Mohammad Hafeez said Pakistan's first Cricket World Cup victory brought him "total relief" after a dismal run of form.
Pakistan had lost 11 consecutive completed ODIs before upsetting tournament host and favourite England in a 14-run triumph at Trent Bridge on Monday.
That run of defeats for Hafeez's side had included four in a row against England in a series sweep. Yet the 38-year-old, who made 84 in Nottingham, felt performances were never far away. "In the series with England, we thought we were close, even if the matches didn't go quite our way," he said.
"We made some crucial mistakes at crucial times but that didn't happen today. England made the mistakes and we were very consistent. It's a feeling of total relief. After the game against the West Indies [their 2019 CWC opener], we were really looking forward to this match and putting things right.
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"We know this team is very capable. We just needed to start converting some matches into wins. We had a really good meeting after the West Indies and we put right everything we discussed. I'm very proud of how we expressed ourselves."
Pakistan faces Sri Lanka next in Bristol on Friday, while England takes on Bangladesh in Cardiff the following day.
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