It’s no secret that Pakistan are an unpredictable outfit. It’s how they manage to reiterate the point time and again that never ceases to surprise.

They had to win Wednesday’s encounter to stay in contention for a place in the Asia Cup final; their coach was caught in the middle of an ugly war of words with the local media and their captain — under pressure to retain the top job — had collapsed during a fitness test before start of play.

Then, after India had elected to bat first, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir tore into their bowling attack with such ferocity that 10 overs into the day’s play, a defeat looked almost a certainty.

But this is Pakistan, the team that can never be written off.

They pulled things back after the initial onslaught to restrict the Indian total to 308 — Dhoni & Co looked set for bigger things after the torrid start — and then, they chased it down with enough conviction to leave anyone who was watching wondering why they had been written off.

Incidentally, Pakistan’s eight-wicket win has made India’s match against Sri Lanka on Thursday a virtual semi-final now. The kind of form the Lankans have been in, Dhoni & Co will have to get everthing right to keep their hopes alive. A loss, on the other hand, will see Pakistan take on Lanka for the title.

Start to finish

But first, the chase. Salman Butt’s 36 off 31 balls set the ball rolling, flashes of brilliance bringing runs from both sides of the wicket. The young opener pulled and drove as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for once, hesitated in continuing any of his attacking pairs for longer than two or three over spells. Ishant Sharma, visibly exhausted, went for as many as 16 in his first over, allowing Nasir Jamshed, in the process, to settle down alongside Butt.

... contd.