Pak provide surprise again

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.

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.

India’s brightest spark while resisting the chase came when Gautam Gambhir ran Butt out. Then, 10 overs later Jamshad succumbed — retired hurt to a bout of cramps, while Mohammad Yousuf was bowled round his legs by Piyush Chawla soon after.

That was as far as India got though. The openers had given their team a great start and once the platform was set, Younis Khan got his bat to do the talking until the winning runs were scored. Khan was unbeaten on 123 as Pakistan strolled to an eight-wicket victory with 27...