Pakistan are up for the challenge of knocking hosts England out of the ICC World Twenty20 when they square up on Sunday.

Paul Collingwood's England are in danger of being eliminated, following Friday night's shock defeat by the Netherlands.

When Stuart Broad's shy at the stumps with the final ball conceded the overthrow which allowed the Dutch to scramble the winning runs, England were left needing victory over Pakistan to stay in the competition.

But the 2007 runners-up are unlikely to be sympathetic to English plight when they take to the field at The Oval.

Pakistan's preparations for the tournament have not been ideal, especially following warm-up defeats by South Africa and India.

But batsman Shoaib Malik is confident his side can turn it on when their competitive action begins.

"We arrived here late as we had a tournament in Pakistan so we needed a few more days to adjust ourselves," said Malik.

"We are really up for this tournament. We haven't played very good cricket in our two warm-up matches but the team is practising well and working hard and I'm sure we will do well in the coming matches."

Click here for IND vs PAK warm-up match videos

Freddie absence a boon

Malik believes England are feeling the loss of Andrew Flintoff, while their opponents can only benefit from the absence of the superstar all-rounder.

Flintoff is missing the tournament while he recovers from knee surgery in a bid to be fit for the Ashes series later in the summer.

"(Flintoff) is a great all-rounder and psychologically we will have a little bit of an edge if he's not playing," Malik said.

"He's recovering at the moment so it is a great opportunity for us to win.

"We need to have a good start. If we win we carry those three points into the Super Eights. We are concentrating on that match and we have a good opportunity."

On your toes

Malik feels the nature of Twenty20 means surprise results will always be on the cards.

"You can't pick any winning team in this format," he added.

"If your two batsman can score 50-plus or your two bowlers take wickets then results go in your favour.

"There are a few good sides - India, South Africa and Australia - but I'm sure we will do well."

Approaching milestones

- Umar Gul (24) needs just one wicket to become the first bowler to claim 25 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals.

- Shoaib Malik (383) needs 17 runs more to complete his 400 runs in Twenty20 Internationals. Only Brendon McCullum (600) and Misbah-ul-Haq (422) have registered more runs than Malik.

Head to Head

- Pakistan and England have played against each other just once in Twenty20 Internationals. Pakistan had won by five wickets at Bristol on August 28,2006.

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