In the closest contest ever between India and Pakistan in World Cup cricket, the two teams finished level on 141 -- India for the loss of nine wickets, Pakistan for seven -- as the game ended in a tie. India clinched the bowl-out by three hits to nil to pocket full points as both teams won through to the Super Eights from Group D.

SUPER EIGHT

Group E: South Africa, England, New Zealand, India.

Group F: Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

India rode on a sparkling half-century by Robin Uthappa as counter to an outstanding opening burst from Mohammad Asif (4/18) and reach 141 for nine upon being stuck in by Shoaib Malik. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men appeared to have things under control till Misbah-ul-Haq played a blinder right at the finish, but Pakistan finished on 141 for seven as Misbah was run out going for the winning run off the last delivery.
The first point of interest was whether India could prevent Pakistan from knocking off the runs in 14.4 overs or less so as not to be eliminated from the competition, allowing Pakistan to carry Scotland through with them to the Super Eights.
India's bowlers were on the money from the start. Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth got them off to an excellent start, not allowing Salman Butt or Imran Nazir to take too many liberties. There wasn't as much assistance for the Indian pacemen as there had been for Asif and his colleagues earlier in the evening, but the Indian young turks stuck to their disciplines and asked probing questions.
Initial breakthrough
RP Singh procured the initial breakthrough by knocking over Nazir and bowled his four overs out, but it was crucial from India's point of view that Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan didn't let the initiative slip away. Both struck paydirt in their respective first overs, and Yuvraj Singh conjured an outstanding piece of fielding from point to get rid of Kamran Akmal between those two strikes. Suddenly, India were buzzing. The most heartening aspect, apart from an excellent fielding display, was the manner in which Pathan bowled. In his first game in India colours for nearly ten months, he bowled with great rhythm, getting the ball to swing back and working up not inconsiderable pace. Time away from international cricket had been put to good use, that much was obvious.
Easy as it will be to castigate India's batsmen, the conditions and an exceptional spell of sustained hostility from Asif made survival in itself a difficult proposition earier in the evening.
Seam movement
There was great seam movement and no little bounce on an overcast day, India's cause not helped by two brief interruptions during their batting stint. To Asif's credit, he shrugged off a sub-par effort in the first game against Scotland and kicked on to the second best figures in Twenty20 internationals, cutting a swathe through the top-order and forcing the Indians to revisit their strategies.
Gautam Gambhir fell to a smart reflex return catch, Virender Sehwag was bowled off the inside edge as the ball cut back at sharp pace, Yuvraj leading-edged to mid-off and Dinesh Kaarthick was undone by another screaming jag-backer after a brief show of spunk. The 24-year-old had a wicket in each of his four allotted overs, due reward for making the most of bowling in favourable conditions.
Very early in the Indian essay, it became obvious that this wasn't a 200-plus surface. Uthappa sussed up the situation beautifully, playing himself in but never missing an opportunity to get the board going. A stunning pull off Asif got him under way, while his two sixes off Yasir Arafat were straight out of the top drawer. The only time India looked to break free was when Uthappa added 46 (33b) with his captain, but his dismissal immediately after the first rain interruption pegged India back seriously.

SCORE BOARD

INDIA
Gambhir c&b Asif 0
(3b)
Sehwag b Asif 5
(3b, 1x4)
Uthappa c Akmal b Tanveer 50
(39b, 4x4, 2x6)
Yuvraj c Malik b Asif 1
(4b)
Kaarthick b Asif 11
(9b, 2x4)
Dhoni c Younis b Arafat 33
(31b, 3x4, 1x6)
Pathan b Afridi 20
(15b, 2x6)
Harbhajan b Afridi 1
(4b)
Agarkar (run out) 14
(9b, 2x4)
Sreesanth (not out) 1
(3b)
Extras (LB-2, W-3) 5
Total (for 9 wkts, 20 overs) 141
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-9 (Sehwag), 3-19 (Yuvraj), 4-36 (Kaarthick), 5-82 (Uthappa), 6-111 (Pathan), 7-123 (Harbhajan), 8-138 (Dhoni), 9-141 (Agarkar).
Bowling: Asif 4-0-18-4 (w-1), Gul 4-0-27-0 (w-1), Arafat 4-0-39-1, Tanveer 4-0-18-1 (w-1), Afridi 4-0-37-2.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 28/3; 10: 64/4; 15: 97/5; end of innings: 141/9 in 20 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 33/3.

PAKISTAN
Butt c Dhoni b Agarkar 17
(25b, 2x4)
Nazir b RP Singh 7
(8b, 1x4)
Akmal (run out) 15
(13b, 1x4, 1x6)
Younis b Pathan 2
(8b)
Malik c Harbhajan b Pathan 20
(18b, 3x4)
Misbah (run out) 53
(35b, 7x4, 1x6)
Afridi c Kaarthick b Harbhajan 7
(9b)
Arafat (not out) 12
(5b, 2x4)
Extras (LB-3, W-5, NB-1) 9
Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 141
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Nazir), 2-44 (Butt), 3-47 (Akmal), 4-47 (Younis), 5-87 (Malik), 6-103 (Afridi), 7-141 (Misbah).
Bowling: RP Singh 4-0-22-1 (w-3), Sreesanth 4-0-29-0 (w-1, nb-1), Agarkar 4-0-35-1, I Pathan 4-1-20-2 (w-1), Harbhajan Singh 4-0-32-1.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 33/1; 10: 53/4; 15: 87/5; end of innings: 141/7 in 20 overs.
Runs during Power Play: 1-6 overs: 39/1.
Bowl-out result: India bt Pakistan
For India: Hits: Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa.
For Pakistan: Misses: Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi.