Sydney: South Africa batsman David Miller said they will need to bring their “A-game” when they face 2009 champions Pakistan in a Twenty20 World Cup clash in Sydney on Thursday.
South Africa are in pole position to take one of the two semi-final spots available from Group 2, but Pakistan, who lost to India and Zimbabwe, still have an outside shot of qualifying thanks to a six-wicket win over the Netherlands.
“We all know every game in the World Cup is an important game, and against Pakistan you’ve got to make sure that you’re on your A-game as an opponent,” Miller told reporters yesterday.
“I suppose Pakistan it’s a must-win game for them, so they’re going to be coming and charging, and we’re definitely prepared for it.”
Miller, 33, scored a fifty as he helped South Africa recover from a poor start against India and seal a five-wicket win on Sunday.
“Experience is a really valuable thing, and for example, in the previous game, we were in a little bit of trouble,” he said, adding that in the past they may have “got a little hasty”.
Pakistan bowler Naseem Shah said their pace attack had to be firing on all cylinders.
“We’re all fast bowlers just trying to bowl our best because when you bowl bad anywhere, when you bowl a bad ball, then you are in a struggle,” Shah said. Pakistan will likely be without Fakhar Zaman after the batsman aggravated a knee injury that initially ruled him out of the squad.

Forget the permutations, focus on Afghanistan: Australia chief selector
Australia must put the foot down in pursuit of victory against Afghanistan and not worry about the other external factors which could affect their bid to reach the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, chief selector George Bailey said.
The reigning champions take on the Afghans in Adelaide today facing elimination from the rain-affected tournament. They trail New Zealand and England in their group with only two teams advancing to the next stage.
“The first port of call is making sure you set yourself up to win the game and make sure you’re playing well enough to do that,” Bailey told reporters.
“There’s a lot that remains out of your control, I think (we need to go) in flexible, open-minded. I think we’ve got a team that’s got talent, that if they have to put the foot down and do something special they’ve got it in them.”
New Zealand, England and Australia are level on five points with one round of group matches remaining, with the hosts in third place due to an inferior run rate.
New Zealand play Ireland tomorrow while England take on Sri Lanka on Saturday.
“First and foremost it’s about winning the game,” said Bailey. “I don’t think you want to get too carried away with anything else other than that at the outset.
“No doubt we’ll be aware of certain permutations.
“There’s a lot that’s out of our control given the fact that England play Sri Lanka after our game anyway.”