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| Shahid Afridi's form is a good sign for Pakistan ahead of the World Twenty20 (2014), Misbah-ul-Haq has said |
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Players/Officials:
Shahid Afridi
| Misbah-ul-Haq
Matches:
Bangladesh v Pakistan at Dhaka
Series/Tournaments:
Asia Cup
Teams:
Bangladesh
| Pakistan
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Having won Pakistan their previous match against India, Shahid Afridi
walked in with Pakistan in an even more difficult situation against
Bangladesh. With 52 balls remaining, Pakistan needed 102 runs to win. He
proceeded to clout 59 off 25 balls, sending seven sixes soaring over
the ropes. In between those big hits off the spinners, he kept his head
about him, and was prepared to take singles and wait for the loose balls
against the seam bowlers.
"I think that's the message given to Shahid Afridi, that at least he should give himself 20-25 balls," Misbah-ul-Haq,
Pakistan's captain, said after his team's three-wicket win. "Just make
sure that you play 25-30 balls. We know that when he plays 20-25 balls,
he can score 50. I think that's what he's doing, and I'm really happy
with the way he's playing."
Afridi's controlled aggression was in some ways reminiscent of how he
had batted on the road to Pakistan winning the 2009 World T20 title in
England. With another edition of that tournament mere days away, Misbah
said Afridi's form boded well for Pakistan's prospects.
"I think that's the biggest plus for us, the way Shahid Afridi is
playing, not only in this [Asia Cup] final, but also T20 World Cup is
coming, so he's the main player, and the kind of form he is in, the kind
of confidence, it's good for the Pakistan team."
Misbah said Pakistan could look to use him in a flexible role during the
World T20. "He is always used in T20 whenever such a situation comes,
he is promoted, and depending on the start his number changes," Misbah
said. "I think, the kind of form he is in, Pakistan can use him anywhere
in the order."
Pakistan's chase wasn't all about Afridi, of course. Ahmed Shehzad's
century and his opening stand of 97 with Mohammad Hafeez laid a solid
platform before Fawad Alam, returning to the ODI side after
three-and-a-half years, guided the team through the closing stages in
the company of Afridi and Umar Akmal. While most of the questions at the
press conference were about Afridi's whirwind innings, Misbah kept
drawing attention to the other batsmen's contributions.
"I think so," he said, when asked if Afridi's innings was one of the
best he had seen. "Not only Shahid Afridi, but also the way Fawad Alam
and Ahmed Shehzad played. After his 50, the way he picked up the run
rate, it was almost 10 an over and he brought it down to 8, and then
well supported by Fawad Alam, and the start of Hafeez was also crucial,
and Shahid Afridi. I think all of them I think played much-needed
knocks, and in the end Umar Akmal finished it well. In the end it was a
great combination of all these batsmen who really won us the game."
With their successful chase of a 327-run target, Pakistan had shrugged a
particularly clingy monkey off their backs. They had failed in their
last 12 pursuits of 250-plus targets, the most recent instance coming in
their opening match of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka, where they lost
wickets in a heap to let go of a dominant position.
Asked what the team talk had been like following that defeat, Misbah
said the team management, particularly their chief cricket consultant
Zaheer Abbas, had stressed on the need for the batsmen to stay at the
crease till the end.
"I think the message was very clear, even by the great Zaheer Abbas,
that the kind of ability we have in our dressing room, especially our
batsmen, if our batsmen play 50 overs, we can just chase any target,"
Misbah said. "That was the message even today when we started chasing,
that we need to play 50 overs. The batsmen need to play 50 overs, so
that was the task given by the management and me also, and we did it and
it proved right at the end and we chased the target."
