Shahid
Afridi has said that he made some mistakes in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 that cost him the game to the Indians at Mohali. India beat
Pakistan easily and went on to win the World Cup by beating Sri Lanka
in the final of the tournament. Afridi said that he should have batted higher
in the order instead of lower down and compared the situation with the one that
the Indians had found themselves in the final against the Sri Lankans.
According to Shahid Afridi, captaincy wasn't an innate task that he
was born with and hence, he made his errors. He added that much like what MS
Dhoni had done in the final, he should have batted at the number four or five
position in a bid to win the game for the side.
He added that he knew that there was all-rounder Abdul Razzaq down the
order who could have taken care of things if they went wrong and hence could
have taken the chance.
Afridi said that Dhoni's move to bat up the order worked for the Indian captain
and there was a chance it could have worked for the Pakistanis as well. He also
added that the Indians had one of the best batting line-ups in the world and
yet, were bowled out for 260 on a flat wicket, causing the fans to be stunned
by the way Pakistan had bowled.
He added that the side had a good chance of chasing down 261 but the wicket
of Umar Akmal was the turning point in the game. Afridi said that he was learning
the ropes of being the captain as it was a learning process.
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