Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz has said that he could not sleep for three days before their ICC World Cup 2011 semi-final against archrivals India in order to devise a plan to counter the mighty batting line-up of the Men in Blue.
The left-arm pacer put up a remarkable bowling performance as he gave his career-best figures of 5 wickets for 46 runs in the match.
“I was planning how and where to bowl to each particular batsman. The planning and the confidence shown in me by the team-management was the key to my success in the all-important game,” said Wahab.
In a losing cause, he dismissed Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Zaheer Khan restricting India to 260.
Wahab, who became the star of Pakistan team in the semi-final, was included in the ICC World Cup 2011 squad in place of pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who were banned by the International Cricket Council just before the start of the quadrennial event for their involvement in spot-fixing.
Wahab said that defeat against the archrivals was a big disappointment but no one ever imagined that Pakistan will reach the semi-final. While talking about the flaws of their team’s performance against India, he said that his side could not get many partnerships going which were crucial in their run chase.
However, Wahab lauded the unity shown by his team in the tournament which he thought was the main reason they finished in the top four.
In the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, Wahab was included in the playing eleven after Pakistan’s 110-run loss to New Zealand in which Shoaib Akhtar took a bashing from Ross Taylor.
Wahab’s inclusion in the semi-final again became doubtful as many of the former cricketers favoured Akhtar to play against India. Former Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram also stressed on including Akhtar in the clash against archrivals saying that he always performed well against them. Legendry cricketers Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Moin Akhtar and Rashid Latif also voiced similar sentiments.
On the other hand, skipper Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis were not willing to include Akhtar. They thought that the pacer did not show any interest in playing cricket after announcing his retirement during the World Cup.
Riaz giving his views on the role played by the Indian media said that they did not pay any heed to their reports which eventually put pressure on the opponents. He added that they had confidence in their abilities and proved themselves at various occasions. He stressed that it was now time to look up to the future.
“I think we should now look ahead to the future, rather than keep focusing on the defeat. Constantly lamenting the loss will be detrimental for us. We should now start working for the future success of the team,” said Riaz.
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