Published: Feb 14, 2015, 09:25 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 17, 2015, 02:55 AM (IST)
It took them eight long years, but India and Pakistan met again in the World Cup, this time in a semi-final at Mohali on March 30, 2011. Abhishek Mukherjee looks at a day when all five Indian bowlers came to party en route the World Cup. PREVIEW: India vs Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Match at Adelaide
India had a comfortable 4-0 lead over Pakistan in World Cup cricket, having played them four times in four editions after not meeting in the first four. In a remarkable coincidence, both teams were knocked out in the group stage of 2007 following inglorious defeats, and it was not until the semi-final of 2011 that they crossed each other’s paths. India vs Pakistan Live Score
Things were not smooth for me at work. I had to watch the match somehow, but it was a Wednesday. Holding a senior position came with its perks, but taking days off during crunch projects were not a part of them. I remember reaching work early that day and placing my laptop at a vantage point that offered me a view of the entire television screen. Stories on India vs Pakistan, Cricket World Cup clashes.
I also remember being ecstatic when Virender Sehwag hit Umar Gul for five boundaries in the third over, and absolutely livid when he went for the DRS without consulting Sachin Tendulkar when he was plumb LBW. Tendulkar, of course, was calm at the other end, scoring easily against the pacers. Then Saeed Ajmal came on. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Tendulkar looked so uncomfortable against Ajmal that I almost wanted him to get out. There were appeals, missed catches (dollies, to be honest, though missed chances by Kamran Akmal perhaps do not count); and when Tendulkar tried to break the shackles at the other end, he was dropped off Shahid Afridi. Meanwhile, Wahab sent down an unplayable yorker to bowl Yuvraj Singh. I had to leave work somehow, I kept telling myself: this was doing neither me nor the organisation any good.
It was Afridi who brought Tendulkar’s scratchy innings to an end with a catch off Ajmal. Suresh Raina stood tall amidst a flurry of wickets as India finished with 260 for six. I hit Start + L on my Dell Latitude and stood up from the desk: desperate times call for desperate measures. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
Munaf Patel went for runs in his first two overs before MS Dhoni took him off. Kamran was claimed by Zaheer, and almost immediately Munaf was given a change of ends, and dismissed Mohammad Hafeez almost immediately. Pakistan required 172 from 30 overs. They had eight wickets in hand. I shut down my Dell Latitude, rushed out, and summoned a taxi.
Not for the first time, my mobile service provider let me down — or did it have to be with the load on their server? I tried frantically to catch the score online, helpless, desperate, then… then… I heard a familiar sound — that of the humble radio. The taxi driver and I cheered for two wickets with starkly contrasting vocabulary, and by the time I reached home and rushed for the remote control Pakistan needed 119 from 102 balls with six wickets in hand. I switched the television set on and saw Harbhajan Singh running in to Umar Akmal, who had been threatening to take the match away from India. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
The man the locals lovingly called “Bhajji” ran in; the ball was tossed up beautifully, leaving Umar in two minds; he got caught between forward defensive and a backfoot defensive shots; the ball kept straight, skidded past the willow, and pegged off-stump back. Even MS Dhoni looked ecstatic: how could you blame me?
Munaf, who was bowling accurately (almost on a pinpoint)hit off-stump to remove Abdul Razzaq. India were closing in. Afridi was a threat, but he perished, going for a big hit against a Harbhajan full-toss, which was the cue for me to make some coffee. Misbah-ul-Haq went for the big hits, but Pakistan were never in the match following the Afridi dismissal. With two wickets apiece, all Indian bowlers emerged as heroes, though Munaf was certainly the pick of the lot.
It all ended when Misbah was caught at long-on off Zaheer. I retired to the kitchen to microwave my coffee. How did I forget all about it?
Brief scores:
India 260 for 9 in 50 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 85; Wahab Riaz 5 for 46) lost to Pakistan 231 in 49.5 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 43, Misbah-ul-Haq 56) by 29 runs.
Man of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar.
(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)
