The whole package.

“God has been kind,” says Kohli, holding the Man of the Match after his Scintillating 78 off 61 deliveries and picking up the wicket of the Captain, Mohammad Hafeez. Rameez Raja managed to make him blush by mentioning his brilliant form in the last 24 months.

A genuine smile, an aura of humility was all that was seen, coming from his face.

Pakistan went in with an unchanged side after winning the toss and electing to bat first, a move which was questioned by experts. They had three spinners in their squad and lacked pace, except for Umar Gul.

India made a few major changes by bringing in Sehwag and Balaji and leaving out both Harbajan and Chawla. The decision to leave Harbajan raised many eyebrows but MS did not look like he cared. Balaji was brought in because of his experience and was in a tough spot, having to prove his selection.

Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir walked in and Zaheer was seen warming up. The game was on. Pakistan was off to a wonderful start, cracking a few boundaries in the first over. Pathan came in for the second over and showed how much depth he could provide to the bowling squad. It was a peach of a delivery and ball hit pad and the next thing we know, Nazir, the in form batsman walking back to the pavilion, beaten by Pathan’s  in-swinger.

 

India came back strongly after the first three overs where they gave 30 odd runs. Bajaji kept the ball low and made the batsmen uncomfortable. Afridi walked in after Nazir and had a huge responsibility on his shoulder to take his team home. A few deliveries were thrashed to the boundary but before long, Balaji stuck again, bowling a short ball. Afridi, pulled the short ball and was caught at deep by Raina.  Pathan and Balaji looked formidable and the Pakistani Batsmen were going into a shell. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals and Pakistan was never able to establish a decent Partnership. They were fumbling at a 59 for 5 when the Mr. Dependable, Shoaib Malik came out and he along with Umar Akmal steadied the boat for Pakistan. They reached the 100 run mark during the 15^th over and at the same time, lost Malik, Ashwin coming in and picking up the wicket when it was needed the most. Yuvraj picked up two wickets in the middle overs, both caught behind by Dhoni. “If looks could kill” was all I could think of when I saw his reactions and his fist pumps after those two wickets. Balaji silently made Dhoni and the rest of India realize that he was the most experienced and the most lethal bowler when it came to slow pitches by taking 3 wickets.

From there the Pakistanis crumbled and were all out for a distressing 128.

The ball was not coming on to the bat, it laid low and Indians made full use of the slow pitch. The bowlers came back strongly after their miserable performance against Australia. The vibe on field was ruthless and the fielding displayed by the players was worth watching.

India came out to bat. The fearsome pair of Gambhir and Sehwag came out. Sehwag looked up at the sky, touched the boundary rope and raised it to his heart. He had a point to make today. He had to show that he was a class player and he had a position in the playing 11. He was cautious at the beginning. He even ducked for a few short balls by Gul. Gambhir was taken out by the 20 year old Raza Hasan in the second ball of the over and Pakistan were, well, how to put it - Very much in the game. Sehwag and Kohli steadied the innings for India and scored off the loose balls. Sehwag was making his point. He was doing it slowly, but he was doing it surely. He was taken out by a lose delivery by Shahid Afridi. He lofted the ball into the air and a very good catch was taken by Umar Gul at the deep.

Kohli and Yuvraj saw India through, with a mixture of caution and aggression. Kohli was at his supreme best, scoring 8 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.

The game ended with 18 balls remaining.

India is back in contention for the Semi- finals and they made it in style.

P.S: Pakistan are yet to open their account against India in T20 World Cup.

Until the next match,