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Sami and the spitting cobra

Play of the Day

With the innings floundering like a paper boat in a storm, Rahul Dravid had looked a class apart, caressing some magnificent drives and showing a composure beyond his team-mates. As long as he remained, so did a chimera of victory. But Mohammad Sami, who had earlier knocked over Sachin Tendulkar to take his 100th ODI wicket, had different ideas. On a pitch that remained an absolute belter, Sami produced a snorter of the highest quality, a delivery that reared up at Dravid's bat handle from just short of a length. Younis Khan made good ground to hold on to the lobbed chance, and Pakistan could smile, secure in the knowledge that the match had been signed, sealed and delivered.
Dhoni's brief cracker
By the time Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked out to bat, the effervescence had already started to depart the stands, with Virender Sehwag trudging back to the pavilion early. By the time he got his eye in, the lull was even more pronounced - Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly swelling their series tally to just 25. But the chants of "Dhoni, Dhoni" must have had some effect on cricket's answer to glam-rock, and some meaty drives, biffs and edges quickly had the run-rate humming along at close to what was required. Against the skiddy accuracy of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan though, such belligerence was fraught with risk, and when Dhoni tried to pull a delivery that hastened on to him, the top-edge carried only as far as Kamran Akmal behind the stumps. Suddenly, the supposed medium-pace trundler who had replaced the self-proclaimed king of fast bowlers, had three wickets, leaving India well and truly rolled over in this steel city.