Lahore, Apr 1: Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is still perplexed over why the Decision Review System (DRS) overturned on-field umpire Ian Gould's lbw ruling against Sachin Tendulkar during the World Cup semi-final against India in Mohali.
Tendulkar, who scored a valuable innings of 85, was dropped four times besides surviving a close leg before call off the bowling of Ajmal, who is convinced that he had the master batsman trapped.
"I don't know how the television replays showed my delivery turning towards the leg side because I had bowled an arm ball and it went straight. I was 110 per cent confident when the referral was made that the batsman was out," Ajmal said.
The DRS has been regularly used in the World Cup, with some of the decisions raising questions over the accuracy of the technology, used to track the movement, spin or height of the ball.
Ajmal said he was pleased with his bowling performance in the semi-final but would have loved to see a Pakistan victory.
"All of us were very disappointed at losing the match because their was so much interest and hype attached to it. But in cricket one team has to lose and one has to win," he noted.
Pakistan's young pacer, Wahab Riaz, who took a five-for, said the semi-final was one of his most memorable matches and he would forever treasure his five-wicket haul.
"The wickets of Sehwag and Yuvraj were most memorable for me as they are very dangerous players of pace and spin," Riaz said.
"To get a chance to bow down to Allah on Indian soil was a big moment for me," he added.
Opener Mohammad Hafeez urged the fans to keep faith in the team.
"This team has a lot of capability and will get better results in the future," he said.
For team manager Intikhab Alam, the most satisfying aspect was the way the team had gelled and played as a unit throughout the tournament.
"My main task was to unite the team and make it perform collectively and I think we achieved that to a great extent and that is satisfying for me," he said.
Senior players Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and the retired Shoaib Akhtar avoided the media on their return to the country. PTI
