Salman Butt on way to his century on Saturday

Dhaka: It will be tough to pinpoint the real architect behind Pakistan’s Kitply Cup win on Saturday. There’s no denying the fact that the Salman Butt-Younis Khan partnership played a big role. Umar Gul’s four-wicket burst cannot be ignored either. Or for that matter Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf’s pep talk (or should one call it a dressing down) to the players on the eve of the match. Whatever might have tilted the scales in their favour, Team India certainly missed the experience needed in such key clashes.

The Rohit Sharmas, the Suresh Rainas and the Pathan brothers are no doubt talented but when it came to the crunch they showed their lack of experience. How else would one explain the throwing away of wickets of some of the batsmen at crucial stages of the match!

A decade back, Sourav Ganguly’s 124 helped India win the Independence Cup when they successfully chased 315. On Saturday, they fell short by 25 runs in pursuit of 316.

For once the opening partnership didn’t click for India. Virender Sehwag’s early departure, however, did little to ruffle Gautam Gambhir’s concentration as he carried on with his flamboyant ways. The 40 off 33 balls did provide the impetus as he added 59 runs with Rohit Sharma. Yusuf Pathan picked up the baton for a brief while after Rohit’s dismissal but it was the Yuvraj Singh-Raina combination that put Pakistan on the back foot for some time.

The fifth wicket pair put on 73 off 69 balls with some judicious shot selection and running between the wickets till Raina top edged his attempted sweep to deep square leg. There was no need for hara-kiri, yet the lefthander committed one.

Yuvraj was his usual cool self, nudging and pushing his way through, and chipping in with the occasional boundary. His 56 off 59 was nipped in the bud though, Shahid Afridi getting reward for his untiring efforts.

The task wasn’t easy as Irfan Pathan joined Dhoni — 129 were needed off 109 balls. Nothing impossible in the days of Twenty20 cricket but not easy either in the pressure cooker atmosphere of a tournament final, and more importantly, an India-Pakistan encounter. Sixty runs came off the next 68 balls until Pathan’s desperate attempt to clear the field ended in Shoaib Malik’s hands.

The Pakistan captain had almost sealed India’s valiant chase. Dhoni’s cavalier late-innings surge did glimmer with the prospect of a miracle in the face of an ever-climbing run rate, but it was only a flicker. The chase died in the desperation of the final couple of overs when 32 were needed.

While the Pakistan batting flourished when needed most, the Indians came a cropper. Perhaps the presence of a few experienced hands in the Pakistan camp did the trick.

Man-of-the-Series Butt and Younis showed what experience can do to boost the sagging morale. Butt flourished with a streaky but useful 129 off 136 balls before being forced to retire because of cramps. He found an able partner in Younis Khan, who made a magnificent 108 off 99 balls that sent the Indian bowlers, especially Piyush Chawla, scurrying for cover. The pair paced their innings superbly and in the process added 205 runs for the second wicket. They huffed and puffed in the first 20 overs and then tore the bowling to shreds on a dual paced pitch as 240 runs came in the last 30.

They targeted the slow bowlers as Mahendra Singh Dhoni was forced to employ eight bowlers. The start wasn’t encouraging for the Pakistani batsmen as Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, back after a one-match break, were at their niggardly best in overcast conditions. Kamran Akmal continued with his woeful form and it seemed Malik’s decision to bat first would backfire.

Butt and Younis used all their skills to ward off the challenge posed by the Indian bowlers. Butt survived an early chance at point but Younis never looked to be in any discomfort. Depending largely on cricketing shots and never bothering to resort to slogging, he picked the gaps with elan.

After two successive ducks, Younis was off the blocks with a four off the first ball. He did not forget to have a chuckle about the ‘achievement’ and even raised his bat to the dressing room in jest! He slowed down the pace thereafter rotating most of the strike to the in-form Butt.

Butt dared to take chances as some of his slashes went wide off the wicketkeeper and raced to the fence. He was also at his entertaining best with some delectable cover drives and pulls through the mid wicket region that set up his century. Using their feet against the spinners, they made the most of India not going into the match with a fifth specialist bowler. Chawla (85 off 10 overs) finished with the most expensive spell by an Indian spinner in an ODI.

Younis was more lethal, picking up three sixes and seven fours during his knock. He celebrated reaching his fourth hundred in his trademark style by thanking the physio who has helped him gain much strength through weight training.

Younis’ dismissal had little effect as Butt and Misbah-ul Haq continued with the run scoring spree. Misbah’s quickfire 33 off 21 balls took them beyond the 300 mark. The last few runs did turn out to be decisive in the end.