Dropped five times... Both the catches and the matches

It's predictably the catches the Pakistanis didn't hold on to, which cost their match... their fifth straight loss against us, the Indians. To add to this, couple of other points or moments that India did well to come victorious out of this match...

1. The Sehwag blitzkrieg in the beginning especially against their star bowler, Umar Gul removed the sheen out of their attack. While it can be said that the pitch was relatively easier then, can't imagine if we had played then sedately.

2. The little cameo towards the end by Raina, that held our innings for the entire quota of 50 overs, has definitely made a difference... boosting the morale of bowlers to have something to defend.

3. When things weren't going very rosy for Indian bowlers, Zaheer's slow ball doing the trick against Kamran Akmal. Not just this occasion, he has been the savior of this team... taking wickets at the crucial moments.

4. Hafeez's needless shot to get out at the crunch situation. Ofcourse, Munaf needs to be patted for bolwing a nagging line till then, leaving little room for the Pakistan batsmen.

5. The all-rounder avatar of Yuvraj taking two big tickets like he has been doing all the while.

6. Nehra too coming to the party (For God sake :-) and atleast making sure that the decision to play 3 seamers on a turning track... wasn't all that a blunder.

7. Last but not the least, the fielding being quite exceptional to our standards, it has definitely turned the match to our advantage.

It was touted as the contest between Indian batsmen and the Pakistani bowlers. But, if you look at the final picture, it was the wrong ones (or doosras) and the straighter ones that our bowlers smartly used, which took the game away from Pakistan. It is really good to see the Indian bowlers rising to the occasion and showing why this team is a favourite to win the World Cup.

As we now head on to the final showdown against our formidable neighbours, Sri Lanka, a little pruning has to be done in all departments of this Indian team.

1. The lower middle order especially Dhoni should come out well and bat through the 50 overs with ease and not just squander the position the openers put them in. It is also important that they come together, in case the opening batsmen don't get a good start they have consistently got so far.

2. Throughout the tournament, our new ball bowlers haven't been so incisive as that of the other teams. Won't be an issue if they bowl second (with the target to defend in mind), but when bowling first, a good beginning will help off-load lot of the pressure.

3. Staying with the bowling, the bowling combination should be got absolutely spot on. Though Sri Lankans are comfortable with spin, I don't think they would have faced Ashwin a lot. Even if we want to play 3 seamers, it's better to play Ashwin ahead of Harbhajan, for his temperament and wicket-taking ability.

4. Catches win matches and so do run-outs. In today's match, there wasn't a single direct hit, which meant the wickets were to be taken by other means. While we might have scraped through today, when it is an even battle... these things make a difference.

So, with the curtains for the 2011 World Cup about to fall down this Saturday, hope we bat the Malinga yorkers and Murali's doosras and bowl out the audacious Dilshan and the wily Sanga to keep the Cup that matters to ourselves, for the next 4 years. Come on India...