Mohali, March 30: Four years after an inglorious opening round exit from the 2007 cricket World Cup, the Indian cricket team have the opportunity to win the 2011 ICC World Cup. This after the Indian bowlers helped defend a modest 260-run target against Pakistan in the second semi-final of the World Cup here in Mohali.
Chasing that Indian total, Pakistan were bowled out for 231, 29 runs short of the victory target. Not a single Pakistan batsman was able to post a big, substantial score with Misbah-ul-Haq (56) and Mohammad Hafeez (43) top scoring in the Pakistan innings.
Pakistan’s main problem right through the run chase was their inability to string together effective partnerships. Any time two of their batsmen looked set to carry the team to victory the Indians took a wicket. The highest partnership of the innings was between their openers Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal (19) who put on 44 for the first wicket in nine overs.
But besides Pakistan’s failure to build partnerships, the Indian bowlers bowled exceptionally to keep the Pakistan batsmen on a tight leash. Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel, who came in for much criticism for their indifferent form in the earlier stages of the tournament, were the stars of the Indian bowling effort. The two pacers gave away just 73 runs in their 20 overs taking four wickets between them. Harbhajan Singh, who got rid of the dangerous Umar Akmal (29) and Shahid Afridi (19), was equally commendable.
Earlier, India captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. Virender Sehwag got India off to a flying start as he blitzed his way to 38 off just 25 balls. Sehwag’s brief innings included hitting Umar Gul for five fours in the third over of the innings. Desperate to bring things under control, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi introduced Wahab Riaz into the attack and the left-arm pacer immediately trapped Sehwag off the fifth delivery of his first over. India were 48 for one in 5.5 overs at that stage.
Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir kept the score moving for India in the face of some very good Pakistani spin bowling. After stringing together a 68-run partnership, Gambhir (27) was stumped by Kamran Akmal off Mohammad Hafeez. India suffered a double blow next as Virat Kohli (9)and Yuvraj Singh (0) were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by Wahab Riaz in the 26th over with the score at 141.
Tendulkar, who had looked good for a big score at the start, went through a slump as his innings progressed. Having survived two reviews (LBW and stumping) in the 11th over of the innings, Tendulkar was dropped four times by the Pakistanis before he was eventually dismissed for 85 by Saeed Ajmal. India were 187 for five in 37 overs at the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket. MS Dhoni’s lean run continued as he went next for an individual score of 25.
Having squandered Sehwag’s blazing start, India did well to eventually end their innings at 260 for nine in 50 overs. Suresh Raina played a pivotal role in taking India’s score past the 250-run mark as he remained unbeaten with 36* off 39 balls.
For Pakistan, Wahab Riaz took five wickets giving away just 46 runs in his 10 overs.
Brief Scores: India 260 for 9 in 50.0 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 85, Virender Sehwag 38, Suresh Raina 36*, Wahab Riaz 5/46) beat Pakistan 231 all out in 49.5 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 43, Misbah-ul-Haq, Ashish Nehra 2/33, Munaf Patel 2/40, Harbhajan Singh 2/43) by 29 runs
Man-of-the-match: Sachin Tendulkar for his innings of 85 that laid the foundation for India’s winning score of 260
