Afridi said he struggled with the bat in the past because he was not giving proper respect to bowlers.

“I thought I could take on any bowler and I showed no respect to them. That is why I was struggling to get runs,” he said in an interview to a private television channel.

Afridi said during the World Cup he spoke to his captain and coach, who advised him to take his batting seriously.

“I decided then that I needed to show respect to the bowlers and be patient at the crease. I realised that you can’t attack the bowlers all the time and you need to take your time to settle down,” he said.

Afridi played stellar roles in the semi-final and final against South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively, guiding his team to the T20 World Cup win.

Afridi scored half centuries in the knockout matches and also took crucial wickets after being promoted higher in the order.

Afridi made it clear that he was now according equal importance to his batting and bowling since he realised that he had a responsibility to his team and his fans who prayed for his success all the time.

“It is a big honour to play for the national team and to do well in the World Cup has been one of the most satisfying moments of my life,” Afridi said.

The all rounder said having been a member of the Pakistan team that lost in the 1999 World Cup at Lords and also the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa, he was determined to win the final this time.

“I was young in 1999 and extremely disappointed when we lost the final. It was harder losing the T20 final to India. So to win this one easily been one of the most satisfying moments of my life,” Afridi said.

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.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (64 not out) played a captain’s knock and added 68 invaluable runs with Angelo Mathews (35 not out) to put on board a competitive 138 for six wickets after his decision to bat first on Lord’s lively track had boomeranged.

Sangakkara’s knock came after comeback Pakistani pacer Abdul Razzaq (3/20) had mowed the Lankan top order, leaving them reeling at 26 for four inside four overs and then gasping for breath at 70 for six inside 13 overs.

With Akmal on song, Pakistan got just the right start they needed with the opening stand yielding 48 runs in seven overs.

Akmal threw his bat at everything hurled at him and twice his slog-sweeps landed in the stands before Sanath Jayasuriya removed him with his first delivery.

Other opener Shazaib Hasan (19) too joined him in the hut shortly but Afridi and Shoaib Malik (24 not out) kept up the good work to complete the formalities. Afridi’s 40-ball blitzkrieg was studded with two sixes and as many fours.

Earlier, Sangakkara waged a grim battle to help Sri Lanka survive a spectacular top order collapse and post a modest 138 for six.

Sangakkara felt the team would be better off defending a total but was left to rue the decision as Razzaq, plying his trade in the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League (ICL) till the other day, scythed through the top order to leave the Lankans gasping for breath at 32 for four inside six overs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the leading scorer of the tournament, played an awkward scoop off Mohammad Aamer in the first over to return with a duck against his name and was soon joined by scoreless teammate Jehan Mubarak, who miscued Abdul Razzaq to give Shazaib Hasan his second catch of the match.

A lot was expected of Sanath Jayasuriya (17) but all the Lankan old war horse managed was a six and four off Razzaq’s successive deliveries before bottom-edging the fifth ball onto his stumps, leaving his team reeling at 26 for three inside four overs.

That their nightmare was not over yet was evident when Mahela Jayawardene (1) actually guided a Razzaq delivery to Misbah-ul Haq in the lone slip to leave the Lankans in dire strait.

Sangakkara hit Aamer for back-to-back fours and then meted out the same treatment to Shahid Afridi to prove there was no demon in the pitch but another setback was just round the corner.

Chamara Silva (14) had added 35 runs with his skipper before a fluffed pull off Umar Gul brought his peril, leaving the Lankas sans their top half with the score reading a mere 67.

Down the order, Sangakkara found an able ally in Mathews and they forged a resuscitating stand to push the score near the 140-mark.

Scorecards:

Sri Lanka:

Extras (LB-3, WD-2, NB-1)                        6
Total (for 6 wickets in 20 overs)              138

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-26, 4-32, 5-67, 6-70.

Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 4-1-30-1, Abdul Razzaq 3-0-20-3, Shahid Afridi 4-0-20-1, Saeed Ajmal 4-0-28-0, Shoaib Malik 1-0-8-0, Umar Gul 4-0-29-1.

Pakistan:

Extras (LB-2, W-2, NB-1)                     5
Total (For 2 wickets in 18.4 overs)        139

Fall of wickets: 1-48 2-63

Bowling: Mathews 2-0-17-0; Udana 4-0-44-0; Malinga 3.4-0-14-0; Muralitharan 3-0-20-1; Mendis 4-0-34-0; Jayasuriya 2-0-8-1.

England, who lifted the 50-over World Cup in March this year, defeated the Kiwis by six wickets at Lord’s today after Katherine Brunt set up the win with a stunning three-wicket haul which restricted the visitors to a mere 85.

England skipper Edwards was all smiles to lay hands on the winners trophy.

“To win a World Cup at home is very special. Katherine bowled brilliantly. It was a good toss to win. We got our best performance on the field and it came in final,” Edwards said at the post-match ceremony.

Edwards also praised New Zealand for their consistent show in the tournament. The Kiwis were also undefeated before coming to the final. “They are a good team. They were also unbeaten and we were lucky to beat them,” she said.

England batswoman Claire Taylor was adjudged Player of the Tournament for her brilliant batting throughout the tournament. She scored 199 runs in five matches, including a scintillating 76-run knock against Australia in the semi-final. Today also she steered the hosts to win with an unbeaten 39.

“It has been an amazing few months for England. It was a good chase and great to play at Lord’s. (The win) is just brilliant. No words,” she said.

New Zealand skipper Aimee Watkins rued the batting collapse for the defeat.

“It was a disappointing performance today. We underestimated the pitch. A score of 120 might have been a fighting total. Our bowlers did well, created chances but we did not have enough runs on the board,” she said.

Player of the match Brunt was delighted with her bowling.

“It was a good bowling effort. I managed to get some swing. It was not a high score (to chase). We bowled well and it was an amazing crowd. It’s great to win at home,” she said.

England, who had won the ODI World Cup in Australia in March, produced a clinical bowling and batting performance against the Kiwis at the historic Lord’s here to hold world titles of the two shorter formats of the game.

The home team first skittled New Zealand out for a paltry 85, thanks mainly to right-arm fast bowler Katherine Brunt’s three for six from four overs, and then chased down the target in 17 overs, reaching 86 for four.

England’s in-form batter Claire Taylor top-scored with a 32-ball unbeaten 39 while wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor chipped in with 23.

For New Zealand, Sophie Devine, Sian Ruck, Kate Pulford and Nicola Browne took a wicket apiece.

England, who were always in control of the match, made a decent start before opener and captain Charlotte Edwards fell for nine in the fourth over at team score of 19.Eadwards was looking in great touch hitting two fours off Sian Ruck though the

New Zealand left-arm seamer had the last laugh uprooting the England captain’s stumps with an inswinger. The other opener Sarah Taylor was not bothered by her captain’s dismissal and hit a couple of fours off Kate Pulford in the seventh over to steady the England innings.Taylor though fell to Pulford nicking to Rachel Priest two overs later for a 33-ball 23 which included three fours.

The asking rate rose to 4.5 after the 10th over but with eight wickets in hand and Claire Taylor at the crease England were in a comfortable position. Taylor opened up after the halfway mark and hit a flurry of boundaries to ease the pressure.She shared a 31-run stand for the third wicket from 33 balls with Beth Morgan (6) and took England to victory in style with a four off Browne.

Earlier, Katherine Brunt produced a devastating spell of fast bowling to rip through the top order as New Zealand were bundled out for a paltry 85.Brunt ran through the New Zealand top order in her four-over spell, including the prize scalp of White Ferns captain and tournament leading run scorer Aimee Watkins (2).

In a match which is the repeat of the ODI World Cup final in Australia in March which England won, four of the New Zealand top batters were back in the dug out by the eighth over for just 23.Nicki Shaw and Jenny Gunn contributed two wickets apiece for England while Amy Satterthwaite top-scored for New Zealand with a 42-ball 19.

New Zealand never recovered from the early jolts and were precariously placed at 30 for four at the halfway mark.Put in to bat, New Zealand had the worst start possible with their star opening batswoman Suzie Bats out in the first over for just one to Laura Marsh at team score of two.Three overs later, Watkins’ stumps went cartwheeling after being beaten by a Brunt inswinger, and with it New Zealand were in trouble with their two best batswomen back to the dug out for just 18 runs on the board.

Runs came in trickle with just two fours in the first six overs as New Zealand batswomen grafted for runs before Lucy Doolan became Brunt’s second wicket caught behind stumps by Sarah Taylor in the eighth over for a 19-ball 14.Three balls later, RH Priest fell caught and bowled by Brunt for a duck while attempting a hook shot.Shaw added to the New Zealand misery as she removed all-rounder Nicola Browne for just one in the 11th over, and at 31 for five New Zealand were staring down the barrel.

Sara McGlashan (9) and Sarah Tsukigawa (5) were out while trying to accelerate the run rate in the 15th and 17th overs respectively, both to Jenny Gunn.Amy Satterthwaite tried to push the New Zealand innings but fell for a defiant innings of 42-ball 19.Kate Pulford gave some fireworks towards the close with three fours before falling to Charlotte Edwards for a 10-ball 14. Sophie Devine was run out for 10 in the last ball of the innings to end an insipid New Zealand batting display.

Scoreboard of the Women Twenty20 World Cup final between England and New Zealand played at the Lord’s here today.

New Zealand:

Extras: (B-1, LB-4, W-4, NB-1)         10

Total: (all out in 20 overs)           85

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-10, 3-23, 4-23, 5-31, 6-48, 7-58, 8-62, 9-84, 10-85.

Bowling: L Marsh 4-0-16-1, K Brunt 4-1-6-3, N Shaw 4-0-17-2, H Colvin 4-0-16-0,
J Gunn 3-0-19-2, C Edwards 1-0-6-1.

England:

Extras: (LB-1, W-3)                      4

Total: (for 4 wkts in 17 overs)         86

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-39, 3-70, 4-74.

Bowling: S Devine 3-0-12-1, S Ruck 4-0-17-1, K Pulford 4-0-20-1, S Bates 2-0-8-0, N Browne 3-0-18-1,
L Doolan 1-0-10-0.

Pakistan, who lost the Cup by a whisker to India in the inaugural edition in South Africa, have played little international cricket since then because of political turmoil back home and would be eager to win the honour in a bid to bring the sport back on track in their country. But captain Younis Khan is aware that the job at hand is not at all an easy one as primarily his team has not been a consistent side in the tournament so far and secondly Sri Lanka go into the final with a clean slate.

The ease with which Kumara Sangakkara’s men thrashed the West Indies in yesterday’s semi-final at the Oval should also be a matter of concern for Younis Khan.

Pakistan have called up ex-ICL player Abdul Razzaq as a replacement for an injured Yasir Arafat and his presence, strengthens the side as the all rounder is a hard-hitting batsman and a bowler with decent pace.

Return of another all rounder Shahid Afridi to form just at the right time with a 34-ball 51 in their semifinal against South Africa is also a good news for Pakistan, who would not want to be on the losing side for third time in a World Cup.

Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 off 57 balls to help Sri Lanka survive a mid-innings collapse and post 158 for five, a score that proved beyond West Indies.

“I’m running out of superlatives,” Sri Lanka captain Sangakkara gushed.

“He is a pioneer stroke-maker in this Twenty20 World Cup. The best thing for us has been that over the last one and half years, he has come to understand his role in the side and has become more responsible and mature. Finally, he has come to understand how good he is,” Sangakkara said.

His West Indian counterpart Gayle too had no qualms in admitting that Dilshan’s knock took the game away.

“We did not bowl badly but Dilshan took the game away with that magnificent innings. He was the only Sri Lankan among the runs. In this format, one man can change the match and he did it today,” Gayle said.

Dilshan, on his part, said the idea was to stay till the end.

“Once I got the start, I wanted to keep going until the end. I’m in good form over the last six months, I want to keep it going,” said the batsman who was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match award.

Sangakkara meanwhile heaped praise on Angelo Mathews also after the medium pacer took three wickets in his sensational first over.

“The ball was not coming on to the bat and it did not look a typical Oval wicket. But it proved the perfect pitch for us as we put up a good total and then turned the screws on.”

“Angelo’s three strikes in the first over made it difficult for them. This was his first major tour with the team and what a performance!. You just cannot ask for more,” Sangakkara said.

“To get three in the first over is a great start,” he added.

Sangakkara said all he wanted was to deny West India a flying start and keep them on a leash in the Powerplay.

“I knew if we get first 6 overs pretty well, we have (Ajantha) Mendis and (Muttiah) Muralitharan to bank on,” he said. Sangakkara also took the opportunity to remind his teammates that their job in the tournament is not over yet.

“Hopefully we can do one more step in the tournament. For the final against Pakistan, we can take a lot of self-belief and confidence from this game.”

“The idea would be to concentrate on the role we have and the basics. This philosophy has taken us this far and we need to be responsible on Sunday too and execute our plans,” he added.

Match Referee Alan Hurst found that Kumar Sangakkara’s was one over short of its target at the end of the West Indies innings when time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties, players are fined five per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.

As such, Sangakkara was fined 10 per cent of his match fee while his players received five-per-cent fines.

The offence is contrary to Section J of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to slow over-rates. For such offences, the decision of the ICC match referee is final and binding.

Chasing a stiff target of 164 to win, the hosts rode on Taylor’s 53-ball unbeaten knock and her match-winning 122-run partnership with Beth Morgan (46) to romp home with three balls to spare.

It was a remarkable come-from-behind victory for England who looked down the barrel at one stage but Taylor and Morgan unleashed a flurry of strokes in the later half of the innings to leave the Aussies in a daze.

England will now take on New Zealand in the final at the historic Lord’s on Sunday.

Earlier put into bat, Australia rode on some useful contribution from Leah Poulton (39 off 31), Shelley Nitschke (37 off 25) and Karen Rolton (38 off 32) to post a competitive 163 for five in stipulated 20 overs.

England suffered a jolt losing both its openers Sarah Taylor (6) and Charlotte Edwards (25) before reaching 50 for two in the ninth over. Taylor and Morgan, however, steadied the ship and staged a brilliant recovery and brought up the hundred in the 14th over.

Taylor’s innings was a mixture of control and aggression as the right-handed Englishwoman picked up ones and twos initially before exploding in the last overs.

Earlier, England’s decision backfired as Australia pilled up 49 runs in the first six overs. Openers Poulton and Nitschke made the best use of the fielding restriction and sent the bowlers for a leather hunt right from the start.Poulton started the proceeding for England, whacking Brunt in her first over for a four and followed it up with another hat-trick of boundaries in her next over.

Nitschke, who was dropped by Atkins at a score of three runs, also followed in the footstep of her partner and picked up a boundary off Nicki Shaw in the fifth over and followed it up with a couple more in the next over.

England’s bowling looked pedestrian as they struggled to stop the rampaging Aussies openers, before Holy Colvin got rid off Nitschke to draw the first blood.

Laura Marsh too joined the party and rocked the timbers of a dangerous looking Poulton in the first ball of the next over to reduce Australia to 78 for two in 9.1 overs.

Left-handed batswoman Karen Rolton, however, continued the rampage and brought up the hundred with a four in the 13.1 over.

Rolton stitched a 46-ball 50-run stand with Lisa Sthalekar (28 off 21), before being holed out at deep midwicket by Brunt in the 17th over off Shaw.

Sthalekar then pushed the tally beyond the 150 mark before perishing in the 19th over. Looking for a big hit, her furniture was rocked by Brunt.

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.Xavier Marshall’s tentative bottom edge brought his peril, Lendl Simmons lost his leg stump after the ball had clipped his thigh pad and Dwayne Bravo became the third scoreless batsman, caught in two minds whether to play or leave before dragging it onto his stumps. The long and the short of it was that West Indies had to pay with three top order wickets for their first run.

Gayle realised the futility of pottering around and came down hard on Lasith Malinga, hitting him for two fours before treating Mathews the same way.

In between, Isuru Udana was tonked over long on ropes but for the West Indies, the writing was clear on the wall when Ajantha Mendis trapped Shivnarine Chanderpaul (7) and his spin mentor Muttiah Muralitharan (3/29) removed Ramnaresh Sarwan (5) and Kieron Pollard (3).

Earlier, run-machine Dilshan prolonged his purple patch with a sublime unbeaten 96 as Sri Lanka overcame a mid-innings collapse to post 158 for five.Dilshan’s unbeaten 57-ball knock, bejewelled with two sixes and 12 fours, was the cornerstone of the Lankan innings as the right-hander went on to eclipse Jacques Kallis as the leading scorer in the tournament. Dilshan’s knock was not only the highest individual score of the tournament but also the highest by a Lankan in a Twenty20 International.

Incidentally with the ball not exactly coming to the bat as they would have liked, Sri Lanka had a rather quiet start after West Indies captain Chris Gayle put them in.

Sanath Jayasuriya (24) struggled to time the ball and Dilshan, clearly the more fluent of the duo, did not get enough strike.Jayasuriya hit Darren Sammy and Suleiman Benn for boundaries but still could not find the meat of the bat and even changing the willow did not help.  Dilshan, however, looked in silken touch and could not be stymied. He tickled a Jerome Taylor delivery over the wicket-keeper for a four and paddled the next one, a low full toss, for a stunning six to break free.

Dwayne Bravo did not go unscathed either as Dilshan hit him for three fours in the same over.He edged Chris Gayle for a four and followed it up with a more convincing shot, a slog-sweep to send the ball into the stands behind the mid-wicket region.

Sri Lanka had cruised to 73 runs in 10-odd overs without a setback when Bravo triggered a batting collapse that left the Lankans reeling at 77 for three.Jayasuriya hit Bravo’s third ball of the over straight to Taylor and two balls later, Kieron Pollard took a blinder to return the scoreless Kumar Sangakkara. Pollard then returned to remove Mahela Jayawardene (2) and suddenly Sri Lanka found themselves staring at abyss. Not that it had much of an effect on Dilshan who hit Bravo for three fours on the trot.

Chamara Silva (11) and Jehan Mubarak (7) could not shine but Angelo Matthews (12 not out off 4 balls) made his presence count as the Lankans crossed the 150-mark quite comfortably.

Scoreboard of the second semifinal of the Twenty20 World Cup between Sri Lanka and the West Indies at The Oval here on Friday.

Sri Lanka:

Extras (LB-3, W-3)                     6

Total (for 5 wkts in 20 overs)       158

Fall of wickets: 1-73, 2-73, 3-77, 4-127, 5-134.

Bowling: Sammy 4-0-19-0; Taylor 4-0-31-1; Bravo 3-0-32-2; Benn 4-0-24-1; Gayle 3-0-35-0;
Pollard 2-0-14-1.

West Indies:

Extras (B-1, LB-2, W-7, NB-1)          11

Total (All out in 17.4 overs)         101

Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-1 3-1 4-43 5-64 6-75 7-86 8-95 9-97.

Bowling: Mathews 4-0-16-3; Udana 3-0-20-1; Malinga 2.4-0-24-1; Mendis 4-0-9-2;
Muralitharan 4-0-29-3.