England's exit ignored as India enter the heavens

IN BANGALORE on Saturday, there was only one match that counted. There. vague rumours, as India and Pakistan traded blows made resonant by 50 years of. bitter national and religious strife, that there was another game going on up north somewhere, involving one of those plucky smaller nations (England) but no one was much interested. Fifty-five thousand fans piled into the Chinnaswamy stadium, tearing down the crowd-control barriers and braving what the newspapers called a "mild police charge" to secure their seats.

After India's win, they drummed, whistled and yelled far into the morning. The Sunday morning headline called it a celestial atmosphere", and it was only a slight exaggeration. India's next match will be at Eden Gardens in Calcutta, but that's just a bonus: they have already had their day in Arcadia. Poor Pakistan; every time they took a wicket, the silence was deafening.

It was a great occasion, but it was also a fine game. India discovered that they do not, after all, depend entirely on Sachin Tendulkar. On Saturday he batted, for the first time like someone aware of the millions of desperate prayers that accompany every swing of his unsponsored bat. It was up to the others to seize the day, and they did. Sidhu played and missed at the first three balls of the innings from Waqar Younis - who steamed in as if he had his heart set on a Cup winners villa in Lahore - but he survived to give India a solid foundation.

Azharuddin and Manjrekar came, saw and went; and it seemed as if India might have been too timid. One-day batting has advanced several notches: These days, and on these pitches, 250 is rarely enough. Pakistan, without their captain Wasim Akram, never let the home side accelerate. And when Waqar Younis returned, having bowled eight fierce overs for 27 runs, you'd have bet on him to swing the game Pakistan's way. But as so often with Waqar, the swing reversed. Jadeja collared him for two sixes and a clutch of fours as he thumped 45 off 26 balls.

It was the decisive innings of the game; combined with his neat bowling (five for 19) and a brilliant run-out, he was without doubt the man of the match. But this award rarely goes to the clinching performance - it is merely a ceremonial prize for the highest-scoring batsman on the winning team; so of course it went to Sidhu.

Pakistan will return to Lahore - no doubt to face a barrage of furious criticism - with lots to gnash their teeth about. Their opening pair - Amir Sohail and Saeed Anwar - batted with such supreme confidence that the target, after, the first 10 overs, looked childish. Old-timers who scoff at the biff-baff craziness of one-day cricket miss the point: Sohail and Anwar stayed still, swung crisply, and played shots all round the wicket that the greats of the past could hardly have thought of attempting.

For a while, there was something like a panicky silence in Bangalore. The ball raced over the ropes with not even the semblance of polite applause. If Sohail and Anwar could have adjusted down a notch, they might have prodded their way to an international incident. But both of them slogged once too often, and the Indian bowlers, hugely to their credit, somehow kept their nerve.

Prasad a bank manager from Bangalore, bewildered the home fans by bowling his first three overs for 28. But he hung on his next seven were worth three for 18. It was the same story with Anil Kumble, another. Bangalorean. When he came on. (in the sixth over) Anwar lashed him for six over square leg, then stroked him to extra cover for four. His first five overs went for 30. Like Prasad, he didn't wilt - in his next five he took three for 18. Bowlers aren't getting much credit in this tournament and aren't having much fun. But these two saved the nation.

India's victory means, if nothing else, that it ought to be easy to, get tickets for the final in Lahore. The "crowds " in Pakistan have shown an interest only when their own team is playing. One of the few (only) consolations for England on Saturday was that few people watched them being caned by Sri Lanka.