27 Feb ; Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is not rejoicing too much despite the “big win” over Sri Lanka in a World Cup match here as he is worried and baffled by the mistakes his team committed, especially in the fielding department.
“I think when we go ahead in this tournament our destination will get tougher and tougher and if we commit the same mistakes, then we will return to Pakistan very soon. We must improve,” Afridi said after the 11-run win in a thrilling Group A encounter here on Saturday night. Pakistan spilled catches and missed run-out and stumping chances in a fumbling fielding display last night that could have cost them dearly.
And Afridi minced no words in pointing out the mistakes after the narrow win. “Our fielding has been improving since the New Zealand tour, but I don’t know why in this match we dropped catches and failed to take run-out chances,” said the skipper, who was named man of the match for picking up four wickets which took his overall tally to 300.
Despite the shortcomings highlighted in the match, Afridi said it was nonetheless a big win for his team. “It’s a very big win for us, beating Sri Lanka before a capacity crowd, their own people and a strong team which has been playing very well recently,” Afridi said.
Afridi was all praise for seniors Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq for their crucial fifties which helped Pakistan post a challenging 277 on the board. “I’m happy that seniors have taken responsibility. Younus and Misbah are the backbone of the team, and it’s important that the captain performs well as it sets an example for others,” he said.
Pakistan next face minnows Canada on March 3 and Afridi said the match is as important as any other game of the event.
“I will sit down and plan, I will take advice from my coach and from my senior players as it is everyone’s team,” Afridi said. “Winning is very important for us, it is a good habit and we should try to win every match and play hard with our strength. I think we will give rest to some of our players but definitely we want to win each and every game,” he added.