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PAKISTAN WIN WORLD CUP 2009!!

Games Points Rank​


Pakistan 22 5086 233

South Africa 23 4904 232

Sri Lanka 20 4134 229

Australia 22 4780 206

India 17 2614 202

England 20 4067 195

West Indies 16 3119 192

New Zealand 26 4900 182

Bangladesh 12 2078 148

Zimbabwe 6 1106 138

Ireland 4 659 82

Canada 4 590 74

Kenya 4 421 53

Netherlands 2 350 44

Scotland 3 310 39​
 

EDITORIAL (June 23 2009): Cricket is a game of golden uncertainties. We had won the semi-final against power-packed South Africa; a great victory it was, but the Sri Lanka had some giants amongst them. Think of Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Dilshan, Malinga and you were asking the lamb to take on the wolf. Rightly then "we were the underdogs, and had less pressure".

But Younus Khan wanted this cup; not only for himself but also for the people of Pakistan. For too long nothing had happened to cheer them up. If the one-man rule had wounded the soul of the nation the popular rule that followed was no less punishing. Full-fledged war in the north-west, hundreds of thousands of IDPs, suicide-bombings, drone-attacks, barricades and check posts everywhere - that is what defines our times. "In such hard times, back home we needed a win like this.

It is our gift to the nation," Younus Khan told reporters. Of course it was teamwork but what stands out were Shahid Afridi's sparkling hits. This Twenty20 Cup victory has lifted the nation's spirits. Not surprisingly, Afridi had yet to complete his last run between the wickets that people poured out onto the streets, singing and dancing. Greatly enthralled by the historic win they were seen shooting in the air. They toasted sweets and lit up the night sky with fireworks. A victory had come to the victory-starved nation after some 17 years; it was in 1992 that Pakistan won the World Cup when Imran Khan captained the team.

And yet another twist of fate: this was a win over the Sri Lankans who were here in March but could not play. They were waylaid by a bunch of terrorists as they were travelling to the Qadhafi Stadium. It was a bloody encounter that cost lives of six policemen and a driver. The Sri Lankan players escaped any serious injury, but the incident led to consign Pakistani cricket to international quarantine. At Lord's it was indeed a gruelling duel but they had the love and respect for each other bubbling deep in their hearts.

A huge sun-drenched crowd, amiable environs, and a protest-free match; everything was there that defines the gentlemen's game called cricket. But surely it was the players' victory. The cricket management in Pakistan over the years, particularly during the Musharraf era, has been a nasty affair to say the least. Then it has been badly hit by scandals of all kinds, including match fixing and drug-peddling. But what really broke the camel's back is the security risk perceived to be abounding in the wake of Pakistan's alliance in the international war on terror.

For quite some time after the birth of Pakistan our country was largely an unrecognised entity in the outside world. But it was cricket that brought us identification and recognition. Fazal Mahmud's 'Oval' was perhaps the first time that brought Pakistan on the world map. Then came big names like Hanif Muhammad, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunus. Almost simultaneously, Pakistani squash players came on the scene and scored unprecedented victories. The Olympic Gold Medal in Rome by the Pakistani hockey team was no less stunning.

Those were the days when sports were king. Pakistan's sportsmen have written a brilliant chapter of the country's history with their hands and feet. But then came a long spell when sports received a step-motherly treatment due to a lack of required state patronage. Moreover, the functioning of top sports bodies in particular was burdened with the over-lordship of cronies during this long spell of drought. Now that we know how the victory at Lord's has lifted the nation's morale and brightened many a face across the otherwise fractured national landscape, there is the need to build on this by encouraging and patronising the sports.

Not only in cricket, hockey and squash Pakistan has the required talent to excel in other sports like football, volleyball and tennis. And as we focus on this, the contribution that the other 50 percent of population, women, can make to national sports and athletics should receive equal attention. They too have the desired talent and potential to shine in the world of sports. To bring joy and happiness to a tension-ridden Pakistani nation, sports is the most cost-effective. Let the government reconsider its priorities.
 
BOOM BOOM AFRIDI

NO player of such calibre any other countries have at any time. It would take centuries for world to see player like him again.

A Tirubute to Shahid Afridi -- my fav. player & fav. song

@0:47 - 1:11 -- Longest SIX in histroy of cricket. Analysts termed it Tweleve not six. Estimated over 150 meters

@3:32 - 3:50 -- shot for six hits the indoor roof. No body have thought that any player would able to hit so high.




Thank you Afridi for bringing so much joy.
 
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im happy to see that GoP is treatin them well. which is gud. they deserve all this for bringing smiles back to our faces.
 
Video: President's Reception to Heroes and giving away prizes.


 
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Only Bhuttos/Zardaris portraits in the background and not a single portrait of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah???

:angry:

For God sake, what he is up to? My blood is boiling after noticing that. Why not he rename presidnet house to "Bhutto/BiBi house"?

:angry:
 
Pakistan Road To Glory -- CricInfo

A nice summarizing video on how Pakistan progressed to crown T20.

 
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Afridi's Home: His Brother Firing Gun Shots

Wow, his brother need no training to join Pak Army, after all he is pathan too :flame:

 
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No more excuses Mr Afridi



Just when I thought it was safe to assume that Shahid Afridi’s career as a genuine all-rounder was well and truly extinguished, he finds a maturity in his game that I was convinced he did not possess. Perhaps now, nigh on ten years after his stunning entry into the international game in Nairobi, we might yet see the sort of cricketer his talent always promised. If his last two Twenty20 innings is any indication of the new Afridi, strap yourselves in. This could be a wild ride!

The great irony of the Twenty20 triumph is that it now offers Afridi no more excuses for wasting his batting talents. For too long, he has taken refuge under the convenient umbrella of being classified, perhaps wrongly, of being a one-dimensional slogger. It has been an excuse that he has probably been only too happy to use because it afforded him immunity from those who tried to convince him that he was selling himself short by trying to slog every ball out of the ground. No more excuses Mr Afridi. We all know now that you’ve got the class, the patience and the shot selection to play much more meaningful innings than the brief cameos that you’ve become all-too-famous for.

His bowling has improved out of sight but that’s always been a steady part of his game. He rarely bowls that astonishingly quicker delivery that is through the batsman before he is on his downswing but is more consistent even without that variety. I remember Greg Blewett being completely dumbfounded by his Exocet missile in an ODI in Australia early in Afridi’s career but I can’t remember his googly being anywhere near as effective as in the last few months. In tandem with Ajmal, those middle overs now belong to Pakistan again, something they’ve missed since Saqlain Mushtaq finished up.

It’s Afridi’s batting though that interests me. What the Twenty20 championship has proved to everybody, perhaps even to Afridi himself, is that he is doing himself a massive disservice if he continues to swing like a barn door at every ball he faces. He showed us that he has delicate touch shots like the sweep and the punch down to long-on to take the single that’s on offer when the ball is not in the slot. His power has never been questioned so the boundary shots are always threatening but now that he has discovered the art of subtlety, he’s virtually impossible to bowl to. If only someone could convince him that the longer he’s at the crease, the more runs he’ll score. It’s hardly rocket science but it doesn’t seem to have registered with Afridi. Yet.

Pakistan need to do him a favour though and allow him to bat in the top order when the fielding restrictions are still in. It allows him to get away with the odd mis-hit and also allows him to score quickly with fewer risks, thereby calming the beast within. Once he’s over that initial 20 ball period, he tends to settle in and bat with a bit more commonsense (by his standards anyway!). It’s just a matter of giving him every chance to survive those early moments when his brain is running faster than the game situation dictates. Let’s face it – a fielder on the boundary has never stopped Afridi from taking him on anyway so why not send him in early when there are less fielders in the outfield.

Admittedly, he sometimes struggles against the moving ball and the shorter one directed at his ribs but then again, who doesn’t? Now that he has found a new lease of life, perhaps he will eschew that ridiculous pull/hook/hoick off the front foot and deal with the short one by backing away and slashing over point. That forces them to pitch it up and we all know what’s going to happen next.

It’s easy to forget how young Afridi still is. It feels like he’s been around forever, thrilling and disappointing us in unequal measure. It’s time now for the Grown-up Shahid Afridi to take us on the ride that he’s been promising for so long. Consistency and Fireworks are not necessarily mutually exclusive bedfellows. He’s proved that in two brilliant knocks when it mattered most in the Twenty20 Championship. Wild Child meets Self Belief – what an explosive combination. This kid could be anything.

No more excuses Mr Afridi

It’s easy to forget how young Afridi still is. It feels like he’s been around forever, thrilling and disappointing us in unequal measure. It’s time now for the Grown-up Shahid Afridi to take us on the ride that he’s been promising for so long.
 
In the geo program where the guy with funny voice interviews ppl(i forget names sometimes), we have seen afridi in action with the M4 Carbine.
 
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