India's Munaf Patel (2nd R) is congratulated by teammates including Virender Sehwag (R) after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Abdul Razzaq (L) during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match in Mohali March 30, 2011. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
By Amlan Chakraborty, Reuters
MOHALI, India (Reuters) - India kept alive a billion dreams after sinking Pakistan in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday to set up an all-Asian final against Sri Lanka.s.Sehwag, however, took it all in his stride as he blasted 21 runs off an Umar Gul over, a shock the Pakistani pace spearhead could not recover from in the remainder of the match.
India, however, could not make the most of the start and Wahab Riaz's maiden five-wicket haul restricted them to a total that would not have been possible but for Suresh Raina's unbeaten 36-run cameo down the order.
Pakistan were off to a decent start too but while the likes of Mohammad Hafeez (43) and Asad Shadiq (30) got the starts, they could not convert it into big knocks.
Down the order, Misbah (56) came out with some lusty hits but lack of partnerships meant by then the game had slipped through Pakistan's fingers, just like one of those catches from Tendulkar that went begging.
"Lack of partnerships has been a problem for us right from the start of the tournament and it recurred today," Afridi rued after Pakistan once again succumbed to the jinx of never beating their arch-rivals in one-day cricket's biggest stage.
"We have invariably won matches where we had partnerships. Besides, our shot selection was very poor."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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