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Special Coverage:

Twenty-eight long years after that magical Indian summer in England, the Men in Blue are one victory away from proving that India is truly cricket’s superpower, not just commercially but also on the field.In Pics: Indian fans in Mohali One victory away from being world No.1 in ODIs, in addition to Tests. One victory away from giving the ultimate thank you gift to the greatest cricketer since Don Bradman, and a fitting farewell to a coach who has contributed so much to their rise. And one victory away from giving millions of young Indians born after 1983 - including several members of the present team - the joy of knowing what it actually feels like to have your squad lift the Cup that counts before your jubilant eyes. Kumar Sangakkara - Sanga to millions of fans - is waiting with his formidable Lankans. But so is the opportunity of a lifetime for Dhoni’s Daredevils. ( Read: For WC final, Wankhede a no-vehicle zone ) ( Read: After pubs, party spills onto Mumbai's streets India went into the semifinal against Pakistan as odds-on favourites, and for once the bookies had it right. The quality of cricket didn’t really live up to the occasion but the ebb and flow of emotions - from exuberance to unease to disappointment to hope to joy to sheer mad exultation - more than compensated. Wednesday’s win extends India’s record against Pakistan at the World Cup to 5-0. Some day, the law of averages will catch up, but not with history beckoning so alluringly.It was supposed to be India’s batting vs Pakistan’s bowling but as often happens in cricket, things didn’t go according to script. The Indian innings got off to an explosive start, powered by Virender Sehwag, stuttered midway and finally lurched to a total - 260 - that could at best be described as fighting. Man of the match Sachin Tendulkar produced one of the patchiest innings of his stunning career, but its value became more and more apparent as the Pakistani innings steadily went into terminal decline.The bowling, though, was a revelation. Defending 260 meant there was no scope for even a single bowler to have an off-day. No one did, with Zaheer, Munaf, Nehra, Harbhajan and Yuvraj all taking two wickets each. Incredibly, the first extra, a wide, came as late as the 37th over. Dhoni attacked throughout, the Men in Blue fielded with tigerish resolve and the bowlers never eased the pressure, even when Pakistan appeared to be cruising.At the end of India’s innings, Pakistan would have fancied their chances. After a blistering start from Virender Sehwag that briefly raised visions of India crossing 350, Afridi’s men had succeeded in reining in India for 260 - a total that most pundits felt was at least 20 runs below par, given the small ground and fast outfield.Umar Gul, supposed to be Pakistan’s spearhead, was taken to the cleaners, going wicketless and conceding 69 runs in 8 overs - the worst economy rate ever by a Pakistani bowler against India in a World Cup match. But young left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz rose to the occasion, taking 5 wickets for 46 - the best ever by a Pakistani against India at the World Cup.Riaz, varying his pace intelligently, gave an excellent display of seam and swing as he struck at vital moments. He brought Sehwag’s blistering innings to a disappointingly premature end and then returned to dismiss Kohli. Yuvraj Singh walked in to a huge ovation from his home crowd. It turned into stunned silence as Riaz produced a full swinging delivery that crashed into Yuvi’s stumps.For good measure, Riaz also got rid of Sachin Tendulkar. Afridi had vowed before the match that Pakistan wouldn’t let Tendulkar get his 100th international century but his teammates seemed bent on proving him wrong, generously offering chance after chance. Tendulkar struggled to pick Saeed Ajmal and was given out LBW but survived when he asked for a review. On the very next ball, the Pakistanis appealed for a stumping. Sachin was then dropped thrice off Afridi and once off Hafeez before Afridi finally caught him. It was perhaps fitting that Sachin’s 100th century didn’t come from such a flawed innings.Dhoni hung around without ever looking convincing and it was left to Raina to guide India to a semblance of respectability. Ironically, overs 44 and 49, which yielded 43 runs for the loss of just 1 wicket, were actually one of India’s most productive uses of the batting powerplay in this Cup. The bowlers had done their bit with the bat. They were to do much, much more with the ball.