"Eight runs away from 150 — ‘at 150 they will be five down' — the fifth wicket falls. It is Umar Akmal who is out, getting himself into a most unedifying muddle against the spin bowling of Harbhajan Singh. The confusion is matched on my sofa. ‘I just don't believe this is happening,' Cherrene says. With the script accurate — Pakistan reach 150 off the second ball of the 37th over — the ‘crumble' begins immediately. Abdul Razzaq is the sixth Pakistan batsman out one ball later and the television commentators begin to dissect Pakistan's performance.
"Younis Khan and Misbah come in for particular criticism. Younis scored 13 off 32 balls, a strike rate of 40.62. Misbah scored 17 from the first 42 balls he faced, playing out 27 dots. During this period Pakistan's required run rate jumped from 6.07 to 8.45. During the 74 balls in which Younis and Misbah were at the crease together, 30 runs were scored. Shahid Afridi is the seventh wicket to fall, at 184. Pakistan are, indeed, crumbling to ‘lose by a margin over 20 runs'. When Afridi skies a catch to Virender Sehwag off Harbhajan Singh, Ravi Shastri, the former India captain-turned-commentator, says: ‘These are baffling tactics from Pakistan.'
"Rather than referring to the shot which Afridi played, Shastri is wondering why Pakistan have not taken the final powerplay — five overs when fielding restrictions should allow batsmen like Afridi to score more freely. They take the powerplay in the 45th over with Misbah and Umar Gul, the bowler, at the crease. When Misbah hits a four in the 48th over, Mark Nicholas, the hyperbole in his voice reduced to a befuddled whine, says: ‘That's the reason we can't fathom why it (the powerplay) was not taken earlier.'
"Misbah takes 14 off the over. ‘If he can produce these shots, why didn't he produce it earlier on?' Rameez Raja says. India win by 29 runs. Misbah's is the last wicket to fall. We see a shot of the prime ministers of India and Pakistan. Sat together, they applaud politely, their emotions inscrutable. Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan all-rounder working as an analyser for Sky Sports, says: ‘Two terrible innings from senior Pakistan players Younis and Misbah. There was no panic.'
"Nick Knight, once an England one-day opening batsman, agrees: ‘I'm at a loss to explain those two innings.'"
