It has been a while since India and Pakistan were involved in a close game and they chose the right moment to revamp their rivalry. India has never lost to Pakistan in a world cup and this was Pakistan’s chance to end this streak. A great match was in the offing.

These teams did not let anyone down and have done both the TRP ratings and ICC a great favour. The new exciting format has just enticed a huge audience. Somehow India have managed to hold on to a 100% record in 20-20 internationals. They are still to lose a game and the best part is in the 3 games played they have managed 3 out of the 4 possible results.

Mixed Batting Performance:

In spite of all the drama which preceded the game regarding Rahul Dravid and his resignation the Men in Blue managed to keep their nerve during key moments and came out victorious. Mohammad Asif started out weaving his magic with his immaculate line and length. The Indians never seem to get the better of him. Sehwag making his comeback has not improved on his footwork one bit and was dismissed just the way he used to earlier. Robin Uthappa was the only one who played with a lot of flair and confidence.
Cameos from Irfan Pathan and MS Dhoni helped India surpass the 140 barrier.

The Pakistan Response:

Usually in a 20-20 game a target of 140 should have been a cakewalk but the conditions at Durban were not so favourable for batting. Pakistan struggled to get going and some great bowling by Irfan Pathan put Pakistan on the backfoot. India had the match in its hands when they got Afridi but Agarkar had other ideas. The “SO CALLED” all rounder of this side did what he does best. He gave 17 runs in the penultimate over to give Pakistan the edge. They needed 12 of the final over and misab-ul haq who was silencing his critics continued to do that with some amazing improvization.

With 2 balls to go Pakistan needed one to win and a great start to the ramzan season was beckoning. Sreesanth and Yuvi kept their cool and managed a run out in the last ball to finish the game. It had ended in a tie and the crowd got their money’s worth.

The bowl out

This new format had another surprise in store for the spectators which the ICC called as a bowl-out.It was cricket’s version of the penalty shootout where the bowlers had to hit the stumps and each team had 5 shots at it. I was not fascinated by the idea but from an entertainment point of view it was fine. India managed to win the bowl-out 3 to zilch and this helped India maintain their track record of not losing to Pakistan in a world cup. Kudos to the Indian team.