"They can play some incredible cricket, as they have in times I've played against them, but they also can self-destruct quite quickly as well," Watson told reporters at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
"That's the reason why Pakistan are so dangerous especially in a knock-out game like this quarter-final.
"They have certainly got some match-winners. Once this Pakistan team gets on a roll, they are able to use that momentum to be able to shut down teams very quickly."
"We know this is a danger game for us because they (Pakistan) can come on and just turn it on like they have throughout the times I've played them in the past.
"We know we have to be at our absolute best and not give them a chance to be able to get that momentum. We know if they're able to get that they can run away with it very quickly."
Pakistan, champions in 1992 when the World Cup was last played Down Under, beat Australia by four wickets in Colombo during the last edition in 2011, a match Watson did not want to be reminded of.
"I try to forget that one because we lost it," he said.
"We knew that was a really important game because if we lost against them we were going to have to play India in the quarter-final, which we knew was going to be a big challenge on their home turf.
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