NEW DELHI: Captain Shahid Afridi saved Pakistan from following England into the World Cup dunces corner with a nerveless display of leg-spin to shatter Canada's hopes of a famous triumph Thursday. Just a day after Ireland had clinched a record-breaking win over England, Canada was dreaming of a similar sensational upset when it bowled out the 1992 champion for a paltry 184 in Colombo. But Canada, which had already suffered a 210-run loss to Sri Lanka and a 175-run defeat to Zimbabwe, was undone by Afridi's one-man show. The 31-year-old skipper claimed 5-23 to help dismiss Canada for 138 and seal a 46-run victory which put Pakistan back on top of Group A and with one foot in the quarterfinals with a third win in three matches. Canada had been well placed at 104-3 before Afridi sent back Rizwan Cheema, Jimmy Hansra, Harvir Baidwan and Tyson Gordon in rapid succession. The Pakistan captain took his tournament tally to 14 wickets, becoming the first player to claim three successive four-wicket hauls in World Cup history. For good measure, he then ran out Balaji Rao to leave Canada on 134-9 before Wahab Riaz finished things off by destroying Henry Osinde's stumps. Umar Akmal had top-scored for Pakistan with 48. Afridi said his team's woeful batting performance was a wake-up call. “I think sometimes we need some partnerships and that's what we were missing. Partnerships are very important,” said the captain. “We're not going to repeat this batting performance. But I think the bowlers are doing very well and we are very confident.” Three times he earned leg before wicket referrals from TV umpire Tony Hill after onfield Australian umpire Daryl Harper turned down appeals. “I think DRS (Decision Review System) is good,” Afridi said. “One decision can change the match and I think it should be raised to four from two.” At present batting and fielding sides are allowed two unsuccessful TV referrals. “Two are proving less and in bigger matches (four) would be beneficial,” Afridi said. Canada captain Ashish Bagai admitted that his team is being outclassed after Thursday's 138 followed earlier totals of 122 and 123 in the tournament. “It's a very, very disappointing loss for us. I think we did a great job with the ball, losing one of our better bowlers (Khurram Chohan pulled up with a hamstring injury). The sixth bowler stepped up and again the fielding was a great job.” But he said: “Our batting worries continue. We had a really good chance of putting up a good performance and we disappointed ourselves.” And he added that although his team had shown battling qualities, they needed to translate that into victories. “Fighting is one thing but getting over the line is obviously taking it to another level. We had a good chance today to show everybody what we've put in over the last few years and we fell short. “Our batting has been a bit of a worry for us over the last two weeks. I might get in some new faces over the next three games, try to give them a go and rectify it that way.” Batsman Younis Khan praised Afridi for his performance. “Shahid has bowled fantastically, and the rest of the guys as well,” he said. “In the last three games he took wickets regularly and when we need him he's taken wickets so I think he's fantastic at the moment,” he added. On Friday, New Zealand and Zimbabwe meets in Group A in Ahmedabad while Bangladesh welcomes West Indies to Dhaka for the first time in nine years in Group B.
