Just before the post-match presentation ceremony,Wasim Akram,who was supposed to give the Man of the Match award,spotted Pakistan manager Shafqat Rana in the crowd of boys wearing green celebrating their two-wicket,last-over win in the quarter-final against India. Ranasaab,dont call me for such a close game,its been too taxing to watch them, said Akram,as the grin on the faces of Pakistan players grew wider. When hardened pro with a first-hand experience of many close encounters between the arch-rivals speaks about having his heart in his mouth in the final stages of a match,theres no additional endorsement needed to certify the game as an edge-of-the-seat chase thriller. The morning conditions betrayed no signs of what was to follow after a persistent drizzle threatened to wash out the match. But the sun made a sudden appearance in the afternoon and the game was reduced to a 23-over-a-side affair. The fickle weather,characteristically Kiwi,was also symbolic of the unpredictability of the match to follow,as defending champions India,after scoring a below average 114/9,bowled out of their skins to reach the threshold of what would have been a memorable win. When Pakistan needed 24 runs off 17 balls to defeat their sub-continental rivals and book a place in the semi-final,the two dressing rooms wore contrasting looks. The support staff in the blues superstitiously stuck to the sitting position from where they saw the last wicket fall,while the substitute fielders buried their faces in sweaty towels after endless runs to the field carrying coach Chandrakant Pandits instructions. Crisis man to the rescue Metres away,the entire Pakistan team were out on the lawns just beyond the ropes,cheering every run and confident of winning the seemingly 50-50 game. After the game,Man of the Match Fayyaz Butt,whose 4/27 had pushed India on the back foot,explained the reasons for the teams buoyancy during the period of uncertainty. Hammad hai na,phir kya problem hai (Hammad is there,so no problem), said Butt nonchalantly,referring to his teams crisis man Hammad Azam,who was unbeaten on 21 from 13 balls when Pakistan reached the winning target. Just a few days back,in the final league game against Bangladesh,the team needed 41 runs off last two overs but Hammads unbeaten 27 saw Pakistan eke out a win. Hammads six and a four off Sandeep Sharma and Jaydev Unadkat,Indias most impressive bowlers on Saturday,helped reduce the equation to 4 runs from the last over. Hopes slump As he hit the winning runs,several Indian fielders slumped to the ground just like their World Cup hopes and the defending champions were pushed to the sideshow of the play-offs for minor placings. The game had started in disappointing fashion for India,with opener KL Rahul getting clean bowled to Fayyaz on the first ball of the day. The other opener,Mayank Agarwal,got out a couple of balls later and though one-drop batsman Mandeep Singh stuck around for a while to score 40,the middle-order failed once again. Defending a modest target,new ball bowlers Sandeep and Saurabh Netravalkar got India the early breakthrough and first-change pacer Unadkat,too,maintained the pressure with a couple of wickets but the spinners failed to deliver. In the end Pakistan seemed to be the team who handled the pressure better. The regular fall of wickets might have given Akram some anxious moments,but the boys showed the stomach to win. Brief scores: India 114/9 in 23 overs (Mandeep Singh 40; Fayyaz Butt 4/27,Raza Hassan 3/26); Pakistan 117/8 in 22.3 overs (Ahsan Ali 30; Sandeep Sharma 2/24,Jaydev Unadkat 2/26)
