Pakistan's victory against South Africa in the semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup was certainly a team effort. But let's be honest - one man stood out, and it was none other than Shahid Khan Afridi. The big fella had been excellent with the ball throughout the tournament and had shown several moments of brilliance on the field. But his power hitting with the bat had been missing for a long time.

A match-changing innings from Afridi was long overdue, and when Younus Khan sent Afridi to bat one-down, breaths were held and quiet prayers muttered, hoping that the big man would deliver. And deliver he did.

After ducking to a first-ball bouncer from Parnell, Afridi smashed the next one over mid-on for his first boundary. He then kept switching between thumping drives, quick singles and the occasional slog hits. It was almost as if a new batsman had emerged.

When Shoaib Malik was asked what he had said to Afridi during their partnership, he replied: ‘I just told him we need him there till the end.’  Afridi rarely pays any heed to advice, but when the captain and coach showed faith in him by sending him up the order, Afridi knew exactly what he needed to do. From the kiss he blew to Jacques Kallis to the ripper he bowled to Herschelle Gibbs, Afridi almost single-handedly turned the match around for Pakistan with bat and ball. As if that weren’t enough, he was running up to young Mohammad Aamer after every ball to encourage the nervous teenager, marshalling the field, and expecting the same energy from all his team-mates.

Not surprisingly, cricket forums on the web are flooded with displays of raw emotion from Pakistani cricket fans - most paying tribute to ‘Lala’ or ‘Boom Boom Afridi.’ Clips from the match are already up on YouTube and my Facebook feed is flooded with match-related status updates.

How we’d all love for Afridi to repeat last night's performance in the final. After all, his don't-second-guess-me commitment is just what the Pakistan side - and its fans all over the world - needed to get through to the final. And, as my aunt commented after the match, we need great cricket, not anti-depressants, to distract us from the turmoil our country is mired in.