Afridi praises skipper Younus
Shahid Afridi paid tribute to the influence of his captain Younus Khan after he helped Pakistan claim the ICC World T20 title.
The all-rounder hit a half-century to help Pakistan clinch the ICC World Twenty20 title with an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Having played his part in a bowling performance that restricted the Sri Lankans to 138 for six, Afridi - following on from his heroics in the semi-final against the South Africa - was the hero again, top-scoring with 54 to carry the Pakistanis over the finish line.
Pakistan are ICC World T20 Champions
Afridi admitted he had been struggling with the bat in recent years but his skipper had helped him to rediscover his form in this tournament.
"Younus gave me good confidence" Afridi told Sky Sports 1.
"I told him that I wanted to bat at number three in the order and he said ok, if you're confident just go and play. Don't worry about anything, just go.
"The guys really motivated themselves and Younus really supported the guys and told us to go and enjoy our cricket. Twenty20 is all about enjoyment and entertainment, if you do this then you perform well.
"The last two and a half, three years I have bowled really well but I was struggling with my batting. Younus really gave me good confidence and told me not to worry about anything and enjoy my cricket. He made it simple for me."
Shoaib Malik (24) was the other man at the crease and admitted he was feeling the pressure towards the end but kept faith in his partnership with Afridi.
He said: "I think it was a pressure game. When I was on my way to batting I just kept thinking about that, that I had to stay there until the 20th over and I did it. The way Shahid was batting too was awesome.
"I was saying to him please stay at the wicket, if you stay at the wicket I will also get some runs and if we stand together I'm sure we can finish the game. He is a great cricketer."
Younus described the victory as a "gift" to the Pakistani people.
Watch the highlights of the SL-Pak Final match
The country is facing difficult times amid political trouble and violence, and the sporting prospects have looked bleak in the wake of the terror attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore earlier this year.
Younus said: "This is a gift from us to our nation. A nation like us, I think it's the right time. It's fantastic. We were the underdogs and nobody picked us.
"That's why there was less pressure and certainly we turned it on in the big games, especially the performances like Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul - and I think all credit goes to the team and the whole nation.
Younus singled out Afridi's return to form with the bat as one reason for Pakistan's success.
He said: "We need him at the top of the order, especially in the one-day game.
"He knows that he's a matchwinner for us. Especially in the last two innings, he was really fantastic for us. "
Gul, who finished the tournament with the best bowling figures in any game after his astonishing five for six against New Zealand, was full of praise for bowling colleague Abdul Razzaq, who took three wickets early on.
"We were worried about Dilshan because he was in good form and we were depending on the first six overs," said Gul. "Razzaq and (Mohammad) Aamer did really well in the first six overs though and after that we didn't have any worries."I think he (Razzaq) made a lot of difference."
Losing captain Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise on his bowling unit, admitting they had bailed out the batsmen throughout the tournament.
Sangakkara, who top-scored with an unbeaten 64 for his side after early wickets fell, said: "Our main job as batsmen of assessing the wicket and the bowlers, we really didn't do.
"It was always tough for our bowling unit to keep defending totals right throughout the tournament when we probably could have scored 20 runs more.
"That's the best bowling unit in the world at the moment.
"Hopefully we can get stronger, get better, learn from what we've done and we've got a lot more cricket coming up.
"We'll really look forward to more cricket to toughen us up both physically and mentally."
A feature of the tournament has been the success of Sri Lanka's unorthodox stars, including bowlers Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, as well as opener Dilshan.
"It keeps happening year after year," said Sangakkara. "I think in their formative years they slip through the cracks of formal coaching.
"They play a lot of tennis-ball cricket, they play a lot of street and beach cricket and they develop something that's unique.
"Luckily we've had a lot of talent-search coaches who've gone around, looked at these guys, brought them into the team and really allowed them to blossom - making sure they've got a technical base but allowing them to flourish with their uniqueness intact."
He added: "I'm very proud. I can't ask for a better team to play with and to lead.
"I'm very happy with the way the guys performed right throughout the tournament.
"I'm especially proud about the attitude and the fight they showed and the fact they went out, competed, enjoyed their cricket.
"I think we're going to build a really good team going forward from here."
The ICC World Twenty20 2009 has been a story of spinners shining in the shorter format of the game. Write in to us with your thoughts at:fanspeak@espnstar.co.in
Powered by Disqus
Join us on Facebook