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I was under no pressure: Afridi

Special Correspondent

Nottingham: The man from the mountains comprehends much about the ups and the downs. Shahid Afridi has seen it all.

He has steel in his bones like most men from Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province. It is a rugged terrain where the Pathans have learnt to survive.

Controversies, loss of form, and a tendency to self-destruct have threatened Afridi’s career but he has willed his way through the rough weather. He is a survivor.

Match-winners with his explosive ability come rare. Skipper Younis Khan realises Afridi’s worth.

Acknowledged Afridi after clinching the semifinal against South Africa at Trent Bridge, “He (Younis) has backed me. He had told me earlier that I could bat at No. 3 at some point so I was mentally prepared. When your captain is supportive, your belief grows,” said Afridi.

The all-rounder added, “He also told me you can bat the way you want to. So there was no pressure on me.”

Afridi declared, “I enter the ground to win. The last three years I have concentrated on my leg-spin but I can still bat if the team needs me.”

Earlier, Pakistan’s wily coach Intikhab Alam had said, “You need to let Afridi play his natural game with the bat. If you tell him one thing, he will play the opposite way! He will get confused.”

Confidence player

Afridi is a confidence player and the Pakistan team-management has handled him with tact.

Said Younis, “We all know he can win you matches. That’s why we sent him No. 3. This Pakistan team has several match-winners. We have Afridi, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq. This is what makes us such a good team in this format.”

Younis said, “Afridi bowled brilliantly and Gul was exceptional in the end overs. Kallis was batting well and a couple of big overs for them could have taken the match away from us. ”

The Pakistan captain felt his team was short by about 15 runs. “We could have made more runs towards the end. But Abdul Razzaq has not played international cricket for a while now and he is taking time to find his feet.”

Younis added Pakistan’s performance here would lift the spirits of the people back home. “You know things are tough in Pakistan at the moment. This win will make the people happy.”

He was open to the idea of having England as a neutral venue for Pakistan’s Test matches.

Meanwhile, South African skipper Graeme Smith admitted that the ‘choker’ tag on his team will be thrown around more after the latest setback.

“It’s just one of the things. They played very well. Afridi’s promotion kind of surprised us. We had to look at our own game-plan. He also bowled very well and there was assistance for the spinners in the second half of the match. And I thought Gul was exceptional. It’s not easy to bowl the way he does at the death.”

Although South Africa got bogged down in the middle-overs, Smith refused to blame the batsmen. “As a team we gave 100 per cent. They were better than us on the day.”

The dashing Afridi had the last word though. Asked about an exchange of words between him and Kallis he responded with typical panache. “Nothing. He came close to me and I gave him a little kiss!” For the South Africans, it was the kiss of death.

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