For Kenya, shuttled in from Chennai after a fearful hiding by New Zealand in their first game, it is not an outing where they will feel any comfort. Jimmy Kamande, a re-invented spinner, put a brave face on it again when he faced a curious media and suggested there would be a 100 per cent improvement against Pakistan.
"It is hard switching venues and hard on the players to adjust as it is a young side. Yes, we were nervous against New Zealand," he said. "It was their bowling and our inexperience which in part let us down.
"We have to learn from that game and at least play like we know we can and offer a bigger challenge to a side which we know from experience is always competitive," he added.
Kenya in 2011 is not the Kenya of 2003 and living on past memories is a matter of drawing on the legacy of that side reaching the semi-finals through boycotts by England (playing Zimbabwe in Harare) and New Zealand (Kenya in Nairobi). It cannot be forgotten either how Kenya played and beat Sri Lanka in 2003. They were well prepared for the game and took their chances.
For the sake of the image of the associates, Kenya need to shake the dust off the Chennai defeat and think ahead.
Pakistan come into the event with an easy enough game before their bigger challenge on Saturday where they meet Sri Lanka at the reshaped Premadasa Stadium. They need to get this game against Kenya behind them, which for reasons of their own peace of mind, they will be anxious to display the sort of form which helped them beat New Zealand 3-2 (a series Waqar admitted they were lucky to win and not tie).
Reflecting on the past few months, he acknowledged it has been far from easy fore the team. They have lost three players and injuries have not helped.
"We have been through some tough times in the recent past," he said. "What it does not mean is that we don't have talent that it does not mean we are not good enough. I feel we are a very good team to beat any team on a given day.
"I don't think anybody is now dwelling on past matters such as match-fixing or spotfixing. It has happened and it is behind us. It is why we are looking forward to playing in this tournament. To us it is a huge tournament.
"I think the big games and real start will be after the quarter-finals as we are looking to play in those. But before that, you have to make sure that you take the momentum forward and take the rhythm with it. Once you are in quarter-finals, it's a different ball game," he agreed to a question.
"We have faced so many controversies in the past. Some days are harder than others, but we know the motivation is there trying to wake them up everyday, every morning and make sure that we keep delivering the goods is important.
"Younis Khan is in good form, Umar Akmal is a youngster who will do probably well in this tournament, we have a lot of hopes for Wahab Riaz and have a good mix of pace and spin. All we need to do is click and click at the right time," Waqar commented.
"We know Sri Lanka are a tough opponent and when it comes to Kenya we need to be very cautious. Minnows as they are can be dangerous on a given day. So we have to make sure that we deliver up continuously in every play.
"Afridi did a tremendous job in New Zealand that's why he has been given captaincy. He is getting better every day. He is doing a wonderful job and hopefully he will do a wonderful job in this series."
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