Shahid Afridi’s form a concern, admits Mohammed Hafeez

Expressing satisfaction over Pakistan’s performance, Mohammed Hafeez said he would take plenty of positives from the two-match T20 series. He felt Shoaib Malik’s return to form and Mohammed Irfan’s bowling were the pluses for Pakistan, going forward.

Talking about the lean patch Afridi is going through, Hafeez said, “We are concerned with that. He is obviously not bowling at his best, but this is part and parcel of the game and he will bounce back soon.”

He said that he had instructed his batsmen not to think of the target (193). Instead, he wanted to them to get nine runs an over. Hafeez felt Pakistan didn’t score well between the seventh and ninth overs which cost them the game.
Crediting India, he said, “Yuvraj (Singh) batted exceptionally well and his partnership with

Dhoni proved decisive. We didn’t stick to the basics in the middle overs and conceded too many runs.”

Meanwhile, man of the match Yuvraj lauded India’s fielding. “Fielding won us the game. (Suresh) Raina and (Virat) Kohli  picked up good catches in the deep which you can say got us into the match,” he said. “We will remember this victory for a long time,” added Yuvraj, who felt the Indian youngsters have adapted well to this format.

Talking of his own batting, Yuvraj admitted he made a mistake in Bangalore.  Yuvraj looked poised for a big one there, but gave it away to a moment of indiscretion. Pakistan came back into the contest.

“In the previous game, I hurried up and paid the price. But I don’t think of hitting each ball for a six. I go by my natural instinct. If it is in the slot, I hit it,” said Yuvraj.
On the strategy to counter Saeed Ajmal, he said, “We knew Ajmal was going to bowl at the death. We took our chances and they paid off.”