India won

DNA Analysis

Through guts and grit, Dhoni’s Demons bring home the first T20 World Cup

MUMBAI: Four balls to go, six runs to win, only one wicket remaining — it can’t get closer than this, surely. The final is a humdinger all right, and the Twenty20 World Cup is a rousing success, whichever way you look at it. But who is going to be the winner?

Within a handshake of immortality, Misbah-ul-Haq makes the cardinal error of ignoring the danger lurking behind him, goes in for a dramatic finish when a more pedestrian approach would have done. He steps outside the line of off-stump and scoops a gentle outswinger from the nervous Joginder Singh to Sreesanth at short-fine leg. Suddenly, it’s all over for Pakistan.

But where did it all begin for India? Chroniclers will undoubtedly research this at length, and could find various leads. It could have been from the time a balanced team was chosen with a charismatic young man at the helm, or the morale boosting `bowl-out’ triumph over Pakistan in the first phase. Or was it the stunning upsets of England and Australia? Perhaps it was a combination of all this. Perhaps it was just the never-say-die approach of a bunch of youngsters whom nobody had given a hope in hell. 

The talent, the passion, the self-belief and the ambition which has marked India’s every performance in this tournament was never more in evidence than in the final.  

There were phases when Dhoni’s team looked out of the game. A couple of poor deliveries, some misfields, and a dropped catch could have turned the game away from them irrevocably. But each time Pakistan looked like they had sealed the game, India clawed their way back - through resolve and derring-do - into contention, and finally snatched a memorable win.

Sehwag was injured. Never mind, rookie Yusuf Pathan provided a quick start, took a good catch, fielded well in the deep and gave only five runs in the only over he bowled. The law of averages caught up with big striking Yuvraj and Dhoni, but no dismay. Gambhir, an unsung performer in this tournament, and Rohit Sharma, the dazzling new find, did enough to get the total to 157 and give the bowlers enough hope and scope.

Of these, trump card Harbhajan Singh had an off-day, and Sreesanth began erratically. But no worries. RP Singh and Irfan Pathan were outstanding, in varying their pace, line and length. Yusuf Pathan’s one over cost just five runs. Joginder, saddled with the responsibility of the last over again, held his nerve - just about. Sreesanth returned to bowl a splendid yorker that got rid of the dangerous Yasir Arafat in the nick of time. And, of course, there was Uthappa’s direct hit to run out the dangerous Imran Nazir.

In a relatively low-scoring match, how the middle overs are played holds the key to the result. The scoring pattern reveals India were behind in the run rate in the first five overs (39 to Pakistan’s 47) and the last five (44 to Pak’s 55 off 4.3). This shows how effectively Dhoni’s team fought back after the opening blast from Imran Nazir, and the brutal late blast from Misbah.

Ultimately, it all boiled down to nerves. Which team would crumble under pressure? The battle was ding-dong. Afridi’s mad-blast second ball suggested that Pakistan were panicking, but Misbah’s calculated assault showed that they were willing to fight till the bitter end.

In the event, that metaphor became a reality for Pakistan. With victory just a stroke away, Misbah played a shot that may haunt him for a lifetime. He looked like the hero of the final with a succession of brilliant and audacious shots; now he will be remembered as the man who failed to clinch the game. His heroism had been short-lived. Sport can be cruel.

Meanwhile, the country must rise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his merry band.