Christchurch: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq dismissed talk of panic in the ranks yesterday but conceded their batting woes needed to be addressed ahead of their crunch World Cup match against the West Indies. The two sides go into today’s match at Hagley Oval in Christchurch desperate to get points on the board after both lost their first matches in Pool B. Pakistan suffered a dramatic batting collapse when they were outclassed by India while the West Indies were upset by Ireland.

Pak skipper Misbah-ul-Haq talks to Mohd Irfan. Pic/Getty Images

“This is an important game, and both teams need to win. We know that,” Misbah said, adding Pakistan knew they had to rectify their problem batting. But he added “we are not panicking,” when questioned whether there would be changes to the side to face the West Indies. Misbah’s 76 against India was the only half century in the Pakistan innings but he said he should not have been responsible for holding the innings together.

“It doesn’t mean that all the time it should be me. It should be two other guys out of six or seven batsmen that are playing,” he said. “This is how normally cricket is being played. Every time all seven batsmen don’t perform and maybe two or three just score runs and you just win the game.”