India Knock Off Rival Pakistan in Cricket World Cup Semi-final (Videos)

 

Punjabi and bhangra songs blared from the speakers while fans shouted and danced in celebration.

 

India have done it once again.

 

Pakistan’s futile record against India in World Cup play continued as India won the semi-final by 29 runs and will now play Sri Lanka for the World Cup on Saturday in Mumbai.

 

For all intensive purposes, the highly charged semi-final between India and Pakistan felt like a final as the two rival countries played an entertaining match in Mohali, Punjab. India has defeated Pakistan in the 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and now 2011 World Cups.

 

“This was almost like a final. Whenever India and Pakistan play each other the pressure is always doubled," said Harbhajan Singh.

 

Sachin Tendulkar who was named Man of the Match has played in all of those matches and is already a cricket legend in India.

 

"Going back to Mumbai for this event is going to be a wonderful occasion,” said Tendulkar. “We’ve got to be calm and focused. This has been memorable, and something I will cherish all through my life."

 

After the win, fans in Mohali streamed onto the streets in jubilation while celebrating by honking their horns and dancing in the streets. The scene must be the same all across India at the moment and festivities will surely continue in the middle of the night.

 

 

The match started out very well for India as they won the toss and opted to bat first. Interesting fact, India had only won 21 of 53 matches against Pakistan when batting first, but it didn’t seem to matter on this day.

 

Virender Sehwag was knocking boundary after boundary racking up runs for India in the early going. Sehwag’s run didn’t last very long as he was bowled out, leg before wicket, by Wahab Riaz for his first of five wickets on the day.

 

Riaz put on a fantastic display of bowling and helped Pakistan slow down India’s run rate considerably and eventually limited India to a modest total of 260 runs and nine wickets.

 

Tendulkar had the biggest impact for India but it was definitely not his best performance in the Indian uniform. Tendulkar hit for 85 runs off 115 balls including 11 boundaries. But he was lucky as Pakistan dropped him four times. Perhaps it was nerves but it was definitely a poor display of fielding. Finally, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was able to get Tendulkar out when he dropped to his left and managed to hold onto a stinging drive.

 

Chasing a reasonable target of 261 runs, Pakistan looked to be in the driver’s seat but India were able to win comfortably on the strength of their bowling and fielding. Timely wickets disrupted the flow of Pakistan’s batting and no partnerships of significance were formed. Pakistan was eventually bowled out for 231 runs in 49.5 overs. Only Misbah-ul-Haq managed to reach the half-century mark finishing with 56 runs. All of India’s bowlers took two wickets each.

 

The final will take place in Mumbai on April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium. India and Sri Lanka have each won a World Cup title. This will mark the first time in history that two Asian countries will meet in the final.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zejcBSnDLr4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-q6U7w4gho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyYdvrAfWOU
Click HERE to see match scorecard: