On this day, March 30, 2011, arch-rivals India and Pakistan met in the second semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011. These two teams have a storied history in the tournament which dates back to 1992. The match was played at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Pakistan had never beaten India in a World Cup match, a record that extended to the T20 World Cup as well. This was a crucial match as the winner of the encounter would meet Sri Lanka in the finals of April 2nd in Mumbai. India got off to the good start, as MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first.
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As usual, Virender Sehwag gave India a flying start and the highlight remained him hitting Umar Gul for five boundaries in one over. Sachin Tendulkar, at the other end, had decided to anchor the innings. Sehwag fell for 38 runs with 9 fours in them, falling to Wahab Riaz.
Sachin then added 68 runs with Gautam Gambhir (27), but then Pakistan removed Gambhir, Kohli (9) and Yuvraj (0) in quick succession. MS Dhoni (25) and Suresh Raina (36*) kept Sachin company as the master played a brilliant knock of 85 runs in 115 balls with 11 fours.
It was an innings that saw him being dropped more than a couple of times and then a confident LBW appeal from Saeed Ajmal was turned down and when DRS was taken, more controversy ensued. However, with no other batsman scoring significantly, this knock proved to be a big difference in the final total.
India finally made 260/9 in 50 overs, while Wahab Riaz was the bowler from the Pakistan side, picking 5/46.
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In reply, Pakistan never got any partnership going and none of the batsmen anchored one end from where runs could flow easily. Mohammad Hafeez (43) and Misbah-Ul-Haq (56) were the top scorers, while Asad Shafiq (30) and Umar Akmal (29) were other major contributors.
All of the five Indian bowlers, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh picked two wickets apiece.
India won the match by 29 runs, keeping their unblemished record against Pakistan intact and qualified for the finals in Mumbai against Sri Lanka.
Here is the highlights of the India v Pakistan semi-final match of 2011 World Cup:
