Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has appreciated the diplomatic efforts done at the highest level between Pakistan and India in order to resume the dialogue process between the two neighbouring countries.
Referring to the Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s telephone call to him before the ICC World Cup 2011 semi-final against India, Afridi said that the Prime Minister asked him about the preparation of the match and told him that he along with some other Pakistani officials will come to witness the game. Afridi added that this made the team even more confident.
“Every match has its pressure… playing against India after so long… so there were a lot of expectations. But it’s good that the two countries are meeting at the highest level again,” said Afridi said in an interview with a private news channel.
A few days before the match between the two teams, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent an invitation to his Pakistani counterpart to watch the match in Mohali. The Pakistan PM accepted the invitation as a step to resume friendly relations with the neighbouring country.
The semi-final was a nip and tuck competition between India and Pakistan. The Men in Blue had a good start while batting first, but they could not set a huge target and managed 260 in their innings. Pakistan bowler Wahab Riaz was the standout performer with his first five-for in One Day International cricket which completely destroyed the back of India’s batting line-up.
However, Pakistan’s poor fielding and batting performance virtually cost them the match in the first innings. They dropped Sachin Tendulkar four times, which in the end hurt them badly as they fell short of the target by 29 runs.
When Afridi was asked about his reaction when Sachin Tendulkar’s catches were being dropped, he said, “The words that came to my mind cannot be repeated on air (laughing). But it’s quite obvious when you drop a batsman let alone the Indian master, he will make you pay.”
Afridi was the leading wicket taker of the quadrennial event as he claimed 21 wickets along with the India’s pacer Zaheer Khan who also dismissed the same number of batsmen.
The Pakistan skipper added that he is grateful to his nation and former players who kept on supporting him during the tournament.
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