Top performer: Shahid Afridi

It took Pakistan 17 years to win a major cricket title since their 1992 World Cup triumph under Imran Khan. And at the Lord's on Sunday, Shahid Afridi achieved what Mibah-ul-haq failed to do two years ago. The mercurial all-rounder almost single-handedly won his team the ICC World T20.

Afridi once again starred with both the bat and ball to earn Pakistan a glorious win after some difficult few months for the terror-hit nation.

After Sri Lanka landed themselves right from the onset in the final, Afridi was at his economical best keeping a tight leash on the scoring rate. The leg-spinner gave away just 20 runs in his four overs that included the wicket of Isuru Udana.

Chasing a modest 139, Afridi came into bat after a steady start by the Pakistan batsmen and thwarted any chances of a Sri Lankan comeback with a mature knock. The right-hander kept Pakistan on course and even the formidable trio of Ajantha Mendis, Mutttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga failed to get the better of Afridi.

As the game was closing-in on a tight finish, Afridi smashed the inexperienced Udana for a mammoth six and followed it up with a boundary to rule out a thriller. Fittingly, Afridi scored the winning run.

The 29-year old made an unbeaten 54 from 40 balls, his best in T20. Afridi had also been the protagonist in Pakistan's victory over South Africa in the semi-final.