Pakistan captain Younus Khan today dedicated the team's Twenty20 World Cup triumph to the terror-stricken nation, calling it the defining moment of his captaincy.
"This triumph came at the right time and it's our gift to the people back in Pakistan," an emotional Younus said after his teammates beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets to lift the title.
"After Imran Khan, no Pakistan captain won a World Cup title and I'm happy to have achieved that. Whenever I end my career, I can loom back and feel good about it," he said.
Having missed much of international cricket because of volatile security scenario at home, Pakistan capped their fairytale campaign by cruising to a facile eight-wicket win.
Often considered a reluctant captain, Younus said he did not rate himself very high as a leader but insisted he never shied away from putting up a fight.
Continuing his rich form, Afridi followed up his one for 20 with an unbeaten 54-ball 20 to win the Man of the Match in the final and the all-rounder thanked his captain for reposing faith in him.
"Younus gave me a lot of confidence. I asked him to promote me up the order and let me bat at number three, to which he agreed. He told me to go out and play my natural game," Afridi said.
"I have been bowling well for the last two years but was struggling a bit with my batting and Younus' words really helped me," said the all-rounder.
Meanwhile, tonight's defeat ended Sri Lanka's brilliant campaign in the tournament in which the islanders remained invulnerable going into the summit clash.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara still was proud of his teammates.
"I believe we have the best bowling unit in the world at the moment and we have a lot of cricket ahead of us," he said.
Asked about Sri Lanka's ability to produce unorthodox cricketers almost at will, Sangakkara said, "It keeps happening that in the formative years, many slip through the cracks of formal cricket and play it their own way.
"Fortunately, we have a number of talent-spotters who identify those talents and ensure they acquire a good basic technique and blossom in their own way, flourish with the uniqueness intact," he added.
One of the Lankan innovations has been their run-machine Tillakaratne Dilshan's scoop over the wicket-keeper's head which earned the right-hander lots of runs.
Adjudged Man of the Tournament for scoring 300-plus runs in the tournament, Dilshan, however, was out for a duck today and the Sri Lankan was dejected after failing when it mattered most.
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