"It's really unfortunate that we failed to put up a good show in the tournament. But it was such a good opportunity to perform amidst the friendly crowd and warm atmosphere here," Afridi told newspersons after Pakistan A's four-wicket loss against India 'A' at the Eden Gardens.
Contemplating the unceremonious exit of his side, the skipper said, "from the very first match to the last one, we never bowled or batted well. You can't expect to win a tournament with such all-round poor performance".
The 23-year-old all-rounder, who had a very ordinary tournament except an aggressive 63 he scored in the first match against Sri Lanka, was equally dismayed over his own form. "My performance was very poor. I had come with a plan to do well to get a recall to the national side but couldn't perform".
He, however, ruled out the possibility of the burden of captaincy affecting his own performance.
India 'A' skipper Hemang Badani, satisfied with the performance of his boys, said the collapse in the batting line up was perhaps due to complacency. "But it is not something to worry about".
Asked about the condition of Mohammed Kaif, who suffered a left thumb injury on December 26, he said the batsman was not likely to be fit for the final against Lanka on December 30. "But we have to wait and see," he said.
Commenting about the last league encounter against Pakistan 'A', Badani said the moisture in the air helped the bowlers much in the rain-truncated 25-over match.
Indian opener Dinesh Mongia, who scored an unbeaten 48 in the match, was adjudged the man of the match. He admitted that the conditions were a bit difficult for the batsmen in the low-scoring tie.
Afridi, however, defended his decision to bat first after winning the toss. "I think the decision was right. We wanted to play positive cricket".
Asked to rate the two finalists, the Pak 'A' skipper said India had played better cricket throughout the tournament and had the best batting strength among the three sides.
Echoing the captain, Pakistan team manager A H Zaidi said the Pakistani contingent was moved by the cooperation and warmth of people here.
