Faysal Bank T20 2011 semi-final

Faysal Bank T20 Cup, 2011,  semi-final

Unfancied sides battle for top honours

The Preview by Umar Farooq

October 1, 2011

Big Picture

The 2011 Faysal Bank T20 Cup has thrown up a few surprises in the group stage of the competition, with pre-tournament favourites, Karachi Dolphins, and defending champions, Lahore Lions, both falling by the wayside before the semi-finals.

The draw had seemed to favour Karachi, who were in the same group as depleted teams such as Islamabad Leopards and Peshawar Panthers, but Twenty20 is the most fickle form of the game. Sialkot Stallions, the five-time-champions, are finally back in the spotlight after thumping Lahore Lions and Quetta Bears, while Rawalpindi Rams beat Faisalabad Wolves to extend their winning streak and ease into the semi-finals.

Umar Gul

Most of the games have been played in front of just a few thousand spectators at the National Stadium in Karachi, but a couple of contests that involved the home team, led by Shahid Afridi, had close to overflowing stands. Karachi, though, did not make the semi-finals, and it remains to be seen how many fans turn up to watch the final few matches.

Watch out for …

Sialkot's 18-year-old Raza Hasan, a left-arm spinner who last appeared for Rawalpindi, has consistently been called up for the national side but has never been handed the opportunity to kick-start his international career. A good showing here could help his chances.

Out of favour Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul, who is captaining Peshawar, also has a point to prove to win back his place in the national side.

Team news

In the absence of seasoned campaigners Naved-ul-Hasan and Abdul Rehman, Sialkot lost their way in 2010, but the pair are back this year and the team, led by Shoaib Malik, have set their sights on re-establishing their dominance in the format. "We were missing several key players for the last couple of events, but particularly with Rana [Naved-ul-Hasan] making his way back into the squad, and Raza [Hasan, who has shifted to Sialkot from Rawalpindi], we have good additions to our squad this year," captain Shoaib Malik told ESPNcricinfo. "We definitely have our sights on regaining our lost glory as former champions, but [right now] our focus is currently on the semi-final."

Rawalpindi are the defending champions and have responded well to the pressure of trying to retain their title, winning all three of their league games. Though they are a young side, they have not been overawed by the occasion and their strength in depth makes them a definite threat to repeat.

Stats and trivia

• Rawalpindi Rams and Lahore Eagles are the only teams with two batsmen aggregating over 100 runs so far in the tournament
• Sialkot Stallions' Sarfraz Ahmed's 4 for 13 against Hyderabad Hawks is the best bowling figures in the tournament

Quotes

"It's all about the right combination. The Twenty20 format is a unique form of game that requires being on your toes all the way while batting or fielding and [the right] combination means a lot. You can't afford to be complacent with even a single ball."
Shoaib Malik, Sialkot Stallions' captain, on how important team selection is for a Twenty20 game

"We weren't one of the fancied teams going into this tournament, but we have shown that we are a match for any team in this competition."
Lahore Eagles coach Manzoor Elahi is unfazed at the prospect of playing Sialkot

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent

The crucial first 15 overs

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

The crucial first 15 overs, and mysterious Misbah

The margin of the result was exactly the number of more runs India scored in the first 15 overs compared to Pakistan

S Rajesh

March 30, 2011

As it turned out, almost all the experts read the wicket wrong. MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar admitted as much in the post-match presentation, and from the scores it's obvious that run-making was a lot more difficult on this Mohali pitch than it was expected to be. The team composition and the early overs suggested a score of around 300 would be a par total, but later events showed it was another subcontinent track on which run-scoring against the hard new ball was much easier.

Misbah-ul-haq

In that context, the difference between the two teams was the runs they scored in the first 15 overs, when the ball was new. Pakistan's top three played useful cameos too, but none of them exploded in the manner that Virender Sehwag had. Sehwag's 25-ball 38 allowed India to rack up 99 in the first 15 overs, compared to Pakistan's 70. The difference of 29 was exactly the margin by which Pakistan lost the match, which means in the remaining 35 overs, the two teams scored exactly the same number of runs. Of course, the approaches of the two teams at the start were obviously different since Pakistan knew the target in front of them, but Pakistan struggled as much as India did in the middle overs. What made their case worse was the fact that they got no reciprocal help from the Indian fielders, or from the dew which was expected to set in later in the evening.

How the Indian and Pakistan innings shaped up

Team - overs	Score	Dots	1s/ 2s	4s/ 6s
India - 1 to 15	99 for 1	52	18/ 2	16/ 0
Pakistan - 1 to 15	70 for 1	57	19/ 2	11/ 0
India - 16 to 40	101 for 4	85	50/ 6	8/ 0
Pakistan - 16 to 40	107 for 5	79	53/ 12	4/ 2
India - 41 to 50	60 for 4	29	21/ 4	6/ 0
Pakistan - 41 to 50	54 for 4	33	20/ 1	5/ 1

Misbah's mystery innings
Misbah-ul-Haq's strike rate at the end of his innings was 73.68; Tendulkar's rate for his 85 was 73.91. That, perhaps, is as good an example as any to illustrate the fact that stats without context is meaningless. Misbah's inexplicable go-slow through the first half of his innings resulted in the asking rate climbing to unmanageable proportions, and it also forced the other batsmen to take risks that might otherwise have been unnecessary. He tried to make up for it later, but apart from helping him reach a personal landmark and improving his strike-rate, his late hits counted for little.

Overall, Misbah played out 42 dot balls, which was the most among Pakistan's batsmen. In his first 42 balls, he scored only 17 and played 27 dots. During this period, Pakistan's asking rate went up from 6.07 to 8.45. Younis Khan's sluggish innings didn't help either - add his 13 from 32 balls to Misbah's 17 in his first 42, and Pakistan have every reason to feel their two most experienced batsmen didn't serve them well: in those 74 balls, the two batsmen got a grand total of 30 runs, with no boundaries. Even with the power-hitters to follow, that was a bridge too far.

Misbah's mis-paced innings

	Runs	Dots	1s/ 2s	4s/ 6s
First 42 balls	17	27	13/ 2	0/ 0
Last 34 balls	39	15	13/ 0	5/ 1
Full innings (76 balls)	56	42	26/ 0	5/ 1

A spell to remember
The batsmen's poor effort ensured that a wonderful bowling performance by Wahab Riaz went in vain. He became only the second bowler, after Venkatesh Prasad, to take a five-for in an India-Pakistan World Cup match. He joins eight other Pakistan bowlers to have taken a five-for in an ODI against India.

More stats

• This is India's first World Cup semi-final win at home in three attempts. They'd lost to England in 1987, and to Sri Lanka in 1996. However, they've won both their World Cup semi-final matches away from home (in 1983 and 2003).
• Tendulkar has won nine Man-of-the-Match awards in World Cups, which is easily the highest. Three of those have been against Pakistan: he'd also won the prize against them in 1992 and in 2003.
• Sehwag and Dhoni joined five other Indian batsmen to score 1000 ODI runs against Pakistan. Tendulkar leads with 2474 runs at an average of 39.90.
• It was only the second time in his ODI career that Yuvraj Singh was dismissed for a golden duck - the first instance was against Kenya nearly ten years ago.

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

India scrap their way into World Cup final

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale

March 30, 2011

Harbhajan Singh

India's dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan's batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday's decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India's bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance.

In the end, India's 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

By contrast, India's display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra was an odd choice on a pitch offering plenty of spin, but Nehra and his bowling colleagues built the pressure and gave Pakistan's batsmen little to attack after they made a promising start and reached 70 for 1.

The Indians didn't give away an extra until the 37th over of the innings, and the way they put together strings of dot balls and tight overs was key to their success. Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his golden duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29.

Akmal had struck a pair of sixes off Yuvraj, driving him over the sight screen and pulling him over midwicket, and anything was possible while he was at the crease. But Dhoni called on Harbhajan to replace Yuvraj, and with the first ball of his spell he came around the wicket and pushed one across Akmal, taking the off stump when the batsman played for the spin.

Shahid Afridi also fell to Harbhajan when he skied a catch off a full toss, and the obdurate Misbah-ul-Haq was left to steer the chase. He found it difficult to lift his tempo and was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56 in the final over, but he ate up 76 deliveries and had he shown some more intent earlier, Pakistan might have had a chance.

It was a disappointing end for Pakistan after their top order gave them hope. Mohammad Hafeez made an encouraging 43 before a string of eight dot balls from Munaf brought a brain-fade as Hafeez tried a premeditated paddle sweep from outside off stump and edged behind to Dhoni.

Soon after, the loss of Asad Shafiq brought the Mohali crowd to life, when he tried to cut a Yuvraj delivery that was much too full and straight, and the middle stump was knocked back. Shafiq had made 30 and had displayed a cool temperament until that point, but the required run-rate started to balloon, and Pakistan never recovered.

But while India have booked a place in the final, they must hope they haven't used all their good fortune too soon. Tendulkar might be the finest batsman of his generation, but today he was the luckiest, dropped on 27, 45, 70 and 81. It seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings.

Misbah at midwicket was the first to put him down, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Afridi. The third opportunity came when Kamran Akmal didn't move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar at mid-on from the offspin of Hafeez should have been taken.

Before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and a near-stumping the next delivery when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan's relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps. It was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer's angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls - Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul (0 for 69) from the third over of the innings. What looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became 260 when Suresh Raina helped them recover from their middle-order failures.

It was enough, but India's batsmen will need to improve if they want to lift the trophy on Saturday. For now, they can dream of their first World Cup in 28 years.

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Great start by openers

Pakistan 15/0 in 2.2 overs

It was difficult to imagine that this semi-final could live up to the extreme pre-match hype but at the halfway point, India and Pakistan had justified the build-up. Sachin Tendulkar played one of the luckiest innings of his career, dropped four times in his 85, while a wonderful bowling effort from Wahab Riaz helped restrict India to 260, which on a good batting pitch and fast outfield was a reasonable result for Pakistan.

But while the first 50 overs were captivating, Sri Lanka would have enjoyed what they saw from the two teams fighting for the chance to meet them in Saturday's final. Apart from Riaz and the Pakistan spinners, the standard of cricket from both sides was rather poor; Pakistan's fielding was atrocious, Umar Gul (0 for 69) had his worst day in a long while, and India's batsmen seemed to wilt under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

Wahab Riaz

Suresh Raina (36 not out) added some late runs, and 43 in the batting Powerplay in the dying stages could yet prove invaluable. India must now rely on their bowlers, and judging by the turn found by Saeed Ajmal and his colleagues, India's decision to leave out R Ashwin to make room for Ashish Nehra could prove a mistake.

That said, it was the seam movement of Riaz that caused the biggest problems for India, and he finished with 5 for 46, finding wickets just when Pakistan needed them. His much-deserved five-for arrived with a tickle behind from Zaheer Khan in the 50th over, and Pakistan must be relieved that they didn't succumb to temptation and drop him for Shoaib Akhtar.

And by picking up two lbw decisions and bowling Yuvraj Singh first ball, Riaz took the Pakistan fielders out of the equation. Tendulkar was put down on 27, 45, 70 and 81, and it seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings of recent times.

Misbah-ul-Haq at midwicket was the first to drop Tendulkar, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Shahid Afridi. The third chance came when Kamran Akmal didn't move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar Akmal at mid-on from the offspin of Mohammad Hafeez should have been taken.

And before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and the next delivery a near-stumping when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan's relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy MS Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps, and it was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer's angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls - Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj Singh bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul from the third over of the innings. There were boundaries from a flick over midwicket, a clip through the same region, a cut from a slower ball, a nudge behind square leg and a cover-drive off a no-ball, and the most remarkable thing about the over was that Sehwag didn't also dispatch the free hit.

The initial signs were worrying for Pakistan as Sehwag also drove Abdul Razzaq back over his head for a boundary. But what looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became a much more gettable chase, and set up a fascinating second half in the battle to face Sri Lanka.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Wahab Riaz's five keeps India to 260

Wahab Riaz's five wickets

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Riaz takes five as India reach 260

It was difficult to imagine that this semi-final could live up to the extreme pre-match hype but at the halfway point, India and Pakistan had justified the build-up. Sachin Tendulkar played one of the luckiest innings of his career, dropped four times in his 85, while a wonderful bowling effort from Wahab Riaz helped restrict India to 260, which on a good batting pitch and fast outfield was a reasonable result for Pakistan.

But while the first 50 overs were captivating, Sri Lanka would have enjoyed what they saw from the two teams fighting for the chance to meet them in Saturday's final. Apart from Riaz and the Pakistan spinners, the standard of cricket from both sides was rather poor; Pakistan's fielding was atrocious, Umar Gul (0 for 69) had his worst day in a long while, and India's batsmen seemed to wilt under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

Wahab Riaz

Suresh Raina (36 not out) added some late runs, and 43 in the batting Powerplay in the dying stages could yet prove invaluable. India must now rely on their bowlers, and judging by the turn found by Saeed Ajmal and his colleagues, India's decision to leave out R Ashwin to make room for Ashish Nehra could prove a mistake.

That said, it was the seam movement of Riaz that caused the biggest problems for India, and he finished with 5 for 46, finding wickets just when Pakistan needed them. His much-deserved five-for arrived with a tickle behind from Zaheer Khan in the 50th over, and Pakistan must be relieved that they didn't succumb to temptation and drop him for Shoaib Akhtar.

And by picking up two lbw decisions and bowling Yuvraj Singh first ball, Riaz took the Pakistan fielders out of the equation. Tendulkar was put down on 27, 45, 70 and 81, and it seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings of recent times.

Misbah-ul-Haq at midwicket was the first to drop Tendulkar, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Shahid Afridi. The third chance came when Kamran Akmal didn't move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar Akmal at mid-on from the offspin of Mohammad Hafeez should have been taken.

And before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and the next delivery a near-stumping when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan's relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy MS Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps, and it was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer's angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls - Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj Singh bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul from the third over of the innings. There were boundaries from a flick over midwicket, a clip through the same region, a cut from a slower ball, a nudge behind square leg and a cover-drive off a no-ball, and the most remarkable thing about the over was that Sehwag didn't also dispatch the free hit.

The initial signs were worrying for Pakistan as Sehwag also drove Abdul Razzaq back over his head for a boundary. But what looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became a much more gettable chase, and set up a fascinating second half in the battle to face Sri Lanka.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

India 161/4 in 29 overs

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Riaz inspires Pakistan fightback

Jittery India lose Gambhir

Pakistan fight after Sehwag blitz

By the end of today, either India or Pakistan will have earned a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, and MS Dhoni did his team a favour by winning the toss and choosing to bat in perfect conditions in Mohali. After all the hype, the time for talking is almost over, but Dhoni still needed to explain India's strange decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra.

wahab riaz

"Pakistan are very good players of spin bowling," Dhoni said by way of explanation. The pitch was expected to offer more for the seamers than the slow men, but the inclusion of Nehra, who has taken just one wicket from two matches in the tournament and hasn't played in two and a half weeks, is a major gamble.

Wahab Riaz

Pakistan, though, preferred to trust the same line-up that accounted for West Indies so easily in their quarter-final, meaning there was no room for Shoaib Akhtar. "It will not be easy against the spinners," the Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. "The ball will definitely take some grip." At least his bowlers won't have to contend with the dew that could play a part later in the evening.

India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel.

Pakistan 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinf

India 160/4 in 28 overs

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Riaz inspires Pakistan fightback

Jittery India lose Gambhir

Pakistan fight after Sehwag blitz

By the end of today, either India or Pakistan will have earned a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, and MS Dhoni did his team a favour by winning the toss and choosing to bat in perfect conditions in Mohali. After all the hype, the time for talking is almost over, but Dhoni still needed to explain India's strange decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra.

wahab riaz

"Pakistan are very good players of spin bowling," Dhoni said by way of explanation. The pitch was expected to offer more for the seamers than the slow men, but the inclusion of Nehra, who has taken just one wicket from two matches in the tournament and hasn't played in two and a half weeks, is a major gamble.

Wahab Riaz

Pakistan, though, preferred to trust the same line-up that accounted for West Indies so easily in their quarter-final, meaning there was no room for Shoaib Akhtar. "It will not be easy against the spinners," the Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. "The ball will definitely take some grip." At least his bowlers won't have to contend with the dew that could play a part later in the evening.

India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel.

Pakistan 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinf

India 150/4 in 27 overs

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Riaz inspires Pakistan fightback

Jittery India lose Gambhir

Pakistan fight after Sehwag blitz

By the end of today, either India or Pakistan will have earned a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, and MS Dhoni did his team a favour by winning the toss and choosing to bat in perfect conditions in Mohali. After all the hype, the time for talking is almost over, but Dhoni still needed to explain India's strange decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra.

wahab riaz

"Pakistan are very good players of spin bowling," Dhoni said by way of explanation. The pitch was expected to offer more for the seamers than the slow men, but the inclusion of Nehra, who has taken just one wicket from two matches in the tournament and hasn't played in two and a half weeks, is a major gamble.

Wahab Riaz

Pakistan, though, preferred to trust the same line-up that accounted for West Indies so easily in their quarter-final, meaning there was no room for Shoaib Akhtar. "It will not be easy against the spinners," the Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. "The ball will definitely take some grip." At least his bowlers won't have to contend with the dew that could play a part later in the evening.

India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel.

Pakistan 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinf

India 145/4 in 26 overs

India v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, semi-final, Mohali

Riaz inspires Pakistan fightback

Jittery India lose Gambhir

Pakistan fight after Sehwag blitz

By the end of today, either India or Pakistan will have earned a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, and MS Dhoni did his team a favour by winning the toss and choosing to bat in perfect conditions in Mohali. After all the hype, the time for talking is almost over, but Dhoni still needed to explain India's strange decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra.

wahab riaz

"Pakistan are very good players of spin bowling," Dhoni said by way of explanation. The pitch was expected to offer more for the seamers than the slow men, but the inclusion of Nehra, who has taken just one wicket from two matches in the tournament and hasn't played in two and a half weeks, is a major gamble.

Wahab Riaz

Pakistan, though, preferred to trust the same line-up that accounted for West Indies so easily in their quarter-final, meaning there was no room for Shoaib Akhtar. "It will not be easy against the spinners," the Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. "The ball will definitely take some grip." At least his bowlers won't have to contend with the dew that could play a part later in the evening.

India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel.

Pakistan 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinf