Discipline rather than flair gets India home

CRICKET:REMARKABLY, AFTER all the hype and all the politicking, the second World Cup semi-final turned out to be an excellent game of cricket. India beat Pakistan by 29 runs and the victory was celebrated without inhibition by a euphoric crowd.

Now the India team have two days to recover, before they face Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai. The Indian dream has nearly come true. There is a scenario that has Sachin Tendulkar hitting his 100th international century in his home town and winning the World Cup for the first time in the process.

But even in the home of Bollywood fairytales can never be guaranteed on a cricket field; and in any case Sri Lanka have their own dream scenario. It involves a certain Muttiah Muralitharan.

This was a pragmatic victory by the India team. Unusually it was their discipline rather than their flair that saw them over the line. Only when Virender Sehwag was at the crease, in the first 40 minutes of the game, was there enchantment in the air. He pulverised the new ball for 38 from 25 balls. Thereafter even Tendulkar, who hit a flawed 85, was struggling to time the ball with his usual panache.

However, it was Tendulkar, the man of the match for one of his less convincing innings, who enabled India to post 260. Then, in the field, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side were tenacious and controlled. They have never been the best fielding side but young and old threw themselves left and right in a match they just had to win.

India probably do not have the best bowling side in the tournament either but not one of the five men used by Dhoni let his captain down. Here Dhoni played an extra seamer, Ashish Nehra, rather than Ravi Ashwin, the off-spinner. The left-armer bowled well, even though the playing surface demanded the extra spinner. Munaf Patel, who has been vulnerable throughout the tournament, varied his pace cleverly.

Zaheer Khan was as reliable as ever and the Singhs, Yuvraj and Harbhajan, both from the Punjab and therefore adored here, found significant turn.

Pakistan fought hard but none of their batsmen could produce the major innings. Mohammad Hafeez looked the likeliest until he opted to defy orthodoxy by trying to flick a delivery from Patel over his left shoulder. Umar Akmal was the most belligerent until he lost his concentration, immediately after the second drinks interval. Misbah-ul-Haq was the most becalmed until nearly all of the overs had trickled away.

It was bewildering that Pakistan declined to take their batting powerplay before their position was hopeless and their hitters had departed the crease.

When Misbah was caught on the boundary in the final over, to conclude the innings on 231, the flags unfurled, the drums were beaten and no one left the ground for a long time. There was too much to celebrate – even for the International Cricket Council. The two best teams have reached the final.

India’s 260 for nine had proved just enough, such was their excellence in the field. When Sehwag was batting a total beyond 300 seemed on the cards. He tormented Umar Gul to such an extent that the lanky seamer, the stalwart of the Pakistan attack, lost the plot.

Nerves can invade seemingly the most reliable of cricketers. Gul would go on to have a nightmare. Fortunately for Shahid Afridi, his other bowlers did not let him down.

Sehwag cracked five boundaries from Gul’s second over, which also included a no-ball. They were all beautifully executed attacking shots but they were played to dreadful deliveries: leg-stump half-volleys when bowling to a 7-2 off-side field are never a good idea.

It was a surprise that Afridi should keep Gul on for four overs, which would cost 41 runs. By contrast Wahab Riaz, preferred to Shoaib Akhtar, was very near his combative best, finishing with five for 46 from his 10 overs.

Sehwag was eventually struck on the pad and stuck on the crease against Wahab. Simon Taufel raised his finger, Sehwag reviewed and the ball was deemed to be hitting the middle of middle stump. It is rare to encounter a great batsman who ever thinks he is out lbw. Thus began a steady revival from Pakistan – apart from Gul, who yielded 69 runs from eight overs. Tendulkar showed signs of nerves as he compiled one of the scratchiest 80s of his career. He began fluently but deteriorated once Afridi had introduced his spinners. He was dropped four times and survived two reviews.

On 23, when facing Saeed Ajmal, Tendulkar was given out lbw by Ian Gould. Tendulkar reviewed and the television replay had the ball missing leg stump by a whisker. Next ball Kamran Akmal was confident about a stumping appeal as Tendulkar played and missed outside off. He was in by a frame.

Tendulkar was then dropped on 27, 45, 70 and 81. Some of the chances were very difficult. At least one of them should have been caught. So he seemed destined for that 100th century until Afridi, as desperate captains do, hung on to a sharp chance at extra cover.

India were grateful for Tendulkar’s ugly runs since, Sehwag aside, none of their other batsmen threatened fluency. Yuvraj was bowled first ball by the exuberant Wahab; Dhoni, conscious of a long tail, blocked dutifully while Suresh Raina, a latecomer to India’s best XI, was the only man to bat with much freedom in the final overs.

Pakistan fielded with great zest, even if their catching was fallible, and their spinners bowled shrewdly. For once Afridi was wicketless but he could return home proud of the spirit displayed by his side in the tournament.

For Dhoni, the cool cat of Indian cricket, one little hurdle remains.