Pak focussing on WC quarterfinal win without thinking of meeting India at semis: Afridi
March 23rd, 2011 - 1:08 pm ICT by ANIMirpur, Mar 23(ANI): Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi is least concerned about a possible showdown against India in the ongoing World Cup, saying that his immediate focus is on beating West Indies in today’s quarterfinal match.
A win over West Indies could have Pakistan encounter archrivals India in the semi-final stage, if the co-hosts beat Australia in Thursday’s quarterfinal in Ahmedabad.
“Our entire focus is on winning the quarterfinal, I am not even thinking of the next match, whether it is India or Australia,” The Nation quoted Afridi, as telling a packed news conference.
West Indies collapsed from winning positions against England and India in the World Cup league matches, and only qualified for the quarterfinals on the basis of superior run-rate as compared to that of contender Bangladesh, but Afridi is not taking victory for granted.
“We will not take West Indies lightly. Any team is capable of winning on their day, there are no second chances in a knock-out match. I think they are a very good side,” he said.
Afridi also played down suggestions that West Indies will be hard to beat at a venue where they shot out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 in the league to win by nine wickets.
“That was Bangladesh, this is Pakistan,” he said. “It’s not that we are playing for the first time in these conditions. We feel at home anywhere in the sub-continent.” (ANI)
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Tags: bangladesh, contender, continent, encounter, focussing, hosts, knock out, limited overs, match, mirpur, news conference, nine wickets, pakistan, quarterfinals, second chances, semis, shahid afridi, venue, west indies, world cup