But the Pakistan captain is not in the mood to celebrate those wins.
Afridi has set his sights on the World Cup crown and says that he will not settle for anything else. And to achieve that goal, he wants the best from his players.
Pakistan did play impressively against the Sri Lankans but there were times when they produced some really shoddy stuff. Kamran Akmal was erratic behind the stumps while the way Abdur Rehman floored Chamara Silva at a crucial point in the Sri Lankan innings really disappointed Afridi.
“If they continue playing like that then they will be heading back to Pakistan soon,” warned Afridi. “These days, you can’t expect to win matches by fielding poorly. We will have to improve in that department of the game and we have to do it fast.”
Pakistan have seldom been a good fielding side but their performance had improved during the successful tour of New Zealand just before the World Cup. But it has dipped again pretty alarmingly.
“It is certainly a cause for concern,” Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan manager told ‘The News’ on Sunday. “In the next team meeting this issue is going to be on the top of our agenda. We will sit down with the boys and tell them that they will have to do better,” said the former Pakistan captain.
Intikhab said that Pakistan have a four-day break before they take on Canada on March 3, adding that the team will work harder in their training sessions to come up with a better fielding display in the rest of their World Cup matches.
Meanwhile, Afridi is pleased with the fact that his team’s senior players have responded positively to his call for an improved performance.
Vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq and former captain Younis Khan have hit back-to-back fifties against Kenya and Sri Lanka while fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar bowled well on Saturday night and picked up two key wickets.
“It’s very important for us to get the best from the senior players,” said Afridi. “They had to take responsibility and thankfully they did which is great for Pakistan.”
Afridi was all praise for Misbah and Younis. “Misbah and Younis are the backbone of my team,” he said. “They are playing really well and giving us the sort of stability we need.”
The captain was also pleased with his own performance after he followed his five-wicket haul against Kenya with 4-34 against Sri Lanka to pick the man-of-the-match award.
“I’ve always said that the captain’s personal performance is vital for his team,” said Afridi who on Saturday became only the second allrounder in history after Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya to cross 6000 runs and 300 wickets in One-day Internationals. With nine wickets from two matches, Afridi is currently the highest wicket-taker of World Cup 2011.
