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Sydney, Apr 1(ANI): India owes their victory against Pakistan in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final more to the mistakes of their opponents than to any inspiration of their own, noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck has said.

“The sight of Sachin Tendulkar edging the ball as often as he middled it and clipping catches duly dropped by downcast opponents confirmed that the track was awkward and the visitors as tense as their hosts,” Roebuck wrote in his syndicated column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Batsmen can go through entire series without securing as many reprieves as a practitioner who rarely requires even a second chance. Pakistan had reason to rue their buttery fingers. But that sentence has been written before.”

“Nerves taut, anxiety nibbling, nightmares lurking, India scratched and scraped their way into the World Cup final,” he added.

Roebuck also highlighted that apart from the dropped catches, Pakistan also suffered due to a wayward performance from fast bowler Umar Gul and a batting order that lacked purpose.

“For reasons best known to himself, Mohammad Hafeez chose this day of all days to play his worst shot, an attempted scoop off a pace bowler that merely produced a snick. Not that his comrades imposed themselves. Misbah-ul-Haq pottered around until it was too late while the rest started the job and did not finish it,” Roebuck wrote.

“Incredibly too, the underdogs did not take the powerplay until all the hitters had been removed. With the game slipping away, they needed to gamble. It was a disconcerting oversight,” he added. (ANI)