Asia Cup Match 3: India Overpower Pak with Harbhajan Six, Gambhir's 83 with Ball to Spare

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Sreelata YellamrazuJun 19 2010

India went into the Asia Cup 2010 final by beating Pakistan in a thrilling finish. Worse still, Pakistan have been eliminated out of the Asia Cup at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka.

gautam gambhir 11

Chasing 268 for a win, India had Virender Sehwag scratching around. But it was Gautam Gambhir who played the master role after practising his game against Bangladesh in the first match. Gambhir's knock in hindsight was the crucial innings that kept India in the hunt.

His partnership of nienty-eight runs with the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the third wicket was equally pivotal after India had lost a couple of wickets and the run rate was beginning to peak to tenuous levels.

Dhoni scored half century while Gambhir survived one dropped catch as Mohammed Aamer lost the opportunity to slip through his fingers. Fortunately for Pakistan at that time, Gambhir added only thirteen more runs to his score, making eighty-three before Saeed Ajmal struck the fatal blow. Worse still, India lost two more wickets quickly again, with Dhoni going back into the pavilion as well, with India five down for 210 int he forty-third over.

It boiled down to Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh and after a breezy partnership that still saw India needing to score a little more than a run a ball, Raina was run out for thirty-four in the final over, leaving it down to Harbhajan Singh.

Needing three runs from two balls, Harbhajan Singh relived the Javed Miandad moment from Sharjah, although India still won the match with a ball to spare as Harbhajan set the ball sailing far across the boundary rope.

The match saw a couple of needle moments between Gambhir and Kamran Akmal and between Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar off the penultimate over of the match.

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