With an 18-ball 34, experienced campaigner, Shahid Afridi, took Pakistan to a one-wicket over India in their crucial Asia Cup match. It was a must-win game for both teams as victory would bring the triumphant team closer to a berth in the final.
Speaking to the media after the match, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said, “I think this was a very important win. We were under pressure with four wickets down, but Mohammad Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood put together a superb partnership. After that, Shahid Afridi finished the game in the way he did. We have been criticised for not being able to chase well under pressure. But today, we have showed that we can do it. The confidence of the team will be boosted after this.”
When asked if Afridi is more of a bowler than a batsman, the Pakistan skipper said, “We expect an innings like that from him. Whenever he gives himself a little bit of time in the middle, he plays a sensible innings like that and he is always dangerous and he can win you games. He’s already done it quite a few times, and I think this was one of his best innings.”
“I am just happy about this win. I am very happy for Shahid Afridi, who has come in for a lot of criticism in the last two matches. I think he showed his experience today and helped us win a game that had almost gone out of our hands.”
The match was precariously poised, until Afridi slammed Ravichandran Ashwin for two sixes in the last over to bring home the victory. Asked whether he felt that the match was within their grasp after the 48th over, with Pakistan needing 13 off 12 balls with four wickets in hand, Misbah said, “I think at that time, the game was pretty much in our hands, but it was a very good penultimate over by Bhuvneshwar, and after that it was quite difficult. But still, we knew that if Afridi can get the strike back, we still have a chance. He really played well. The last two sixes were tremendous.”
Speaking about the last-over situation when a new batsman was on strike, while Afridi was at the non-striker’s end, Misbah said, “These things happen in a game. It could have been a big miss. Thanks to Allah, we finally just managed to win the game.”
Further reflecting on the chase, he added, “It is always important to have wickets in hand in a run chase. When we lost one wicket and then three quickly, we didn’t have partnerships and were under quite a bit of pressure. You can say the game was 60 to 70 percent out of our hands. But there was a really good partnership after that. Hafeez and Maqsood were sensible and played really well. They gave us a chance, and the later order batsmen made use of it.”
Speaking about their prospects of making it into the final, he said, “I am not sure what the situation is, but if we reach the final, it will be good for us. It’ll be our second successive final. We will try to play well in our next game and defend our title.”
And finally, discussing Mohammad Talha’s debut, Misbah said, “We wanted to use him as a surprise weapon, that’s why we brought him in now. We kept him fresh, and didn’t play him in the first two games. He delivered well on his debut, against India in such a huge pressure game. He bowled really well, like he did in the Sharjah Test, which was also a pressure game.”
