When Pakistan gifted the World Cup to Sachin…

Pakistan vs. India – Mohali, 30^th March 2011

Given the recent political tensions between the 2 countries, this was the first time that Pakistan had played in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. In fact, there was even a lot of speculation at the time that if Pakistan were to make the final, the venue would change to Colombo/Dhaka to avoid any security concerns in Mumbai.

Some matches stick with you forever, and I in particular will never forget this match for all the wrong reasons. Ever since watching the match live on the day, I had to date not seen a repeat telecast or highlights of the game.  Earlier this week, whilst sitting at an Indian restaurant in Singapore, I was shocked to see a TV screen that was showing flashbacks of the game.

Although I hadn’t thought about the game in recent times, just watching the highlights reminded me of the pain and agony that I witnessed as a Pakistan fan at Mohali in 2011. Whilst my Indian friends might disagree, I strongly believe Pakistan lost that game (as opposed to India winning it). I truly felt that this was the best chance Pakistan had of beating India in World Cup fixture. And why not? Pakistan to the surprise of many had been the form team of the World Cup. Not only had they breezed past their group, but was also the team to end Australia’s 34 matches unbeaten run in World Cup fixtures. Pakistan’s brutal demolition of West Indies in the quarterfinal was also very impressive. The team was enjoying the underdogs tag, and was surprisingly being led very well from the front by Shahid Afridi. India on the other hand had enjoyed mixed fortunes, but had some momentum after knocking out Australia in Ahmedabad. Their star man Yuvraj Singh was also in scintillating form with both bat and ball.

India eventually won the game by 29 runs and then famously went on to win the World Cup in Mumbai.  Whilst I won’t go into a full review of the game, as a Pakistan fan I list below some of the ‘what if’s’ of that day. The victory was a huge confidence boost for India, and sadly for Sri Lanka, it was just going to be India’s World Cup from this point onward.

Turning point #1 – Losing the toss

We all know how hopeless Pakistan is at chasing. MS Dhoni knew this and immediately decided to bat once winning the toss. Despite this, a total of 260 on a relatively flat pitch with mediocre bowling should have been chased down by Pakistan.

Turning point #2 – Sachin Tendulkar and DRS

I find it extremely puzzling that India still to this day doesn’t wish to adopt the DRS system. Ironically, it was the dis-functionality of the DRS system that saved Sachin at a crucial point in this game (perhaps even winning India the World Cup). I find it hard to believe that the ball was missing the stumps and how the original decision was overturned. Even the media pundits at the time were saying that Sachin’s review was more in hope. Call me sore loser, but the ball was hitting the stumps…

Turning point #3 – Dropping Sachin Tendulkar 3 times

The less I say about this the better. You cannot expect to win a crunch semi-final by dropping a class player such as Sachin, not only once, but thrice! Ironically, Pakistan did the same at the famous 2003 World Cup game in Centurion, South Africa.

All 3 catches were relatively straight forward, and were big factors in allowing India to push their total to 260.

Turning point #4 – Removing Wahab Riaz against Raina in the 46^th over

Despite all the disappointments I have with this game, I will always cherish Wahab’s spell. Although his selection at the expense of Shoaib Akhtar was quite controversial, he bowled an exceptional spell. The in-swinging yorker that dismissed local boy and man of the tournament Yuvraj Singh first ball was special. His lap of joy around the ground that followed was also memorable:

Wahab was blowing quickly and gaining reverse swing that was clearly troubling the Indian batsmen. Even the usually calm MS Dhoni had no answers and looked flustered. Thus, it was big mistake for Shahid Afridi to take off Wahab and bring on Umar Gul for the power play overs. Umar had been quite expensive on the day. The 46^th over went for 14 runs and shifted the momentum that allowed India to reach a respectable total of 260.

Turning point #5 – Hafeez’s outrageous shot against Munaf Patel.

What was he thinking?

I have never had the privilege of meeting Muhammad Hafeez, but if I ever get the chance to, this is the first and only thing I will ask him about.

With the score at 70-1 after 15 overs, a placid wicket, substandard bowling, Hafeez decided to play a ‘paddle sweep’ to a full delivery outside off stump that went up straight in the hands of Dhoni. As the commentators at the time put it, was it pressure, or over confidence…

I can go on and on about the game, and divulge in to other aspects such as Misbah’s innings, but for me the above were the main factors that determined the fate of the match. As much as I hate to say this, Pakistan perhaps cracked under the pressure and didn’t take their chances.

The game is a sour point in my memory and brings back disappointment. Perhaps the reason why I don’t like seeing replays of the game is that it reinforces the ‘what-if’s’.  I’m traveling to Adelaide to watch the same fixture at this year’s World Cup in mid February; I only hope that I remember this upcoming fixture for all the right reasons in the future.