Pak vying to win ODI series against NZ to ‘gain confidence’ ahead of World Cup: Afridi
By ANITuesday, January 18, 2011
KARACHI - Pakistan will try to win “maximum matches” in the six-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 22 in Wellington, to gain confidence ahead of next month’s World Cup, limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi has said.
“The series is very important because it’s the last before the World Cup,” The Express Tribune quoted Afridi, as saying.
“We will try to win maximum matches to gain the confidence ahead of the important event,” he added.
The experienced all-rounder, however, expected a stiff battle from the Black Caps, and said the entire team would have to perform in order to achieve the desired result.
“New Zealand is a very good limited-overs side especially at home. All the players will have to play a part as victory would only come through collective effort,” he maintained.
Out-of-form Afridi admitted that his individual performance would play a key role in guiding his team to victory. “Performance of a captain counts a lot in the team’s overall performance and I am looking forward to contributing as a team member as well.”
Pakistan lost the Twenty20 series 2-1 at the start of the New Zealand tour, but Afridi was unperturbed and looked at the positives that came out in the series.
“We were not impressive but I’m looking at the positives. We won the third match comprehensively which lifted our morale,” he pointed out.
The skipper also said the outcome of the ongoing Test series would play a major role in the ODIs as well.
“Our victory in the last T20 lifted the morale which can be seen in Tests. Similarly, the result of the Test series will reflect in the ODI series,” said Afridi. (ANI)
