Asked whether his team deserved to be considered among the
favorites after Saturday's victory in Colombo, Afridi said: “Definitely,
inshallah (God willing).” Afridi's change in tone about his side's World Cup
prospects is a noticeable one. Prior to the opening match in Hambantota against
Kenya, which Pakistan won by 205 runs, he would only describe his side as a “dangerous”
team at the tournament, let alone being a dark horse for the trophy.
The Pakistan skipper did have a word of criticism for his
fielders, who dropped several catches, squandered run out opportunities and
watched wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal fumble two chances to stump Sri Lanka captain
Kumar Sangakkara on Saturday.
But a narrow win in front of 35,000 noisy home team
supporters, and a total of four points from two games after trouncing Kenya,
has raised Afridi's expectations as his team starts to build momentum.
“Sri Lanka has been playing well recently and I think this
will raise the morale of players and help us prepare in a better way,” he
predicted. “Winning is a good habit.” Saturday was a particularly good day at
the office for the Pakistan skipper, whose return of 4-34 saw him pass the
milestone of 300 wickets in one-day internationals.
He also became only the second all-rounder after Sri Lanka's
Sanath Jayasuriya to complete a double of over 6,000 runs and 300 wickets in
limited-overs cricket.
As a team, Pakistan has clearly shown signs of improvement
since Afridi took over as captain of the one-day and Twenty20 sides last year.
Although it failed to qualify for the final of Asia Cup and
lost one-day series against both England and South Africa, Pakistan completed a
3-2 series victory in New Zealand earlier this month — its first since
defeating West Indies in Nov. 2008.
In the more immediate term, Saturday's victory means
Pakistan should finish among the top three in Group A with matches against
weaker sides Zimbabwe and Canada to follow.
New Zealand and defending champion Australia are the other
sides in the group, with four teams advancing to the knockout stages.
Among the recent improvements to Pakistan's game is the once
suspect batting lineup, which has delivered scores of 317 and 277 respectively
in the two matches so far. Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and former captain Younis
Khan both scored solid half centuries against Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Misbah and Khan's ability to rotate the strike and score
around five runs an over not only moves Pakistan's total along nicely, it also
eases some of the pressure on hard-hitting batsmen Umar Akmal, Afridi and Abdul
Razzaq during the slog overs.
“Misbah and Younis are the backbone of the team,” Afridi
said.
As for his own performances, Afridi has so far only really
contributed with the ball. Though he holds the world record for the fastest
century, he has not fired with the bat yet at the World Cup — scoring seven
against Kenya and 16 in Colombo.
His 5-16 against Kenya are Pakistan's best bowling figures
in a World Cup match and his four-wicket haul on Saturday ripped the heart out
of Sri Lanka's batting order.
“My first priority is bowling and then comes the batting,”
Afridi said. “I'm missing the batting, but I get only three to four overs at
the end of the innings in which we have to score at a fast pace and there are
chances that you get dismissed.” Though the results are there for all to see,
Afridi's decision to pack his playing XI with three specialist bowlers and
three batting all-rounders — Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq and himself — has
not gone down well with critics.
Former captain Imran Khan and Wasim Akram want Pakistan to
play with at least four specialist bowlers, fearing the allrounders might not
come good against strong opponents.
Razzaq, who is only No. 8 in the batting order, has had the
new ball in both games to date but only bowled five overs in each - without
taking a wicket.
However, Afridi backed his all-rounder.
“Razzaq can win us matches single-handedly and I am confident
whenever such a situation arises he can play a winning role,” Afridi said. “We
were finding it difficult to find someone to bowl the new ball and Razzaq has
done well.” Pakistan next plays against Canada on Mar. 3 at Colombo before it
meets New Zealand (Mar. 8) and Zimbabwe (Mar. 14) at Pallekele, Sri Lanka. The
team returns to Colombo for its showdown against Australia to round off its
group matches.
