Pakistan captain Babar Azam said on Saturday that there was no doubt that big matches bring pressure, but victory is only possible by overcoming it.

“It can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves,” he said in a press conference on the eve of the WT20 final against England in Melbourne. “I’m more excited than nervous,” he added.

Pakistan’s campaign started shakily, but a comprehensive win over New Zealand in Wednesday’s semifinal has brought them to a WT20 final for the first time since 2009. On the other hand, England reached the final after a one-sided thrashing of India, and are being considered favorites.

“We have lost the first two matches, [but] the way we came back the last four matches, we’ve performed very well,” Babar told reporters. He added that the team hopes to ride the momentum gained in the last few matches all the way to the trophy.

The Pakistan captain did acknowledge that England would be a tough challenge, because they are a competitive team. “Their [10-wicket] win to reach the finals against India was a proof of that,” he said.

It will be Pakistan’s third final, albeit after a long delay. They last made it to the final in 2007 and 2009, losing the first and winning the second.

Another cornered tiger campaign?

Pakistan won their only ODI world cup in 1992, against the same opponent at the same venue. These similarities, as well as the ups and downs of the team’s performance this year have invited a lot of comparisons with 1992.

Babar admitted that the similarities are there. “After losing the first few games, the team played like tigers,” he said with a smile. The tiger allegory might be reference to how Pakistan’s then captain, Imran Khan, wore a shirt with a tiger on it to the final’s toss, saying that he wanted his team to play like cornered tigers, that is to say, at their most dangerous.

“If they play like tigers, I don’t mind if they win or lose,” Khan had told Ian Chappel at the toss. It turned out to be a win.