Wednesday, March 30, 2011

India Vs Pakistan semi final match: Team India wins

INDIA HAS won the semifinal match of ICC cricket world cup match being played at Mohali today. Indian bowlers managed a tight line and length and did not allow any Pakistani batsman to go amock as they took wickets at regular intervals to restrict their arch rivals from across the border.

India won this match by 29 runs much to the delight of millions of fans.

Indian bowlers Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel bowled brilliantly and did not give any quarter to the opposition to score runs freely. Nehra and Munaf were particularly stingy with their bowling and justified the faith shown by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Harbhajan Singh bowled brilliantly and ensured that Pakistan batsmen had to work harder to score runs. He also claimed the crucial wickets of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi to ensure that India won the ICC world cup semifinal match in Mohali.

Earlier, Dhoni's decision to play Nehra in place of spinner Ashwin and Yusuf Pathan was questioned by the  experts but Nehra's performance in the match will silence the critics. Nehra also claimed the wicket of Wahab Riaz, who earlier tormented the Indian batsmen as bowled a dream spell claiming 5 wickets.

As soon as the wicket of Wahab Riaz fell there was widespread jubiliation and fire crackers were set off by Indian fans. Misbah was left to be the sole hope for the Pakistan team as score reads 204 for the loss of 8 wickets in 45 overs.

Cricket being the game of glorious uncertainties, it would have been too early to say that India will  win the match. However, Nehra struck again as he claimed the wicket of Umar Gul and now it could be safely predicted that India will win the match.

Mishbah tried hard to make the best out of the match but the equation proved too tough for the Pakistan team. Pakistan needed 30 runs from the last six balls and this was perhaps the toughest ask for any batsman in the history of the game.

As soon as the match was won by India, fans across the nation burst crackers and danced in streets to express happiness over this victory. The India Vs Pakistan semifinal match had become an issue of prestige for both the sides and it had acquired an even higher profile after Indian PM Manmohan Singh invited the Pakistan PM to watch the match in Mohali.

As expected the man of the match award was given to Sachin Tendulkar as he made 85 crucial runs and held the Indian inning together for quite some time. However, when compared to Tendulkar's standards, this inning was quite patchy as the little master was dropped as many as three times and even survived two very close calls.

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