Was under pressure to perform: Afridi

Veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi admitted Sunday that his match-winning 18-ball 34 against arch-rivals India in Pakistan's thrilling one-wicket win in the Asia Cup here helped him relieve some pressure.

With Pakistan needing 10 runs off the last four balls, the 34-year-old Afridi slammed Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two consecutive sixes to take the team home with two balls to spare.

"Really under pressure, didn't perform well. Hit some bad shots. Expectations were high," said Afridi, whose last half-century was in July last year.

Afridi said he was happy to perform against arch-rivals India.

"We all know how important this game was and I am glad I did it. The captain told me to take my time and I did that. Whenever we play against India it's a great occasion and I'm very happy," he said.

Asked about the discussions he had with Umar Gul in the middle during the last few overs, Afridi said: "Gul was talking a lot with me, we wanted singles as well and we needed a hit as well."

Afridi said Pakistan's goal is to retain the Asia Cup title they won in 2012 here.

"When we arrived here, our goal was to win this competition. Very important for my country and team and I want to thank Bangladeshi crowd for supporting us," he said.