‘Pakistan batsmen were trembling’: Shahid Afridi reveals pressure of facing MS Dhoni’s India in 2011 WC semi-final in Mohali

Afridi has now shared how the Indian team benefited from the home crowd and how some of the Pakistan batsmen were trembling while going to bat in the tense clash. He said that the Pakistan team was under immense pressure when they lost wickets after a fine start.

“I remember when we were playing the World Cup semi-final at Mohali in 2011, we made a very good start. Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal were batting and our score was 90 something for loss of no wicket (Pakistan were 44 for 0 before they lost Kamran Akmal). I, as the captain, was sitting relaxed in the dressing room believing that we will win the match. After the first wicket fell, the way the crowd got behind the Indian team and the way the Indian team were fighting, some of our batsmen were trembling while going out to bat. I, as a leader and captain, was seeing that after Hafeez got out (Hafeez got out with Pakistan score of 70 for 1), their players were high in confidence after every ball. I believe we came under a lot of pressure,” Afridi said while talking on Samaa TV.

While India had won its first ODI World Cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev in 1983, the country won its second World Cup title in the form of the T20 World Cup in 2007 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. The 2011 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan at Mohali was the fifth instance that India was facing the arch-rivals in a ICC ODI World Cup having won all four of the previous such encounters.

Batting first, India had posted a total of 260 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs. India were once 115 for 1 before they lost three wickets in the next few overs to be placed at 141 for 4. Sachin Tendulkar played a patient knock of 85 runs to hold the front at one end before a 36-ball 39-run cameo by Suresh Raina took India to a fighting total.

Chasing the target, Pakistan were 70 for 1 in 15.2 overs before Hafeez fell to the pace of Munaf Patel. Pakistan were eventually bundled out for a total of 231 runs in 49.5 overs with India marching into the final.

Post the match, Afridi had lauded the efforts of Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz, who claimed four wickets of 38 runs including the wickets of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate the Indian cricket team and the Indian nation for this great victory, and wish them all the best for the final. Wahab (Riaz) really bowled well today, but we missed some opportunities. They played better than us. We didn’t make partnerships, we played some irresponsible shots, and a partnership was crucial. I want to say sorry to my nation. We tried our level best, and we enjoyed ourselves at this tournament,” Afridi had said back then after the loss.

Indian captain MS Dhoni had praised his seamers post the win with Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra picking up two wickets each.

“We got off to a fantastic start through Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. As the game progressed the wicket got slower, and in the middle overs it was difficult to score. Shahid Afridi bowled really well, and it was important to just play the bowling with respect. 260 was a good score for this pitch. It was turning, we read the wicket wrong and that’s why we went with three seamers, but in the end the seamers bowled really well too. We don’t have bowlers who can bowl 140 plus, overall we rely on what you might call deception – change of length, line and pace. Zaheer did really well, over the years with experience and in IPL and things like that he’s become really smart. We’ve struggled at times in this tournament, but that’s the beauty of this game,” Dhoni had said post the win.