On a muggy Thursday night, Sachin Tendulkar had every reason to believe that finally he could break the jinx preventing him from notching up his 42nd one-day hundred. But a heartless juggernaut called fate brutally thwarted his ambitions, and it was a shattering sight to see the little champion walking back to the hut with his head hanging on his shoulders.
This time, the margin between glory and disappointment was just three runs. Tendulkar had already got out three times on 99 – five times in total in 90s – once each against South Africa (Belfast), England (Bristol) and Pakistan (Mohali) this season.
But before destiny struck in the shape of Umar Gul, Tendulkar batted with great fluency, building the foundation of a six-wicket match win and a 3-1 series victory. But the lingering feeling of this win will be Tendulkar missing hundred for the sixth time in this season.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that eleven opposition players were insufficient to contain him at the Capt Roop Singh stadium. The batting maestro tossed away the fears of a slightly double paced wicket and a tricky total, stamping his authority over the Pakistan attack in his inimitable style.
The Mumbaikar, barring a brief period when express pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar tested him in a furious opening spell, was in control of the proceedings and carried the Indian chase on his shoulders.
His innings was not just about clinical perfection, but it was much like opening the window of memory, and watching an exuberant kid playing in the streets of Mumbai.
The God-given genius was on full show as he had an answer to whatever Pakistani bowlers hurled at him. Tendulkar moved his feet exceptionally well as even the good balls careened to the ropes much to the anguish of the Pakistani players.
At the other end, Sehwag too played a nice little innings, not in the brazen Sehwag style of old, but a patient composed knock, allowing Tendulkar to take centre stage. The only spark of aggression came when he hoisted Afridi for a six over mid-wicket.
Early loss
The duo milked 107 runs for the third wicket that helped India to recover from the early loss of Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir.
It took a direct hit from Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik to snap the partnership and Sehwag's stay at the crease. Tendulkar too returned soon after, dragging a Gul delivery onto his stumps.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who scored a fine fifty, did the finishing job without much ado, adding 101 runs for the fifth wicket.
Earlier, the Indian bowlers selected a crunch match to come up with an improved show. The hosts' bowlers were under the scanner after average outings in previous games, but they emphatically wiped out any doubts while performing well in a pressure tie to restrict Pakistan to 255 for six, after the visitors elected to bat. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan led Pakistan's charge with well-crafted half-centuries.
India received a boost in their efforts to seal the series with a win here, when the in-form opener Salman Butt went back to the hut as early as in the second ball of the match. Rudra Pratap Singh trapped him plumb in front of the wicket.
Butt's early dismissal stunned Pakistan and it was evident from their approach in the subsequent overs. They treated Indian bowlers with a lot of trepidation as only 30 runs came in the first 10 overs.
The visitors gradually came back into the match with Malik, who came out as an opener in this match, and Younis gauged the pace of the pitch to perfection, taking singles and the occasional boundaries with ease as the next two set of Power Plays yielded 49 runs.
But the real acceleration for Pakistan came during the phase when Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq were batting. They collected runs through good running between the wickets and the occasional big ones like Yousuf's towering hit over mid-wicket off Harbhajan Singh. It was a bit unfortunate that even after playing such a fine knock he could not reach the three-figure mark. He remained not out on 99.
The Misbah-Yousuf combine snatched the control from the Indian bowlers with some calculated hits, as they raised 94 runs just 90 balls, but that was not enough.

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN
Malik b Zaheer 31
(55b, 3x4)
Butt lbw RP Singh 0
(2b)
Younis c&b Yuvraj 68
(89b, 5x4, 1x6)
Yousuf (not out) 99
(104b, 7x4, 2x6)
Afridi lbw Ganguly 1
(4b)
Misbah b Pathan 40
(39b, 2x4, 1x6)
Tanvir lbw Zaheer 6
(4b, 1x4)
Akmal (not out) 2
(3b)
Extras (LB-6, W-2) 8
Total (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Butt), 2-78 (Malik), 3-129 (Younis), 4-134 (Afridi), 5-226 (Misbah), 6-243 (Tanvir).
Bowling: RP Singh 10-0-53-1, Pathan 10-1-52-1, Zaheer 10-0-40-2, Harbhajan 10-0-52-0 (w-2), Yuvraj 3-0-12-1, Sehwag 2-0-11-0, Ganguly 5-0-29-1.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 17/1, 10: 30/1, 15: 50/1, 20: 79/2, 25: 101/2, 30: 129/3, 35: 148/4, 40: 178/4, 45: 212/4, end of innings: 255/6 in 50 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 30/1, Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 20/0, Power Play 3: 16-20 overs: 29/1.

INDIA