'Pleased' Hafeez says India's entry into World T20 semis 'ups equation' for Pak

Pakistani Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has said that he is pleased that archrivals India have made it into the semifinals of the World T20 tournament as it gives other teams a clear scenario of what is needed to join the 2007 champions in the next stage.

Pakistan lost to India by seven wickets but defeated Australia by 16 runs in a high-scoring game and now needs to beat both Bangladesh and the West Indies to advance, while India has won its first three games and is due to play Australia in the other game on Sunday.

According to The Dawn, ahead of Pakistan's Group 2 match against Bangladesh, Hafeez said that as India has played good cricket in the tournament till now, it is good that they have advanced to the semi-finals, which will give a clearer picture to the other teams of what they it would take for them to advance.

Stating that they have to win every game in the Super-10 stage to enter the semi-finals, Hafeez also said that there is no excuse for making any mistakes, although he added that he feels the building up for the crucial stage of the tournament has gone off very well given their improved character and intensive training.

Hafeez said the 2009 champions were looking to win the tournament once again and confirmed that batsman Umar Akmal had recovered from a hamstring injury he suffered during the match against Australia.

Hafeez knows the tougher game will be against the West Indies on Tuesday, but refused to take Bangladesh lightly even though the hosts have lost both matches so far.