Harbhajan knocks Pakistan out of Asia Cup

Gambhir laid the foundation for the chase with a gritty 83

June 19, 2010 saw cricket once again regain the tag of ‘the beautiful game’ for Indians. India booked their place in the finals of the Asia Cup with a 3 wicket win over Pakistan in an absolute humdinger at Dambulla.

Chasing 268 for victory on a slow track, Gautam Gambhir (man of the match) laid the base for the innings, with a laborious 83 off 97 balls. His knock was laced with 6 fours and a six. However, it was Harbhajan Singh who delivered the knock-out punch with an innings of an unbeaten 15 off 11 balls. India needed 7 runs from the final over, with Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar at the crease.

Mohammad Aamir was given the task of winning it for Pakistan as he had bowled brilliantly… till then. It was Bhajji, the lion from Punjab, who delivered when it mattered the most, as he smacked a full length delivery straight out of the park. Having had a verbal duel with Shoaib Akhtar (0/57) in the previous over, Bhajji looked straight towards third-man, where Shoaib was, as soon as he hit it clean, and roared.

Pakistan were looking favourites in the tense game, having taken the wickets of Virender Sehwag (10) and Kohli (18) with the score at 82. In walked Indian skipper MS Dhoni (56) to steady the ship with Gambhir. The duo added a crucial 98 runs for the third wicket before Gambhir was deceived by a Saeed Ajmal delivery, having his middle stump pegged back.

Earlier, Praveen Kumar bagged 3 wickets, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan took 2 each, as India did well to restrict Pakistan.

Electing to bat, Pakistan were looking good to get to a total in excess of 280, being 144 for one after 28 overs. However, the men in blue bounced back with three wickets in 17 balls.

Salman Butt seems to have made it a habit to score and score big against India. The left handed opener hit yet another half century and was dismissed after an impressive 74. Kamran Akmal chipped in with a 51 runs cameo.

The win means India now have 9 points from two games, at par with Sri Lanka, leaving no chance for Pakistan or the hapless Bangladeshis to make it to the final.