India made 200 for five from 40 of their allotted 50 overs against Pakistan in the semi-final of the cricket World Cup here today.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was batting on 22 and left-hander Suresh Raina on 8.
The other opener Virender Sehwag was the first Indian batsman to fall, trapped leg before wicket by Wahab Riaz in the sixth over after he had made 38 in a total of 48.
Tendulkar and left-hander Gautam Gambhir (27) added 68 runs for the second wicket before the latter left, stumped by Kamran Akmal off Mohammed Hafeez. His 27 came off 32 balls and included two fours.
Virat Kohli (9) and left-hander Yuvraj Singh (0) fell of successive deliveries to Wahab Riaz in the 26th over.
Tendulkar, who got as many as four chances today, finally left when Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi held on to a catch at short extra-cover off Saeed Ajmal. The little master, who was looking for his 100th century, was denied that distinction by the Pakistanis today. He made 85 off 115 balls with 11 shots to the fence.
Sehwag had got India off to a blazing start, literally from the word go. He drove Umar Gul's third delivery through covers for four. In Gul's second over, he hit him to the fence five times. The first was an uppish shot towards mid-wicket and the second was hit off his pads through the same region.
Sehwag despatched the fourth ball of the over past square leg and cut the next one through point before punching the sixth ball, a no-ball, through extra cover. Pakistan gave away 21 runs in all that over.
Sehwag lifted Abdul Razzaq over his head for another four in the next over, before Tendulkar, who was content to let his partner retain most of the strike, came up with an exquisite drive through extra cover.
Sehwag had not quite finished with Gul, taking two more fours off him in the next over. He whipped one ball through mid-wickt and lashed a wider delivery over point. At the end of the first five overs, India were on 47 for no loss and Pakistan appeared headed for a leather hunt.
Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi brought in Wahab Riaz into the attack and he struck in his very first over, trapping plumb in front of the wicket with his fifth delivery. India asked for a review of the decision, but the third umpire upheld the original decision. The batsman had attempted a flick off the back foot but was beaten by the ball that was a bit short of a length.
Sehwag's 38 came off 25 balls and included nine fours. India were 48 for one in 5.5 overs at that stage.
Gul was happy that Sehwag was no longer on the scene, but his troubles were not quite over. Tendulkar glanced one that strayed down the leg side to the fine-leg boundary for four.
In the next over, the little master clipped a short one from Riaz to the mid-on fence and then came up with a text-book square drive, going down on one knee, for another four.
Tendulkar and Gambhir also kept gathering the runs in singles and twos and took the side to 73 for one in the first ten overs.
In the next over, Tendulkar moved forward and offered a defensive stroke to Saeed Ajmal, missed and umpire Ian Gould adjudged him leg before as the crowd watched in disbelief. Tendulkar had to do some quick thinking about asking for a review, India having already lost the previous review when Sehwag was given out. Tendulkar took his chance and the replays showed the ball would have likely missed the leg stump by a slight margin. The umpire reversed his decision as the crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief.
Afridi, Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in the tournament, conceded just three in his first over as the match slowly seemed to be acquiring an intense quality. In Ajmal's next over, Gambhir finally got his first for.
Tendulkar had a charmed life as Misbah failed to take a catch after the batsman pulled Afridi towards mid-wicket. He was on 27 at that stage.
In Ajmal's next, Tendulkar swept him fine for four and then edged him to the fence through the vacant slips. At the end of 15 overs, India were 99 for one. A single by Gambhir off Afridi brought up the 100 of the Indian innings.
At the other end, Gambhir cut Mohammed Hafeez for another four. Tendulkar moved into the 40s with a four off Afridi, over the bowler's head.
The Indian batsmen were clearly under pressure and the next over saw Gambhir making his departure, stumped by Kamram Akmal after being beaten by the turn of a delivery from Hafeez. Gambhir had faced 32 balls for his 27 that included two fours. India were 116 for two in 18.5 overs.
At the other end, Tendulkar got another life, on 47, off Afridi, the offending fielder being Younis Khan, who had stretched his hand to stop the drive but dropped the ball, as the bowler gaped in disbelief. India were 119 for two after 20 overs.
India's scoring rate had come down a bit, though Tendulkar did try to keep one end going. He hit Afridi over extra cover to reach his half-century and then came up with a beautiful late cut through the vacant slips for another boundary. Hafeez, however, managed to keep Virat Kohli under check. At the half-way mark, India were 141 for two.
Riaz claimed Kohli off the second ball of his next over, caught by Umar Akmal at backward point after the batsman offered a weak shot to one that bent in and edged the ball. Kohli made only nine in a total of 141 in 25.2 overs.
There was a buzz around the stadium as Yuvraj Singh, man of the match in four of India's previous outings in the tournament and the hero of its quarter-final win against defending champions Australia, walked in. He was beaten by the first ball he faced and had his stumps knocked back. India were now 141 for four in 25.3 overs, and Riaz was in line for a hat-trick.
Dhoni, the next man in, denied him the hat-trick and edged the next delivery to the third man boundary for four to take some of the pressure off. The Indian skipper signalled his intent to not get cowed down by steering Hafeez to the third man boundary. Tendulkar then glanced Riaz in the next over to the fine-leg boundary for another four.
In the next over, Afridi was left holding his head as Tendulkar was dropped again, this time by Kamran, though it was a difficult chance, by any standard, after the batsman edged a defensive push. The batsman then square drove Afridi over the off-side field for one more four as India reached 168 for four after 30 overs.
Earlier, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. India dropped spinner R Ashwin and brought in pace bowler Ashish Nehra on the expectation that the pitch would offer more for the seamers and in the knowledge that the Pakistani batsmen are good players of spin bowling.
Pakistan, however, made no change from the eleven that defeated the West Indies in their quarter-final match.
The winner of today's match will meet Sri Lanka in the final on April 2. The Sri Lankans beat New Zealand by five wickets in the first semi-final in Colombo yesterday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani were amongst those present at the stadium to watch the high-voltage encounter.
Dr Singh and Mr Gilani shook hands with the players of both teams before the start of the match.
Others present in the stadium included Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and several other celebrities, including politicians, industrialists and actors.
The teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain, wk), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal.
