it [World T20] will be consistent, I can guarantee you that, and that's probably the key," Australia skipper George Bailey said. "I guess the shorter the format, the closer it brings two teams, the more it comes down to one incident -- it can be one catch, might be one over, might be one wicket that's taken. There's a whole different range of ways that a game can be won and lost in T20s and it can happen quickly."
Bailey is well aware of the strengths that Pakistan have in their locker, and having watched the India vs Pakistan opener closely, the skipper is confident Australia can overcome anything that is thrown at them by their opponents.
"We went through the Pakistan team in our meeting last night, and there are so many match-winners," he added. "I think historically we have struggled against their spinners. If we are to win, we have to play their spinners well.
"I think we have seen most of them now, in different times. What you do is talk about experiences from the past and try to make it better. They have three spinners among the top ten in T20s so they are a very strong spin side. The conditions can be challenging for us, but we have a strong batting line-up that can overcome that."
Where to Watch Live:
World T20 2014: Australia vs Pakistan Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 3.30 pm local time, 3 pm IST, 9.30 am GMT, 5.30 am ET)
| Country | TV Broadcaster |
| India | Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 |
| US and Latin America | ESPN |
| Canada | Sportsnet |
| UK and Ireland | Sky Sports |
| Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sport Cricket |
| Australia | Fox Sports |
| Sub Saharan Africa & South Africa | SuperSport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport |
| Europe | EuroSport |
| Pakistan | PTV and Ten Sports |
| Sri Lanka | CSN |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh TV, Maasranga TV and Gazi TV |
| Country | Live Streaming links |
| India | HERE |
| US | HERE |
| UK | HERE |
| Middle East | HERE |
| Canada | HERE or HERE |
| Australia | HERE |
| South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa | HERE |
| Latin America | HERE |
| New Zealand | HERE |
| Europe | HERE |
| Pakistan | HERE or HERE |
| Sri Lanka | HERE |
Team news: Australia: The Aussies have plenty of "old" players in their lineup, and a couple of them - Brad Hodge and Brad Hogg, all of 39 and 43 years young respectively - are expected to feature on Sunday. Key all-rounder James Faulkner has still not recovered fully from a knee injury, allowing Daniel Christian, most probably, to fill his shoes. Mitchell Johnson is, if course, ruled out of the World T20.
Pakistan: Hafeez and the management might look at playing an extra frontline spinner, after deciding to go with three fast bowlers against India - meaning Zulfiqar Babar could get a chance. Pakistan do not have too many options to play with when it comes to their batting, but Sharjeel Khan will hope to get a look-in.
Expected lineups: Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey (capt), Brad Hodge, Brad Haddin, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brad Hogg.
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar.
