Winning the toss was important. Batting first more so considering the unpredictable weather in north of England. Geoff Boycott reckons all the rain in England is made in Lancashire. So it was a bit of a miracle that the square itself was nice and dry. Ganguly not playing was panicky. But a tentative Tendulkar was instrumental in destorying Shoaib Akhtar phobia.

Dravis is in ominously good form. Thesurprise packet was Azhar's 50, even though not very convincing. The Indian captain seemingly has also lost lot of hair in the last fortnight or so. But today was his day and hundred per cent record against Pakistan in the World Cup. Quite an achievement to rave about.

For once, the Indians played the most positive cricket of the tournament. A modest total of 227 was not a good score keeping India's low morale in perspective. But the wicket at Old Trafford was a good ally for the Karnataka trio of Srinath, Prasad and Kumble.

Lest I get carried away like the rest of our countrymen, allow me to remind all that we have just two points.

Very vital points which has opened up the entire tournament. I am sure the organisers will be mighty thrilled with today's result. The Pakistanis were a bit too cocky, I thought. They had their openings, but failed to capitalise. More appropriately, they were not allowed to. Opportunity's favourite disguise is trouble as the Pakis may have realised to their dismay. ThePakistani players as well as their supporters in the stands wanted to devour in a day what they would have struggled to digest in a lifetime. They were seldom quick to act, not very slow to enjoy. Hence, they tumbled ever so ungainly. But let us not take anything from the Indians. It was their moment of joy which has duly brought back cheers to millions of Indians. This win, to my mind, should have amorale boosting effect on our jawans in Kargil. But then why can't we battle it out on a cricket field instead of shedding all human blood on the frontier.