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30-Sep-2009 03:27:00 GMT
Australia v Pakistan, Group B, Centurion

Younis Hopes to CT Final Between India-Pakistan

Johannesburg: Pakistan captain Younis Khan finds himself in a unique position as his men take on Australia today in Centurion. Already through to the semi-finals, a third win in the group might help India, should they beat West Indies in Johannesburg, to join them in the final four.

Though Pakistan will experiment with their line-up against Australia to account for injuries as well as giving their bench strength a run, there will be no let-up in their approach. There is even a part incentive, says Younis, in the hope perhaps of playing against India in the final.

"I am just planning about each game as it comes," Younis said. "I wish for India to play in the final against us but we will not worry about that in our game tomorrow. We'll be trying our best.

My wish is to win against the top teams, like South Africa, Australia and India. There is nothing in my mind about losing to Australia, and whether India will be out. It is only about what I can do for my country."

When Pakistan beat India by 54 runs at Centurion, it was one of the best-attended games in the tournament, in which crowds have generally been poor. The game was sold out two weeks prior to the match being played, prompting Younis to call for more games between the two neighbours.

Currently, relations between the two countries have cooled considerably from the mid-2000s, following the Mumbai terror attacks last year. That, in turn, has affected cricketing relations between the two and, until the Centurion game, they had not played each other in an international in over a year.


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