Current Affairs

News
Ind vs Pak: Sachin's 100th ton couldn't have come this way

MOHALI: It was an uncharacteristic Sachin Tendulkar versus a characteristic Pakistan in the semifinal. Even as the occasion got to some of the players, Tendulkar shaped India's total but the century of centuries, the 100th, could not have come in this error-prone way. Special Coverage: India Pakistan Semi Final For a while out in the middle on Wednesday, though, it seemed Tendulkar was pre-ordained to achieve the feat here. He did everything wrong and kept surviving, and Pakistan's fielders did everything they could to aid his survival. Much of the pre-game build-up had seen Afridi posturing aggressively about his team's desire not to let the milestone happen here. The Pakistan skipper would have had his heart in his mouth for much of India's innings as his fielders scripted a comedy of errors around him. The drama didn't begin with a dropped catch, though. The 11th over saw Saeed Ajmal breach Tendulkar's defences and Ian Gould promptly raising the finger. Out LBW. Not. Tendulkar, for long a vocal critic of the Umpire Decision Review System, finally saw the advantages as replays showed the ball missing leg. The very next ball, he narrowly survived being stumped too. Three overs later, on 27, Misbah-ul Haq dropped a sitter at midwicket as bowler Afridi looked on in astonishment. On 45, again off Afridi, Younis Khan made a hash of a relatively simple chance. This time, the skipper yelled and flung his arms in frustration. A relatively quiet period where Tendulkar proceeded to build his innings was broken again on 70, when that doyen of botched chances, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal failed to move to his right in time. It was a difficult one but the bowler, again, was Afridi, who by now had his head in his hands! Eleven runs later, Kamran's brother Umar dropped another catchable one at mid-wicket, this time off Mohammad Hafeez.

                                                                                                               
Back
Created by SaasVaap Techies pvt ltd