A nervous bowl-out; Kohli's masterful chases

Pakistan had never beaten India in a 50-over World Cup game, but here was a new format and a clean slate. They began sensationally after choosing to bowl, Mohammad Asif striking four times with the new ball to reduce India to 36 for 4. But a half-century from Robin Uthappa and contributions down the order from MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan lifted India to a fighting 141 for 9.

India's quicks collectively emulated what Asif had done by himself, and Pakistan slumped to 47 for 4 in the ninth over before Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and a couple of biffs from Yasir Arafat brought Pakistan within sight of a win. They needed one run from the last ball, with Misbah on strike on 53 off 34 balls, but he could only force Sreesanth straight to Yuvraj Singh at cover. He had to try and take the single, and was run out at the non-striker's end.

It would have been just fine had the game ended like that - as a tie - but a winner, for some reason, had to be determined despite both teams sealing their place in the Super Eights. A bowl-out - the precursor to the Super Over - ensued, and India's unlikely combination of Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Uthappa proved far more accurate bowling to a set of unguarded stumps than Pakistan's trio of Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi.

The game that changed the landscape of cricket forever. Originally reluctant participants, India were now in the final of the World T20. Gautam Gambhir's 54-ball 75 and a quickfire 30 from a young Rohit Sharma, batting at No. 6, propelled India to 157 after they chose to bat first.

Pakistan lost wickets frequently, but also stayed in touch with the required rate, thanks to Imran Nazir's 14-ball 33 at the top of the order. When Misbah walked in, they needed 93 off 69 balls, with six wickets in hand. Malik and Afridi fell cheaply to Irfan Pathan, but Misbah kept Pakistan in the game, forging small but important partnerships with Arafat and Sohail Tanvir.

When Sreesanth yorked Tanvir, Pakistan were eight down and needed 20 from the last two overs. MS Dhoni gave RP Singh the ball for the penultimate over, and he bowled Umar Gul and only conceded three runs from his first five balls, before Asif steered him for a crucial four to bring the equation down to 13 from the last over. Joginder Sharma came on for the last over, and it seemed all over when Misbah smashed his third ball - and second legal delivery - for a straight six. But with Pakistan needing 6 from 4, he went for cuteness over power, his lap-scoop ended up in Sreesanth's hands at short fine leg, and life would never be the same again.

Pakistan were unbeaten in the tournament, and India had just been pulverised by Australia. India had to win to stay alive, and Pakistan kept them in the tournament with a below-par batting performance. Mohammad Hafeez plodded his way to 15 off 28 balls and was dismissed by Virat Kohli, of all people, and when that happened Pakistan were 59 for 5 in the tenth over. Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal put on the only partnership of note, but both were out in the 20s, and India were left chasing only 129.

You still need someone to get those runs, and Kohli, inevitably, was that someone, scoring a breezy 61-ball 78 to steer India home with eight wickets in hand and three overs remaining.

After a newly introduced first round involving Associates and lower-ranked Full Members, the proper tournament began with an India-Pakistan clash. The meeting hardly met all the feverish expectations, with the first wicket of the match - Kamran Akmal's comedy run-out - setting the tone. Pakistan never got going against the spin trio of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja; Hafeez played another painful innings, scoring 15 off 22; and a target of 131 was never going to test India.

A half-century opening stand between Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan set the chase rolling, before India experienced a brief wobble, losing three wickets in 14 balls to slip to 65 for 3. But that man Kohli was still around, and he and Suresh Raina put on an unbroken stand of 66 to shut the door on Pakistan's faces.