Finally, India dew it

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />As Moin Khan flashed his willow with the grace and power of a nimble fencer, silence descended over India like a deadly veil. <br /><br />Pakistan, after dramatically collapsing from three for 25 to five for 87, were somehow finding the strength and determination to rise to their feet.The equation was probably beyond the reach of even a very active and fanciful mind, but most Indians virtually stopped breathing.<br /><br />Whispers were floating through offices, streets and homes too. But this time, they were of a different kind: Can India hold on? Will Pakistan pull off a miraculous victory?<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -6"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="34.7%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" color:="" ffffff="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">RELATED STORIES</span></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580696.cms" target="_blank">India beat Pak by 40 runs</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580960.cms" target="_blank">Sachin never excels in finals. Says who?</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580959.cms" target="_blank">Finally, India dew it</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580942.cms" target="_blank">Dravid has a good time</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580930.cms" target="_blank">Not yours or mine, Cup is ours</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/580885.cms" target="_blank">Ganguly hurt, not serious</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Just as the cornered tail starts to wag vigorously, Virender Sehwag pulls one floater back: Shoaib Malik goes for a pull-sweep and the ubiquitous Mohammad Kaif goes down to convert another half-chance.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Silence across the length and breadth of India is shattered; it’s promptly transferred across the border into the stands of Gadaffi Stadium. Even the thousands of Indian fans here celebrate the dismissal with restrained joy.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Tension and question marks race through every mind again as Mohammed Sami and Moin continue picking runs and boundaries. Finally, Zaheer Khan discovers his yorkers and finds a way past Sami’s desperate willow. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The first cracker goes off somewhere in the background.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Pakistan have slipped to 248 for eight. It’s just a matter of time after that. Smiles return to faces across homes, streets and offices in India. Two runs later, the Rawalpindi Express is caught running behind time. It’s all over.</span><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />The Men in Blue get together for one last huddle before the Test series. But then, this one is a different kind of huddle: the players are together but can’t stay on the ground. They are jumping; they are floating.<br /><br />A few minutes, Sourav Ganguly slips out of the physio’s table to congratulate and celebrate with his boys. They have achieved something that no other Indian team has managed till now: beating Pakistan in Pakistan.<br /><br />Inzamam-ul-Haq could only watch in dismay as the match slipped out of his hands. He opted to bowl first again but by the evening it was more than clear that he was betrayed not once but twice: first by the pitch (that simply showed no sign of life) and then by the dew (which came down only when it was too late).<br /><br />His fast bowlers delivered but his batsmen choked. The three Ss sacrificed pace, aggression and flamboyance and managed to slow the scoreboard down. Tendulkar and Sehwag got off to a good start and Pathan and Balaji thrust some more life into the tail. But the middle order wavered. <br /><br />It was only the restrained brilliance of V.V.S. Laxman that carried India to 293. He cut, flicked and drove with usual confidence, minus the flourish, to score an invaluable hundred. <br /><br />Pakistan’s nightmare began in the second over itself. Balaji provided the initial breakthrough and Pathan simply wreaked havoc with three stunning blows. Only one wall stood between India and victory now: Inzamam.<br /><br />The skipper looked as calm and harmless as a sleeping giant would. But slowly he started showing signs of stirring: a ferocious cut was followed by an immaculate drive. He was waiting for the right moment to cut loose.<br /><br />It came in the 21st over: as Kartik tossed the ball up, he jumped out of his crease and neatly but powerfully lofted over the bowler. As the six began its descent near the boundary, out of nowhere, Tendulkar emerged. Dancing between life and death, he clung on to take the catch.<br /><br />You can’t keep the little master-blaster out of too many victories. When Moin finally fell in the 48th over, crackers lit up the Gadaffi Stadium too. 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