The true Captains of the ICC World Cup 2011 – Part 2
Pakistan captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-c89347 Afridi’s knack for taking crucial wickets has been a huge asset for his side, and it was both the quantity and the quality of the wickets he took in the ICC World Cup 2011 that set him apart from all the other bowlers in the tournament.
At first glance 21 wickets in eight matches on the cricket’s biggest stage is impressive enough on its own, yet if one takes a closer analysis of some of those wickets it would be hard not to have one’s eyebrows raised in astonishment.
The captain pretty much singlehandedly helped his side qualify for the quarter-final stage of the tournament. In Pakistan’s first match he dismissed Kenyan batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Collins-c51521 Obuya, who was the African side’s only real threat.
When Afridi sent him back to the pavilion for 47 runs, it was a game changer. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 soon collapsed to a disappointing total of a 112 runs, with Afridi claiming five wickets at the cost of just 16 runs, as he destroyed the Kenyan batting line-up. It was a
match winning performance by Afridi, the first of many in the tournament.
The captain was at it again as he took four wickets against a Sri Lankan side that would go on to reaching the final of the tournament. The game seemed to be in Sri Lanka’s control when, leading by example, the Pakistan captain had Tillakaratne Dilshan out
for 41 runs and Kumar Sangakkara out for 49 runs soon after.
The two wickets were crucial, as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 had the game by the horns at that point in time. The captain’s performance inspired the rest of the team, as Pakistan would go on to win the match by 11 runs, and Afridi’s figures of four wickets for 34 runs was
a major factor behind that result.
With nine wickets in two games up until that point, Pakistan’s captain was a force to be reckoned with on his own. His ability to lead from the front and get his side back in the game was put to the test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo
when his team, faltered to a 174 run total.
There was more than just two points on the line that day, as with it was an entire nation’s pride. Cometh the hour, cometh the Captain, and in true testimony to those words Afridi stepped up to the plate. He took the wicket of Canada’s danger man Jimmy Hansra
when he was on 43 runs.
It has to be noted that Afridi seemed to have something against batsmen reaching their half centuries, as this was his fourth wicket when the batsman was within 10 runs of his half century.
Going on to finish for figures of five wickets for 23 runs along with an inspired piece of fielding to get rid of Balaji Rao, the Pakistan captain had won his team their third successive match.
The captain had led by example and singlehandedly turned games around for his side. He both talked the talk and walked the walk.
The win meant that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 needed just one more victory to secure their place in the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, so far the Pakistan Captain had taken a remarkable 14 wickets in the first three matches and it was Afridi leading by example that
had Pakistan at that position.
[Continued in ‘The true Captains of the ICC World Cup 2011 – Part 3’]
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