For a team that has peaked at
the right time, India's thin pace resource has been exposed in most of the
matches and Zaheer Khan has had to shoulder the burden in the absence of an
able new ball partner.
Against Australia and West
Indies, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was harnessed to share the new ball
with Zaheer in a ploy that was necessitated partly by India's near-empty pace
cupboard.
Ashish Nehra has been India's
best bowler in the death overs for a while until he conceded 16 runs off the
final four deliveries in the group-stage defeat by South Africa and was dropped
from the side.
As luck would have it, India
captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni misread the pitch at the Punjab Cricket
Association Stadium and felt the track would assist seam bowlers more than
spinners in Wednesday's semifinal against Pakistan.
So Nehra was preferred to
Ashwin and the lanky left-arm seam bowler turned out to be the most economic
bowler in India's pace department, conceding 33 runs in his tidy 10 overs to
finish with two scalps.
Dhoni admitted he could not
read the wicket when opting for a three-pronged seam attack.
"It was not a typical Mohali track, it was turning.
We read the wicket wrong and that's why we went with three seamers," Dhoni
said.
"But in the end the
seamers bowled really well.
"It is interesting that
a few game earlier, Nehra was criticized a lot. It's good to see him come back
and do really well for us." Almost equally heartening was Harbhajan
Singh's form in the match as the off-spinner, who looked happy with the
containing job so far in the tournament, struck two blows to derail Pakistan's
chase.
At a crucial juncture,
Harbhajan dismissed the dangerous looking Umar Akmal and captain Shahid Afridi
to put India in command.
The other positive India drew
from the high-octane semifinal was their ability to soak in the pressure that
some of their opponents could not.
The unflappable Dhoni, aided
by coach Gary Kirsten and other support staff, seemed to have succeeded in
instilling a quiet confidence in his teammates, who showed nerves of steel in
the semifinal.
With a billion dreams resting
on their shoulders and the 'cricket diplomacy' initiatives surrounding it, the
Indian players went about their job with a business-like attitude.
While their opponents got
overwhelmed by the occasion and spilled catch after catch, the co-hosts never
panicked even after settling for a score that looked to be short of a winning
total.
With little to choose between
the teams skill-wise at this level, mental toughness often makes the difference
in close matches and India would fancy having an edge against Sri Lanka on
Saturday, having passed the biggest test against Pakistan in Mohali.
