Afridi's highlight of the World Cup was his lightining form with the ball. Against Kenya in the team's opening match he took five-wickets to lead Pakistan to a 205 run victory. Parsed wikitext: In a crunch-match against Sri Lanka he took three wickets, as Pakistan won by 11 runs. Agaisnt Canada Pakistan were bowled out for just 178, Afridi took four wickets to help Pakistan win by 43 runs as Canada were bowled out for. The following match against New Zealand turned into Pakistan's first defeat in the World Cup at the hands of New Zealand, Pakistan lost by 110 runs after being bowled out for 192. The following match against Zimbabwe sealed Pakistan's place in the quarter-finals as they won by seven-wickets, this meant that Afridi became the first Pakistani captain since 1999 to make sure that the team doesn't crash out in the first-round. Afridi's record as captain continued to improve during the World Cup he become the first skipper to beat an Australian team in a World Cup as Pakistan won by 4 wickets. The last captain to beat Australia in a World Cup was Pakistani Wasim Akram in 1999 during the Super Six stage of the tournament
Playing style
Batting
His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the seven fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them. As of 27 February 2011, he has an ODI strike rate of 113.83 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game's history. This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease.
He hits many sixes long and high, favouring straight down the ground or over midwicket and hit the longest ever six in the history of ODIs against Australia. His trademark shot is a cross-batted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump. However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 6,000 ODI runs at an average under 25.[53] Afridi has moved about the batting order, and this lack of consistency has made it difficult for him to settle. In the Indian subcontinent, where the ball quickly loses its shine, he prefers to open the batting however elsewhere he prefers to bat at number six.
Bowling
Afridi bowling his stock leg-spin delivery
Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after someone told him he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir. Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman. he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls. He has over 300 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a 'quicker one' which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer, reaching speeds of around 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph). He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.
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