"With the way we have played against Australia, I'm sure that we are ready to play against any team in the quarterfinals and beyond," The News quoted Afridi, as saying. Pakistan will take on West Indies in the first quarterfinal of the World Cup in Dhaka on March 23. "I think the conditions there (in Dhaka) are going to suit us. We have a balanced team and our morale is high after beating Australia which is why I'm confident that we will book a place in the semis," said the flamboyant allrounder.
Afridi said that Pakistan's win against World Cup title-holder and top contender Australia has boosted his team's morale and confidence.
"Beating Australia is something that we've always cherished. They are a very tough team to beat, which is evident that from their unbeaten streak in World Cup. The fact that we have beaten them certainly adds a lot to our confidence because our belief that we can beat any team and can go on to win the World Cup is getting stronger with such results," he said.
When asked whether he was surprised with the way his team has bounced back after suffering a 110-run thrashing defeat against New Zealand at Pallekele last week, the skipper replied: "I don't think that I'm surprised because I've always believed Pakistan have the strength to beat any team. What we need is to play to our potential because if we do that, good results will keep coming."
Afridi also hoped that his team's impressive win against Australia would silence critics back home. "Some experts have been rejecting us as a poor team with no chance at the World Cup. I hope that they will change their minds now," he said.
He also praised his players, saying that Pakistan managed to conquer the Aussies due to good team work.
"It's because we played as a unit that we managed to beat them," said Afridi. "I must praise my bowlers, who did a great job. Umar Gul was fabulous, Abdur Rehman bowled impressively while Mohammad Hafeez bowled ten really tight overs.
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