Pragmatism formed the base of Pakistan’s march to a formidable 267 after they expectedly elected to bat, but India’s in-the-trenches resolve helped them to emerge three-wicket winners, courtesy the nerves of Harbhajan Singh, set up a repeat final showdown with Sri Lanka.
India needed a strong start to their chase, but contrary to expectations, Virender Sehwag could not play one of his much-dreaded blinders, a muscle pull making things worse for the Delhi Dasher. His ordeal came to an end when Abdul Razzaq found the edge for Kamran Akmal to complete a simple catch.
But the Men in Blue had two steely batsmen in their ranks – skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. The third-wicket pair stitched together an invaluable 98 runs in 18.3 overs to seemingly tilt the balance India’s way decisively.
Unsettling moments
The only unsettling moments of the partnership were Gambhir’s altercations with Pakistan stumper Kamran Akmal following a caught behind appeal off off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, and when the southpaw received a reprieve on 63, Mohammad Aamer spilling an easy chance in the deep off Shoaib Malik.
Otherwise, the partnership was well-paced as the Pakistani bowlers struggled to apply the brakes on the scoring. It was not that the pair relied only on big hits to conjure runs; they ran well between the wickets to rattle runs at a fair clip before Ajmal castled Gambhir. Rohit Sharma failed to capitalise on Kamran putting him down off Shoaib Akhtar, the young Mumbaikar being trapped in front by Shahid Afridi.
Dhoni too soon returned to the hut. The Jharkhandi’s dismissal had a touch of misfortune to it, the ball deflecting off the back of the bat on to the stumps as he attempted a sweep, sending Malik and the Pakistani camp into wild celebrations.
But Harbhajan could not be denied his due, the wily Sardar hitting a six off Mohammad Aamer when India needed three runs off the last two balls.
Steady stream
Earlier, the Pakistan innings progressed like a steady stream, openers Salman Butt and Imran Farhat leading their way with a blend of patience and panache. Normally two free-flowing batsmen, Butt and Farhat checked their aggression, perhaps owing to the pressure of an India-Pakistan match.
But when his initial nerves settled, Butt played some excellent shots all around the park in a show of strength and touch. With the pace bowlers looking increasingly incapable of fetching a breakthrough, Dhoni turned to Harbhajan and the off-spinner almost immediately repaid his captain’s call, jettisoning Farhat.
The stocky left-hander tried to guide the ball past Sehwag at first slip, only managing to edge it straight to the fielder. Butt and Malik were then involved in a brisk 73-run partnership for the second wicket, a phase during which Pakistan scored at almost six runs per over, and that gave the Green Brigade a fine foundation for the subsequent batsmen to build on.
Despite the quick dismissals of Butt, after completing a well-crafted fifty, Umar Akmal and Umar Amin, Pakistan cruised nicely along with skipper Afridi belting a few hefty blows. However, Afridi’s dismissal just before the batting Power Play meant Kamran Akmal had to shoulder the responsibility of taking Pakistan to a challenging total, and he did it in brave fashion.
Score Board
PAKISTAN
Butt (run out) 74
(85b, 9x4)
Farhat c Sehwag b Harbhajan 25
(46b, 3x4)
Malik b Zaheer 39
(46b, 3x4)
U Akmal c Dhoni b Jadeja 21
(26b, 1x4)
Amin c Kohli b Harbhajan 5
(9b)
Afridi lbw Praveen 32
(25b, 2x4, 1x6)
K Akmal c Raina b Praveen 51
(41b, 2x4, 3x6)
Razzaq c Dhoni b Praveen 3
(5b)
Aamer (run out) 3
(7b)
Akhtar (not out) 3
(5b)
Ajmal c Nehra b Zaheer 0
(3b)
Extras (B-1, LB-4, W-5, NB-1) 11
Total (all out, 49.3 overs) 267
Fall of wickets: 1-71 (Farhat), 2-144 (Malik), 3-146 (Butt), 4-159 (Amin), 5-196 (U Akmal), 6-219 (Afridi), 7-227 (Razzaq), 8-247 (Aamer), 9-265 (K Akmal).
Bowling: Praveen 10-1-53-3 (nb-1, w-3), Nehra 9-0-58-0, Zaheer 9.3-0-41-2, Harbhajan 8-0-47-2, Sehwag 3-0-19-0, Jadeja 10-0-43-1 (w-2).
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10: 41/0, Power Play 2: 11-15: 26/0, Power Play 3 (batting): 46-50: 40/4.
INDIA
Gambhir b Ajmal 83
(97b, 6x4, 1x6)
Sehwag c K Akmal b Razzaq 10
(32b, 1x4)
Kohli b Ajmal 18
(27b, 1x4)
Dhoni b Malik 56
(71b, 2x4, 1x6)
Rohit lbw Afridi 22
(29b, 2x4)
Raina (run out) 34
(27b, 2x4, 2x6)
Jadeja b Ajmal 6
(9b)
Harbhajan (not out) 15
(11b, 2x6)
Praveen (not out) 3
(2b)
Extras (LB-15, W-8, NB-1) 24
Total (7 wkts, 49.5 overs) 271
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Sehwag), 2-82 (Kohli), 3-180 (Gambhir), 4-208 (Rohit), 5-210 (Dhoni), 6-219 (Jadeja), 7-262 (Raina).
Bowling: Akhtar 10-0-57-0 (nb-1, w-2), Aamer 9.5-0-56-0 (w-3), Razzaq 5-0-18-1, Ajmal 10-0-56-3, Afridi 10-0-41-1 (w-2), Malik 5-0-28-1 (w-1)
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10: 46/0, Power Play 2: 11-15: 19/1, Power Play 3 (batting): 45-49: 43/3.