Pakistan's young gun, Ahmed Shehzad scored a ton and led his side to victory in the 2nd One Day International between Pakistan and West Indies in St Lucia on 25 April, 2011.
Speaking at the match presentation after being named the Player of the Match, Shehzad stated that the skipper, Afridi was the man to follow.
Describing Afridi as an astonishing captain, the right-hand batsman expressed his faith in the skipper’s ability to lead the Men in Green through turbulent times.
Shehzad has been retained in the national side despite his unimpressive performance throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. He also acknowledged the support of his captain and the team management in this regard.
The 19-year old cricketer said, “I would like to thank team management for supporting me, Vicky bhai (Waqar Younis), Aaqib Javed, and Shahid bhai. He (Afridi) is the man to follow, he has been astonishing, if we follow him he will take us through. The wicket was on the slower side, I knew if we kept the wickets, we will do it.”
Shehzad put forth a redeeming 102 run knock off 148 deliveries which included seven fours and one six. The ton was his second One Day International century.
Afridi in return, also complimented Shehzad on his performance. The skipper acknowledged Shehzad’s poor record in the past but praised his comeback.
“Shehzad is a very talented guy who performed well in New Zealand tour. He didn't do well in World cup, he took some time, its ok he took time but he finished the game. The management has been supporting him,” said Afridi.
The skipper further expressed his satisfaction with how the team was following the game plan and performing as expected.
After losing the first Twenty20 match against the Windies, the Green Shirts bounced back with two consecutive wins.
The Men in Green have been on a roll, performing well in One Day Internationals. They reached the Semi-Finals of 2011 ICC World Cup and prior to that, had won the ODI series in New Zealand.
Spinners have been Pakistan’s weapon of choice against the young West Indian side. The 2nd ODI saw the spin trio of Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal share six wickets between them.
The West Indian skipper Darren Sammy had asserted earlier that his side needed to work hard in the nets to face the Pakistani spinners.
The third match of the series will be played on Thursday, 28 April, 2011 at Bridgetown. If Pakistan wins the match they will have an unassailable lead in the series.
