Carrying the tag of T20 world champions means automatic pressure

The Twenty20 world champions tag has put a lot of pressure on the Pakistan cricket team ahead of next month's Champions Trophy in South Africa, vice-captain Shahid Afridi has said.

"Carrying the tag of T20 World Cup champions into the Champions Trophy means there automatically going to be a lot of expectations from us to do well," Afridi said.

"The way we won the T20 World Cup means we have the ability to win the Champions trophy but the only thing is we have to develop a mindset to handle the pressure as well," he added.
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Yuvraj Singh is a massive danger: Butler

India, along with hosts South Africa and Australia, are the strongest contenders for next month's Champions Trophy with Yuvraj Singh posing a massive threat to bowlers' economy, fears New Zealand medium pacer Ian Butler.

"India plays good one-day cricket. So, I wouldn't like to put a finger on who is favourite to win the 5 October final. You've got to look after your own backyard and not worry about what other teams are doing," Butler said in an ICC newsletter.

"Yuvraj Singh is a massive danger, especially with some of the short boundaries he can get," the 27-year-old added.

Apart from Yuvraj, the right-arm pacer tipped South African pacer Dale Steyn and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal as players to watch out for.
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Shahid Afridi the hero as Pakistan triumph

An outcast in international cricket, Pakistan were crowned the World Twenty20 champions after they spanked continental rivals Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a lop-sided final here on Sunday.

Younus Khan and his men gave their terror-stricken countrymen something to cheer about as they first confined Sri Lanka to 138 for six and then went on to chase down the target in 18.4 overs to put behind the heartbreak of losing the crown to arch-rivals India in the 2007 edition of the tournament.


Chasing 139, Pakistan got off to a flying start with Kamran Akmal (37 off 28 balls) taking the Lankan attack by the scruff of its neck and then Shahid Afridi (54 not out) went ballistic as the side cruised to 139 for two.

This was a memorable win for a nation which has been shunned by the visiting teams because of the volatile security situation there, resulting in their virtual isolation in international cricket.
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T Dilshan powers Sri Lanka to final

The Sri Lankan juggernaut crushed West Indies by 57 runs in Friday's lop-sided semi-final to set up a summit clash with Pakistan in the final of the World Twenty20 at Lord's on Sunday.

Put into bat, run-machine Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a sublime unbeaten 96 to help the Lankans overcome a mid-innings collapse and post 158 for five. And when they returned to defend the total, Angelo Mathews sent down a sensational first over, claiming three crucial wickets, and West Indies could never really recover from the setbacks.

For them, Chris Gayle (63 not out off 50 balls) waged a lonely battle but none of his teammates could manage double digit score as West Indies eventually folded for 101 in 17.4 overs.

Opening the attack for Sri Lanka, Mathews emerged as the man with the golden arm with every second ball of his first over managing a deflection before crashing into the stumps.
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