Boom, boom in dressing room

While the Lankan camp rejoiced, the Pakistan dressing room was downcast. Shahid Afridi reportedly damaged his bat and headgear. Sanjjeev K Samyal reports.

While the Lankan camp rejoiced, the Pakistan dressing room was downcast. Shahid Afridi reportedly damaged his bat and headgear.

It's been a forgettable tournament with the bat for the star Pakistan player and he had every reason to be frustrated. He registered a first-ball duck in the semifinal, and in seven games, his highest was 14.

While Afridi sulked in the dressing room, his skipper Mohd Hafeez make futile attempts to defend the allrounder in the press conference. “He is in bad form at the moment but he is a match winner.” The skipper was stumped when a Pakistani journalist asked him, “Can you define what your definition of match-winner is?”

Pak fans lose too
Whenever Pakistan have played at the Premadasa Stadium, they have enjoyed great support leading up to the semifinals. They even had the joy of seeing their fans overshadow the normally vociferous Indian supporters in the derby match. But on Thursday they, walked into an entirely transformed atmosphere against the home team.

The voices of support for the green brigade were drowned in the din created by the locals. Traffic moved at a snail’s pace as young Lankans took to the streets, shouting in support of their team.