Nobody expected Pakistan to go this far: Afridi

After India knocked them out of the World Cup, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said he was proud of the way his team had performed after being dogged by one controversy after another in the lead-up.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (3L) celebrates the wicket of India batsman Sachin Tendulkar with teammates during a run-out attempt during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match between India and Pakistan at The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium

“Nobody expected us to go this far,” Afridi said, “but the team did a great job. We have some promising youth, we played as a unit.”

“We had a tough time for nine-ten months. We had a fractured team, which was weaker than the teams Pakistan fielded in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.”

Afridi said he expected some sections of the team’s fans to be very unhappy with the defeat in the semifinal, adding that he can live with that.

He was gracious in defeat, congratulating India for the 29-run win in Mohali and praising MS Dhoni’s captaincy.

“India played some lovely cricket,” he said. “We made some big mistakes in the field. We then played some poor shots. India bowled well and deserved to win.”

“Dhoni kept a cool head and kept the team united.”

He added in jest that he kept his word and didn’t let Sachin Tendulkar complete his 100th international hundred, despite dropping him four times today.

We reserved praise for Wahab Riaz, who took five wickets today. “India could have scored 300 today but Riaz bowled well,” Afridi said, adding that they wanted Shoaib Akhtar to play and get a grand farewell.

Akhtar had announced his retirement from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. But fitness issues prevented him from playing the second half of the tournament.

“The poor man was struggling with his fitness,” Afridi said of Akhtar. “We wanted him to play but we can’t play a match of this magnitude with 50-60 percent fitness. Hence we played Riaz and what he did is there for everyone to see.”