The role of the young captains of both India and Pakistan went a long way in making this tournament a thrilling one © Getty Images

Cricket's greatest rivals played out a thrilling encounter, a feast fit for a king. The King of India has to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose energy and positivity filled his troops with confidence and a welcome nerve. Pakistan's captain did much the same for his men but the pressure of a World Cup final chase weighed heavily on Pakistan's batsmen.

Misbah-ul-Haq was magnificent but his fellow batsmen played without an ounce of his calm other than Imran Nazir, which is saying something. But Pakistan's batsmen have only themselves to blame for this defeat after the match had been handed to them on a golden platter by their inspired bowling attack.

None the less, Pakistan have gained much from this tournament. Foremost among the gains is the revival of Pakistan's bowling attack, a boon in any form of cricket. Umar Gul is the stand-out bowler of the tournament. A new player of obvious talent, Sohail Tanvir, has emerged to offer a dangerous swish of left-arm with ball or bat. An older player of latent talent, Misbah has broken through to stake a claim for Pakistan's middle order. And the leadership combination of Malik and Geoff Lawson has instilled a spirit that Pakistan fans had worried would be confined to their memories.

Pakistan can build from here, a tough year lies ahead. But there is no use in wallowing in the depression of a valiant defeat. Pakistan and India were the best teams in this tournament, a miraculous recovery after the Caribbean. This is a cause of celebration throughout South Asia. Today, India, the team that mastered its nerves better in the Bullring won a deserved victory. But Pakistan and India together scored a triumph for international cricket as a thrilling spectator sport. Congratulations Messrs Dhoni and Malik.

	Umar Gul is now a mature bowler with fire, accuracy, and astute bowling instincts © Getty Images

An incredible year for Pakistan for all the wrong reasons has ended with an incredible tournament for all the right ones. Shoaib Malik's team must now control their excitement for one more match but win or lose they have managed to begin this new era with hope. Most importantly they have brought smiles back to the faces of their supporters.

The game was won by Pakistan's bowlers and in particular Umar Gul who produced a pinpoint spell just as New Zealand sought to accelerate. Gul's progress has been remarkable since he returned from injury last year. Despite the ongoing failures of the last twelve months, Gul's stock has grown with each series and tournament. He is now a mature bowler with fire, accuracy, and astute bowling instincts. His line and length of attack is in contrast to Mohammad Asif and Sohail Tanvir but ideally suited to the death overs. And it is this variety that makes Pakistan such a difficult team to score against.

Monday's final will be a moment of celebration for Pakistan, and although they have no reason to fear either of their possible opponents, they will need to show more of their new-found resolution and spirit. It is too early to herald the revival of Pakistan cricket but Geoff Lawson and Shoaib Malik have done everything that could have been expected of them--and more.

	The misfit among Pakistan's batsmen is Salman Butt whose long game has struggled to adapt to this short version © AFP

After the misery of the Caribbean, India and Pakistan will be relieved to be reacquainted with success in a world tournament. A final meeting would be the most resounding comeback but both teams face difficult semi-final contests. Pakistan, of course, will be delighted to face New Zealand, the least threatening of the semi-finalists.

Semi-finals between New Zealand and Pakistan have become a modern feature, and up to now Pakistan have had the upper hand. In 1992 at Auckland, New Zealand looked unbeatable until Inzamam-ul Haq played a thrilling carefree innings to stun a passionate home crowd and millions worldwide.

Seven years later, New Zealand and Pakistan met in Manchester on a similarly gloomy day but with a vast majority of Pakistan fans. First Shoaib Akhtar produced a devastating spell to restrict New Zealand and then Saeed Anwar stroked a convincing march to victory as horns blared and firecrackers exploded.

A New Zealand semi-final is a good omen for Pakistan but they cannot afford to be complacent. Daniel Vettori's team has big hitters and wise heads in its batting and decent variety in its bowling thanks to Vettori's spin and Shane Bond's speed. New Zealand's fielding will also be exceptional.

For a Pakistan team whose own varied bowling attack has excelled in this tournament, New Zealand are not to be feared. Indeed, unusually for recent times, Pakistan have settled on a bowling formula that is proving successful. A threatening burst from Asif and Tanvir, followed by the intelligent spin of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez, with Umar Gul's yorker attack to kill off the end of the innings.

Under pressure, of course, any formula can unravel but it is reassuring to have a clear plan, which is something Geoff Lawson must be applauded for.

Pakistan's batting remains a point of concern, although with Afridi back at the top of the order there is more sense to it--if you can ever say that about Afridi. The misfit among Pakistan's batsmen is Salman Butt whose long game has struggled to adapt to this short version. The only place you can bat Butt is at the top of the order where his cover drives might beat the fielding restrictions. Lower down he isn't sufficiently flexible to be useful. Lawson rightly values consistency of selection but if there is one change it should be the introduction of Fawad Alam or Yasir Arafat in place of Pakistan's vice-captain.

While Pakistan will be relieved to reach a semi-final and confident of repeating their success over New Zealand, the shortest version of cricket is the most unpredictable. Ironically, it is the most unpredictable team of all that seems to have benefited most from this format. You should never expect absolute consistency from Pakistan, which is why it is good that they have got a below-par performance out of the way against Bangladesh.

Unusually, this has been a happy African adventure for Pakistan and perhaps the most encouraging signs have been the team spirit, intensity, aggression, and passion that have returned to Pakistan's cricket. It goes to prove that in life, just as in Quentin Tarantino movies, attitude goes a long way.

	Misbah-ul-Haq has taken the World Twenty20 by storm © Getty Images

Misbah's temperament has been a surprise as has his assured strokeplay. But the boy can play and his fighting innings against India may have just encouraged him to secure his future in Pakistan's first XI. Misbah the Unfancied has become Misbah the Unflappable, and in a madcap batting order a touch of unflappability is exactly what is required.

The other rabbit out of the selectorial topi [hat] has been Sohail Tanvir, a wrong-footed inverse-swinging rookie whose introduction has helped revive Pakistan's traditional strength as a varied and penetrative bowling attack. The last few overs of Australia's innings was probably the phase that turned the match and allowed Misbah and Shoaib Malik to resurrect a floundering innings.

Pakistan might be through to the semi-finals with a refreshing spirit but they still have an unshakable problem at the top of the order. The first six overs are crying out for Shahid Afridi yet he sticks to the 12-over rule. The Bangladesh match now offers a last opportunity to correct this weakness.

Twenty20 might well be the least important world tournament but for Pakistan fans who have lived through the anguish of inevitable defeat to mighty Australia, this small victory is a sweet one. It is even sweeter still for Misbah the Unfancied, a batsmen whose style carries the 'M' of Majid Khan and the 'Ul-Haq' of Inzamam. He might never reach such dizzy heights again but for what he has done in this tournament and especially today, good on the youngster.

	Misbah-ul-Haq's 53 off 35 balls nearly sealed the win for Pakistan © Getty Images

But on a day that proved that Twenty20 cricket can share the thrill factor, a tie was a result both teams had earned. By sharing the points, both India and Pakistan would have qualified for the next round and the pre-tournament seeding ensured that results and standing had no influence over where the two teams would be heading next.

Pakistan, incidentally, will be pleased to be avoiding Durban in the next stage, almost as pleased as they must be with the wrong-footed emergence of Sohail Tanvir.

Yet the ICC has created a rule that sullied the climax of this match. In their rush to ape soccer's big tournaments, cricket's administrators have missed one point: there are no penalty shoot-outs in group stages, and they only take place in knock-out matches to ensure a winner and avoid a replay. India deserved to win the bowl-out because its players were relaxed and nerveless. But the bowl-out was meaningless, a daft end to a gripping drama.

The two biggest rivalries in international cricket dominate the ICC World Twenty20 on Friday. When the pressure of national expectations grips players in these encounters, cricket becomes a tortured mind game. No greater incentive is required than the historical landmark that a World Cup battle creates, captured perfectly in millions--perhaps billions--of memories despite the orgy of one-day cricket outside World Cups. An ICC World Twenty20 match should not be any different. Indeed, a further incentive exists as England and Pakistan can dismiss their rivals from the tournament.

The Ashes opponents might possess the longest cricketing rivalry but India versus Pakistan, particularly in a World Cup, must have become the premier contest. The argument is a simple one, it is one of demographics. Cricket's biggest populations will be on edge as their heroes do battle. Consider, too, some internet stats which show that while Cricinfo is in the top 200 sites in most cricketing nations, for all South Asian countries it is in the top 25--a remarkable achievement when you consider that this means company with Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ebay, MySpace, Facebook, and other internet giants.

The conclusion is that cricket matters. It stops work and interrupts conversations. It excites and demoralises . It demands attention and provokes fury. In India and Pakistan you can can be assured of this fervour. Perhaps too in Australia, but it is the English side of that equation that offers only sporadic passion, making India versus Pakistan an equal and unparalleled rivalry.

But it is also a maturing one. Where once these matches were fuelled by memories of war, death, and blood they are now sustained by globalisation, television, and the internet. The current generation of cricket fans has had greater interaction with the "enemy" and has no memory of partition other than through the proud but bitter tales of elders.

Cricketers may seem less mature but my judgment is that fans have matured. We still support our team--often at a distance-- with a passion, however, it is the success of our team that drives us rather than the destruction of our enemy. And that is an important distinction because it allows some levity to enter the millions of worldwide conversations between Indians and Pakistanis anticipating this important contest.

There are, and always will be, exceptions to this generalisation but the angry voices belong to Luddites, clinging on to an ancient and increasingly irrelevant hatred. With each major encounter the passion survives and the venom dies.

Cricket and cricketers have played a major role in opening hearts and minds but one step remains. Australia and England might now play the second most important match in international cricket but they do so with a friendly rivalry that the maturing rivalry of India and Pakistan must learn from and aspire to emulate. Let's hope Afridi and Dhoni, Asif and Pathan, thrills and spills, continue to nudge us ever closer.

	Shahid Afridi is expected to make an impact with his big-hitting © AFP

Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir have always been basket cases, their madcap assaults inspiring an amused following that includes this blogger. The other batsmen in the squad are also prone to a rush of blood to the head. Even Pakistan's deserving Test Player of the Year, the mysteriously absent Mohammad Yousuf, is well known for batting like a lunatic in Test cricket--until he acquired a remarkable serenity last year.

Hence, for this tournament I'd pick all the erratics: Nazir, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal, probably in that batting order. My bowlers would be Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, and Yasir Arafat, whose batting counts strongly in his favour.

That leaves one place to juggle between Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, and Abdur Rehman probably in that pecking order and depending on conditions. We are all virtually clueless about Sohail Tanvir.

Pakistan are an attacking team with a refreshingly positive coach. Geoff Lawson says his team can win. Perhaps so. They have as much or as little chance of winning the tournament as a group of five or six possibles who sit below mighty Australia.

But Pakistan fans will be hoping that these miserable last twelve months, beginning with Inzamam's striking revolt and ending with Shoaib Akhtar's revolting strike, will give way to some cricket to cheer even though it might not end in a ICC World Twenty20 triumph.

Small mercies will suffice at the moment, and you can't get much smaller than Scotland.

(You will be allowed to post your XIs on this occasion)

	When will Shoaib Akhtar get the point? © Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar hit Mohammad Asif in the thigh but he shot himself in the foot. There can be no excuse for striking anybody let alone with a cricket bat. That you would attack a colleague under the glare of the international media is an extreme misjudgment, the behaviour of an individual who is incapable of self-control, unwilling to accept the bounds of common decency, and delusional about his own importance.

One reason why Shoaib continues to transgress, of course, is that he keeps getting away with it. He has rescued his career repeatedly. Hyperextension, unprofessional behaviour, dismal fitness, and performance enhancing drugs have failed to halt him. Whenever he returns it is with a surprising arrogance, blind to any of his weaknesses and the blame placed on others.

Shoaib has always mustered support. His extreme speed and attacking approach is an exhilarating spectacle. Like many others I have believed his madness could be harnessed into a valuable role for Pakistan cricket. But perhaps I and many others must now accept that we got it wrong. Shoaib has become uncontrollable and there is no success in sport without discipline, not even for wild men.

Shoaib will grovel, apologise, make some feeble excuses for his behaviour--and there may have been some diabolical provocation--but nothing predicts behaviour like behaviour, and when it comes to Shoaib we all must have run out of patience at the ongoing damage to Pakistan cricket.

	With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif back Pakistan should be able to avoid any World Cup-type slips against minnows © AFP

I am also looking forward to the possibility that Australia - as wonderful as they are - might not win. Any of the major teams has a genuine chance in cricket's most unpredictable format.

Pakistan began their Twenty20 World Cup preparations in the best possible manner. Three resounding victories were all that could have been expected of Shoaib Malik's team in Kenya and they delivered. A pleasing start, though, will not easily translate into success in South Africa where the opposition and the conditions will be much more testing. Yet Pakistan will be helped by these preparation games to fine tune their team and their tactics.

A few questions have been asked about Pakistan's inability to bowl out two of the teams they played. But in twenty overs you don't expect to bowl out your opposition instead you expect to bowl them out of the match, something Pakistan comfortably achieved. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif back Pakistan are able to call on their first-choice bowling attack, a combination that should help avoid any World Cup-type slips against minnows.

The batting, meanwhile, has an explosive look about it. Pakistan's batsmen are naturally aggressive and many of their failures arise from being caught between their desire to attack and match conditions that require a more considered approach. In Twenty20 cricket there is only one way to play, a simplicity of mind that will help Imran Nazir and Shahid Afridi in particular.

Pakistan, then, must view this tournament with optimism. Other than Australia, cricket's hierarchy is confused and any of the major teams could emerge triumphant. Indeed, the shorter the version of cricket the higher the risk to Australia's supremacy. We can but hope. It's about time somebody else was crowned World Champions in some form of cricket - even if it isn't Pakistan.