Pakistan, West Indies clash in 1st QF today

Pakistans skipper Shahid Afridi said Tuesday that he will keep the winning combination in the quarter-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against West Indies in Dhaka today (Wednesday). The aggressive all-rounder, who is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing World Cup with 17 wickets, said that the team played really well against Australia and he would like to go with the same combination in the West Indies clash. Afridi said, We want to go with the winning combination. We will see, but I think we are happy with this winning combination. Talking about the impact of victory over Australia, the Pakistani skipper said that the victory has injected confidence in the team ahead of the knockout stage of the biggest tournament of the cricketing world. We worked hard before this World Cup. We are taking the practice sessions very seriously. I think we are feeling more confident now, its a good sign before the quarter-final, he added. Afridi looked happy with his bowlers, especially Umar Gul who has taken the responsibility in absence of Shoaib Akhtar. He said, He (Gul) was struggling a little bit with his ankle before but I think he is 100 per cent fit. He is doing a great job with the ball, especially with the new ball. Pakistan has one of the best bowling attacks in the participating teams of the World Cup despite the absence of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir. Apart from fast bowlers, Pakistans spin bowlers have also bowled emphatically, led by the captain himself with 17 wickets so far in the tournament.I am just trying to bowl wicket to wicket, Afridi said, adding The conditions are very good especially for the spinners so I am not trying any experiments. Whatever the plan I make I try to stick with it.

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