A 2-1 win against Australia in the just-finished Twenty20 series has given Pakistan important momentum for the World Twenty20, captain Mohammad Hafeez says.

On arriving in Sri Lanka for the tournament, Hafeez said Pakistan’s experienced squad and familiarity with the conditions made them confident of producing a special performance.

Pakistan undertook a 10-match tour of Sri Lanka in June and July, then many of its players participated in the Sri Lanka Premier League.

“I think the morale of the team is very high even though we lost the final game against Australia,” Hafeez said of the 94-run defeat on Monday, Pakistan’s heaviest loss in Twenty20s.

Before that, Pakistan won the first match and came through the tied second game by taking a one-over eliminator.

“We really got the momentum we were looking forward to,” Hafeez said.

He said getting to play archrival India in a warm-up game would give his team an opportunity to play a pressure game even before the tournament.

His team has six specialist batsmen, and allrounders such as Shahid Afridi and Abdur Razzak.

Top offspinner Saeed Ajmal was likely to play an important role on Sri Lankan pitches that have historically favoured spin bowling.

Pakistan starts the World Twenty20 against New Zealand on September 23 at Pallekele.