Shahid Afridi blasts publication for misquoting comments on 2011 World Cup semi-final

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was part of the ‘Men in Green’ unit that reached the semifinal of the 2011 Cricket World Cup in India. Moreover, at the time, he was the captain of the Pakistani team and he had several senior players in his side in the form of Misbah ul Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq and others. Quite recently, he gave an interview to a Pakistani-based publication where he talked about his team’s defeat to MS Dhoni-led India in the semi-final of the 2011 tournament.

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India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup: Shahid Afridi clarifies his comments on Misbah ul Haq’s role in defeat

Earlier this week, Shahid Afridi interacted with Arab News where he gave his take on Pakistan’s downfall to MS Dhoni and co. in the India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi-final match. Apparently, the aforementioned publication published that the all-rounder had pinned his blame on his then teammate and current Pakistan head coach Misbah ul Haq for not pacing his innings properly against the Indian bowlers. In the match, Misbah ul Haq scored 56 runs from 76 balls as the ‘Men in Green’ fell short of their target by 29 runs to allow India an entry into the summit clash.

On Tuesday, September 29, Shahid Afridi took to his Twitter account to clarify his comments on Misbah ul Haq and the high-profile India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup game. The maverick all-rounder wrote that he has been “misquoted” in the interview and Pakistan’s downfall in their 2011 semi-final run-chase was because of the collective “batting failure” of the team. Shahid Afridi added that the entire batting line-up, including himself, was unable to sustain the pressure of the occasion and as a result, he was not blaming any specific individual

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India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi-final: Shahid Afridi blames batsmen for defeat

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A recap of India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi-final

Prior to the India vs Pakistan 2011 World Cup semifinal clash in Mohali, the ‘Men in Blue’ captain MS Dhoni won the toss and had opted to bat first. Team India, on the back of Sachin Tendulkar’s 85 and Suresh Raina’s unbeaten 36 compiled 260-9 in their 50 overs. In response, the Pakistani batsmen faltered in their run-chase as they folded out for just 231 inside their alloted overs. Captain Shahid Afridi scored 19 runs from just 17 balls while Misbah ul Haq top-scored with his 56. India marched onto the final where they defeated Sri Lanka on the back of MS Dhoni’s masterclass to lift the 2011 World Cup.

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Image source: Shahid Afridi Instagram