India, after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first in their high voltage semi-final encounter against Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup 2011 at the PCA Stadium at Mohali on Wednesday, gave a target of 261 for Pakistan to win the match. India ended their innings at 260 for the loss of 9 wickets.

India made a brisk beginning with openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar deciding to go on the offensive from the first ball itself. But India started losing the wickets at regular intervals and the initial run rate of near ten dropped down to 5.2 at the end of the 50 overs.

The first six overs of the Indian innings saw in its basket 49 runs for the loss of Sehawag wicket with a run rate of 8.16. Sehwag was declared LBW for a Wahab Riaz ball after he made breezy 38 with nine fours out of 25 balls. Sachin Tendulkar top scored for India with his 85 made of 115 balls. His steady knock included 11 fours.

For Pakistan, Wahab Riaz claimed 5 wickets while Saeed Ajmal got 2 and Mohammad Hafeez claimed one. The following is the sequence of loss of wickets for India.

49 at the end of 6 overs @ 8.16 for the loss of 1 wicket

65 at the end of 8 overs @ 8.12 for the loss of 1 wicket

73 at the end of 10 overs @ 7.13 for the loss of 1 wicket

99 at the end of 15 overs @ 6.60 for the loss of 1 wicket

119 at the end of 20 overs @ 5.90 for the loss of 2 wickets

141at the end of 25 overs @ 5.64 for the loss of 2 wickets

145 at the end of 26 overs @ 5.57 for the loss of 4 wickets

168 at the end of 30 overs @ 5.6 for the loss of 4 wickets

182 at the end of 35 overs @ 5.2 for the loss of 4 wickets

189 at the end of 38 overs @ 4.97 for the loss of 5 wickets

200 at the end of 40 overs @ 5.00 for the loss of 5 wickets

205 at the end of 42 overs @ 4.88 for the loss of 6 wickets

221 at the end of 45 overs @ 4.91 for the loss of 6 wickets

260 at the end of 50 overs @ 5.2 for the loss of 9 wickets

Pak, Indian PMs witness match

Several high-profile people, including the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers, Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her family (Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra) watched the match from the VIP enclosures.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, union ministers, Chief Ministers, governors of states, industrialist Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood celebrities Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone have also viewed the match.

The Mohali stadium was given a four layer-security cover with intelligence officials, armed policemen, and elite commandos keeping a watch for the trouble makers. The airspace over Chandigarh and Mohali was continuously monitored with anti-aircraft guns guarding it from the ground.