LAHORE – Former captain Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Pakistan fielding cost them the semi-final. “Dropping five catches in such a crucial match never goes unscratched,” he said from Mohali. Imran further criticized the batting of Younus Khan and Misbahul Haq in the lower order.
“These two players should have come at number three and four positions and should not have let the pressure build by preserving wickets,” he added. He further stated that the Indian batting failed and yet the Pakistani fielding allowed them to score 260 runs. “India could easily have scored 300-plus runs and at that point Pakistan could have restricted them to 220 runs,” said he.
He was also surprised at the shot played by Mohammad Hafeez that broke the tempo and developed pressure on the team. Former captain Rashifd Latif has congratulated the Indian team for their momentous win against Pakistan in the semi-final of the world Cup. He also backed the Pakistan team to reaching this far.
“Congratulations to India, This is not the end of the world for us better luck next time. Well played Pakistan,” he added on his facebook wall. He further stated that the team did not hit big when there was requirement and the bowling changes of Dhoni were quite good and Munaf really bowled well.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Imran Nazir believes that the four senior players should seriously think about their future in cricket. He said that they do not deserve a place in the team for not scoring just 260 runs on a batting track. Former chief selector Salahuddin Sallu praised the team for reaching the semi-final when no one was expecting them to even cross the first hurdle.
He said that Afridi should not feel sorry for the team’s loss in the semi-final and instead should be happy to have taken the team to that far in the tournament. Zulqarnain Haider has again pointed finger at the match-fixers during the World Cup. In a message on his facebook he said he will reveal on oath what had happened during the World Cup.
“Mere pe tankid kerne wale kidher hain go go kuch World Cup main hua quraan pe halaf le ke sab batain karuin ga Inshallah,” he wrote. Former captain and opener Aamer Sohail said that Pakistan captain should have applied more pressure on the opposition and would have been better to have opened the innings himself.
“The captain should have been more attacking. They did not have anything to lose but Afridi did not play the pressure game as a captain,” he pointed out.
