By IANS,
Mohali : Captain Shahid Afrdi Wednesday apologized to Pakistan for losing the World Cup semifinal to old rivals India but added he was happy with the way his team played in the tournament.
Afridi also congratulated India for reaching their third World Cup final.
“I would like to congratulate the Indian team and the whole (Indian) nation for this victory. I wish them all the best for the final,” Afridi said after the match.
“At the same time, I want to say sorry to my nation. We tried our level best but couldn’t make it. I am pleased with the way my team played throughout the competition.”
Pakistan restricted India to 260 after they were off to a fantastic start. They were confident of chasing the target.
Afridi attributed the loss to the lack of good partnerships as well as some irresponsible shots played by the batsmen.
“Wahab (Riaz) bowled really well but we missed some opportunities with the bat. There were no partnerships and we played some irresponsible shots. Overall, India were the better side today.”
Pakistan took the batting Power Play in the last five overs with the score at 200 for eight. Afridi defended the decision and said they wanted to take it after seeing off Harbhajan Singh’s spell.
“We thought of taking it after Harbhajan finished his spell. The idea was to take the Power Play towards to the end of the innings,” he said.