London: Pakistan paceman Hasan Ali makes no bones about the fact that he is aiming for the Golden Ball, the award for the highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

He has 10 wickets at an average of just 17.20 apiece which he can improve in the final, and is closely followed by India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar at six wickets.

“When I learnt that the best bowler will get a golden ball, I am determined to get that souvenir since it will be a first in my career,” remarked Ali after a hard day’s training at The Oval.

He was training for the biggest match of his career — an India-Pakistan final in an ICC tournament like the Champions Trophy.

Twenty-three-year-old Ali has emerged as Pakistan’s strike bowler who played a key role in throttling the likes of South Africa and England in the middle overs.

For a youngster who made his debut only in August last year, Ali has come a long way. “My goal is to be the best bowler in the world. I do set goals and while touring the West Indies, I aimed to become the best bowler in the Champions Trophy.”

From 20 One Day Internationals, Hasan already has 39 wickets — and that includes some of the best batsmen in the world. His ability to provide the important breakthroughs has made Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmad very happy.

Sarfraz even remarked in Cardiff after the semi-final win over England that “Hasan (Ali) is our strike bowler now and he is progressing with every match.”

When Ali was asked about his style of celebration after taking a wicket, almost like Shahid Afridi, where he spreads both his arms high, he said: “It’s a bit different though. I enjoy it very much and I hope (Pakistan) fans pray that I do this four or five times in the final.”

Ali’s ability to beat the batsmen by bowling round the wicket has won him the laurels. “Hasan has been progressing very well and is learning many tricks,” remarked their bowling coach Azhar Mahmood.

A humble Hasan owes his progress to Mahmood who has a reputation of grooming budding cricketers. “I will give all credit for the improvement in my bowling to coach Azhar Mahmood. He has been working very hard with all of us. Now I have gained a nice rhythm to bowl following his tips. I will try my best always in all matches.”

Ali has a very positive outlook towards Sunday’s game. “I am very positive about the final. We will try not to repeat the mistakes we committed in the first match. We will go by the plans of our coach.”