The crucial first 15 overs, and mysterious Misbah
The margin of the result was exactly the number of more runs India scored in the first 15 overs compared to Pakistan
Team - overs | Score | Dots | 1s/ 2s | 4s/ 6s |
India - 1 to 15 | 99 for 1 | 52 | 18/ 2 | 16/ 0 |
Pakistan - 1 to 15 | 70 for 1 | 57 | 19/ 2 | 11/ 0 |
India - 16 to 40 | 101 for 4 | 85 | 50/ 6 | 8/ 0 |
Pakistan - 16 to 40 | 107 for 5 | 79 | 53/ 12 | 4/ 2 |
India - 41 to 50 | 60 for 4 | 29 | 21/ 4 | 6/ 0 |
Pakistan - 41 to 50 | 54 for 4 | 33 | 20/ 1 | 5/ 1 |
Misbah-ul-Haq's strike rate at the end of his innings was 73.68; Tendulkar's rate for his 85 was 73.91. That, perhaps, is as good an example as any to illustrate the fact that stats without context is meaningless. Misbah's inexplicable go-slow through the first half of his innings resulted in the asking rate climbing to unmanageable proportions, and it also forced the other batsmen to take risks that might otherwise have been unnecessary. He tried to make up for it later, but apart from helping him reach a personal landmark and improving his strike-rate, his late hits counted for little.
Runs | Dots | 1s/ 2s | 4s/ 6s | |
First 42 balls | 17 | 27 | 13/ 2 | 0/ 0 |
Last 34 balls | 39 | 15 | 13/ 0 | 5/ 1 |
Full innings (76 balls) | 56 | 42 | 26/ 0 | 5/ 1 |
The batsmen's poor effort ensured that a wonderful bowling performance by Wahab Riaz went in vain. He became only the second bowler, after Venkatesh Prasad, to take a five-for in an India-Pakistan World Cup match. He joins eight other Pakistan bowlers to have taken a five-for in an ODI against India.
- This is India's first World Cup semi-final win at home in three attempts. They'd lost to England in 1987, and to Sri Lanka in 1996. However, they've won both their World Cup semi-final matches away from home (in 1983 and 2003).
S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo