Pakistan batting coach Mike Smith has backed out-of-form players Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman to rediscover their touch ahead of Saturday’s tri-series final against Sri Lanka, insisting he has “zero doubt” that both will deliver despite the team’s latest batting collapse.

Smith defended the two experienced batters after Pakistan were bowled out for 110 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, saying Babar’s inability to convert promising starts into big scores should not overshadow the positive aspects of his batting.

“Definitely not,” Smith said in the post-match press conference when asked whether Babar’s failure to make substantial runs was a concern. “The hardest part of cricket is getting yourself in, and Babar’s doing that incredibly easily at times.”

The batting coach said Babar had been doing several things well and remained confident the former captain would produce a significant innings.

“If he had turned one of those starts into a big score, no one’s saying a thing,” Smith said. “That’s international cricket. That’s the top-end sport. You can’t perform at the highest level every single time.”

He added: “We have zero doubt he’ll be going big, and when he does go big, it’ll be great to watch.”

Fakhar, meanwhile, has struggled to provide Pakistan with the starts expected of him, but Smith described the left-hander as a world-class player capable of dominating matches when in form.

“He’s a world-class player. Some players go through a period where they’re not scoring as many runs as they want to, but he’s shown time and time again what class he’s got,” Smith said.

“We have zero doubt that he’ll come good for us. Hopefully he does in the final and everyone’s happy.”

Smith said Fakhar’s ability to turn a start into a match-defining innings made him an important part of Pakistan’s plans.

“He’s a quality player. He’s got a good conversion rate as an opening batter, and when he gets in he is dynamic and impactful and he dominates games,” he said. “So we’re hoping to see that in the final.”

The coach’s backing comes at a crucial stage for Pakistan, who had won their first three matches in the tri-series before Tuesday’s comprehensive defeat exposed familiar weaknesses at the top of the order.

Smith acknowledged that the batting unit had yet to reach its full potential, but viewed that as an opportunity for improvement rather than a reason for alarm.

“We’re probably batting at about, as a collective, at about 70 per cent of where we need to be,” he said. “And that’s a real positive as well.”

He admitted Pakistan had failed to build momentum against Sri Lanka, with a combination of loose shots and disciplined bowling contributing to the collapse.

“Today, yeah, it’s just one of those where a couple of soft shots, some good piece of bowling, and we just didn’t really get any sort of momentum in the game, and it’s quite a tough thing to pull back,” Smith said.

Despite the setback, Smith urged perspective, pointing out that Pakistan had secured their place in the final and had shown resilience in earlier matches.

“Let’s not take away from the fact that we’ve played some really good cricket and we’ve won games where we shouldn’t have, and we’re in a really good place as a team and we’re playing in a final,” he said.

Pakistan’s middle order has often helped compensate for the lack of runs from the top, a trend Smith believes could become a strength if the leading batters find form.

“We’ve been talking about it and the fact that we’ve done so well when maybe we haven’t got the runs that we wanted to at the top, with a lot of our middle order doing exceptionally well, those are good signs,” he said.

“When the top order fire, and they will fire, that’s a dangerous place to be for the Pakistan batting unit.”

Smith also rejected suggestions that Lahore’s pitches were responsible for the team’s struggles, saying international batters must adapt to changing conditions.

“No, I’m not blaming the pitches, not the pitches’ fault,” he said. “I think all the teams here are asking their batting groups to be adaptable and to adjust when they have to in certain situations. And we haven’t really done it as well as we wanted to.”

The batting coach said Tuesday’s defeat would have no bearing on the final, where handling pressure would determine the outcome.

“The fact that we’ve lost the game leading into the final is going to have zero bearing on anything,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it’s a final, and whichever team stands up under the pressure is going to do well and lift the trophy.”

Pakistan will meet Sri Lanka again on Saturday, with Smith hoping Babar and Fakhar can turn his confidence in them into the kind of performances that have often made them decisive players for the national side.