Darren Sammy is pinning his hopes on Chris Gayle to solve the West Indies batting woes as they try to keep their tournament alive against Pakistan today.
The Windies frail batting line-up is a major concern heading into the opening knockout clash in Dhaka, with their batsmen throwing away winning positions with staggering collapses against both England and India.
Gayle missed the India match with an abdominal strain but is expected to play against the in-form Pakistanis - much to the relief of his skipper.
"I liked the way Chris was hitting in the nets. I have no doubt he will play," Sammy said. "Chris is a committed fellow. He will do whatever it takes to put the team in a position to win."
Pakistan are strong favourites for today's quarter-final after ending Australia's World Cup 34-match winning streak last week to top Group A.
But Sammy believes past form counts for little in the knockout rounds.
"This is the quarter-final and everything depends on how we play on the day," he added. "It does not matter if you are number one or number eight."
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, meanwhile, admitted the upset win over the Aussies has ramped up the pressure to move on to the final four.
But he's backing his boys to deliver.
"Yes, expectation is more now," Afridi said. "And we feel more confident now. That's a good sign to win a big game before the quarter-final and we all are very confident."
The Windies do have an advantage of having played at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium once before during the tournament - the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh. But Afridi doesn't believe that will be a factor.
"We're not Bangladesh, this is Pakistan," he added. "Every match is different. We played two games here [before the tournament]. We know the pitch and how it will play."
The Windies frail batting line-up is a major concern heading into the opening knockout clash in Dhaka, with their batsmen throwing away winning positions with staggering collapses against both England and India.
Gayle missed the India match with an abdominal strain but is expected to play against the in-form Pakistanis - much to the relief of his skipper.
"I liked the way Chris was hitting in the nets. I have no doubt he will play," Sammy said. "Chris is a committed fellow. He will do whatever it takes to put the team in a position to win."
Pakistan are strong favourites for today's quarter-final after ending Australia's World Cup 34-match winning streak last week to top Group A.
But Sammy believes past form counts for little in the knockout rounds.
"This is the quarter-final and everything depends on how we play on the day," he added. "It does not matter if you are number one or number eight."
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, meanwhile, admitted the upset win over the Aussies has ramped up the pressure to move on to the final four.
But he's backing his boys to deliver.
"Yes, expectation is more now," Afridi said. "And we feel more confident now. That's a good sign to win a big game before the quarter-final and we all are very confident."
The Windies do have an advantage of having played at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium once before during the tournament - the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh. But Afridi doesn't believe that will be a factor.
"We're not Bangladesh, this is Pakistan," he added. "Every match is different. We played two games here [before the tournament]. We know the pitch and how it will play."
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