WALLoped

If Kaif was a revelation, at least in the fact that he’d not lost his old match-saving habits, Dravid was the key to the win. He had the match perfectly in control, changing the tempo of the chase at will.

That he could afford to be patient was due to the fiery start given by the openers — and, again, the waywardness of the Pakistan bowling. As Dravid acknowledged: ‘‘The guys at the top of the order had set such a scorching pace that it was just a question of keeping it up all the time. Sourav and Yuvi also ensured that I didn’t need to take chances’’

At the other end of the spectrum Pakistan captain Inzamam Ul Haq was a disappointed man, let down yet again by his bowlers. ‘‘I am disappointed with the bowlers. But I still have the confidence that they can come back strongly. I would back them to come back strongly.’’

The biggest problem for Inzamam was the number of extras conceded, a problem that seems to be increasing with every match and touched 37 today. In fact the two Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were caught behind on no-balls, which further compounded the problems for the hosts.

What the Pakistani bowlers did was undo the effort of their skipper, who had worked hard to keep the hosts on par after he had opted to bat. His second hundred of the series helped his side post a more than reasonable target, but the Indians, as Dravid said, were happy to kept them below 300.

‘‘Anything below 300 was also going to be par for the course for that track. In fact it was the gains in the bowling which should not be overlooked.’’ He was referring to opening bowlers Irfan Pathan and Balaji who had managed to hold the hosts in the initial overs.

Pathan, in particular, pulled the hosts back and was bowling with good rhythm, but fell off in the end overs as he and the other Indian bowlers gave away 98 in the last 10 overs.

The damage was done in the middle-overs, when Zaheer and Kartik put their poor form behind them and kept the run-rate down, which even pleased the vice-captain. Infact only when Inzamam cut loose in one Yuvraj over (33rd over 15 runs), that the momentum picked up tremendously.

In the end though those initial and middle-overs that made all the difference, as the Indians did not have a mountain to surpass under lights.

It is now time to play for all or nothing on March 24, importantly another final situation for India. Indian fans have changed plans for going back. The big question is will the Indian team up for it? ‘‘Yes, we will be. The only finals we have missed out has been in the World Cup and VB Series. Now we are playing to our potential and we will continue to do so,’’ said Dravid.