Daniel Vettori hopes New Zealand can move into the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 with victory over Pakistan.

The Black Caps have battled against an injury crisis, with their skipper yet to play because of a shoulder problem, to qualify for the Super Eights, where they have already beaten Ireland.

Pakistan, though, will provide a much sterner test, keen to recover from their opening defeat to Sri Lanka.

Vettori, 30, feels if his squad can retain focus, then there is every reason to stay positive.

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"We understand there are some bigger nations around who warrant the attention. We are just hoping that when we turn up to these tournaments, within ourselves we think we have a chance," said Vettori, who was involved in a light training session at The Oval on Friday afternoon.

Winning only counts

"If we fly under the radar, then that is great - just as long as we are winning.

"We just have to battle through this injury crisis that we have. If we can do that, it is a real show of character for our team.

"But it has been a knock on us that we have not been consistent enough to put us through a whole tournament.

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"We have managed to put performances together at certain times, but not for the whole competition.

"We are hoping this can be the turn around for us."

Vettori added: "We bowled so well against South Africa, but then did not follow it through with the bat.

"We know if we want to beat these quality sides, then it needs to be a complete performance.

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"We have only beaten Scotland and Ireland so far, so if we lose these next two games, then we have not achieved what we wanted to in this tournament - to beat the top sides."

As well as Vettori, New Zealand have fitness concerns over Ross Taylor (hamstring), while all-rounder Jesse Ryder (groin) is out of the tournament, replaced by Aaron Redmond at the top of the order.

"I came through having a bat okay, but that is not many people's concerns, so I will have a bowl later and hopefully get through that," said Vettori.

"Ross is probably not going to be available tomorrow, but hopefully he will be okay against Sri Lanka later in the week."

Approaching milestones
 
- Brendon McCullum (667) needs 33 runs to complete his 700 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
 
- Misbah-ul-Haq (484) needs 16 runs to complete his 500 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.

SX4 Super Selector
 
- Shoaib Malik (461) requires 39 runs to complete his 500 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
 
- Umar Gul (29) needs just one wicket to complete his 30 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals.
 
Head to Head
 
- New Zealand have won 10 and lost 12 out of 24 contested (2 NR).
 
- Pakistan have won by six wickets against New Zealand at Cape Town on September 22,2007 - their only one against New Zealand.

With crucial players like Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Daniel Vettori and Kevin Pietersen nursing injuries, is the slam-bang version of cricket starting to take its toll on the players? You know where to write in with your thoughts. Write in to us at: fanspeak@espnstar.co.in