Afridi made the difference says Misbah

  Published : 10:15 am  November 23, 2011  |  187 views  |  No comments so far  |     

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq speaking to the media said that it was a fantastic day for his team and thanked all-rounder Shahid Afridi for bringing them victory when defeat was staring in their face.

“When we batted the position in which were, a score of 200 was impossible but Afridi began the revival of our innings,” said Misbah. “It was one of the most responsible knocks I have seen in recent times. Then Afridi came back after suffering an injury when we were fielding to start the Sri Lankan batting collapse. He lifted the morale of the side with his tremendous all-round effort.”

Misbah said when Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were batting he told Afridi what they needed was just one of the two wickets. “Afridi rose to the occasion and did it in style. Later in the day it was the result of the team's collective effort that we were able to win the game and with it the series. Every player made their contributions in all the three departments and this is a good sign for Pakistan cricket,” Misbah said.

“We are happy that we were able to keep up the good work and I am optimistic our batting will improve. The batting still remains a grey area for us and we will have to work on that seriously,” he said.

“I too will have to improve my batting first. I got run out twice without making any useful contributions. The bowlers are doing a great job in the series and this augurs well for the future.”

Speaking about the power play Misbah said, “We don't have any problems with our bowling but the wickets here are a bit tough for the batsmen. If we get a batting friendly wicket we might have to change our plans according to the situation. We knew the Sharjah wicket was going to take turn and we were lucky to end up winners. We want to carry on the winning trend but we might give a chance to some new players and most probably select a balanced side with experience for the final ODI and T20 to be played in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Friday.”

M. Shamil Amit reporting from Dubai