THE bowler was Sharma. It was the last over of a final. A six would have done it. The echoes of history thundered through the souls of every spectator aware of the annals of Pakistan-India matches.

Alas, for Misbah-ul-Haq it was not to be. No Miandad moment for him. Pakistan’s premier batsman in the tournament almost saved his team from a self-inflicted disaster, yet he will regret forever his decision to chip a slowish delivery over fine leg. On such moments are heroes made, fortunes lost, and hearts broken.

After a year that brought Pakistan cricket face to face with every controversy possible, Shoaib Malik’s young team came eyeball to eyeball with rivals India in a World Cup final.

That it was only Twenty20, the Zinger Burger of international cricket, mattered for nothing. What mattered was that Pakistan and India, the best-followed nations in the world, had recovered from their Caribbean limbo dance. Cricket in the two countries had never stooped lower but in Johannesburg it reached a height that nobody could have imagined. When this form of cricket was conceived it seemed ideal for Pakistan’s mentality, particularly the batsmen who often play as if 20 overs are too long. But it is Pakistan’s bowlers who have been the stars of this tournament.

This harks back to Pakistan’s best era in world cricket when its bowlers were always capable of keeping the team in any match. The last few years have seen an unsettled bowling attack, unable to adhere to the basics of top-class bowling. With Geoff Lawson’s arrival the bowlers have rediscovered their radar and ensured Pakistan reached the final and created a winning position.

Once again, Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers, a mature stallion able to york and bounce the batsmen at will. These are the ancient arts of fast bowling and Gul has mastered them. He won what was supposed to be the key contest of the final, Pakistan’s tussle with Yuvraj Singh, the best batsman in the tournament undone by the best bowler.

The target was straightforward in ideal batting conditions, and Pakistan must have thought the match was won at half-time. But India fought back with tight if unspectacular bowling and Pakistan’s batsmen lost the battle of minds.

Two vital decisions turned the innings in India’s favour. First was Younis Khan’s call for a quick single immediately after Imran Nazir’s request for a runner had been rightly turned down. Nazir was run out, limping a quick single. The second misjudgement was to hold Shahid Afridi back until the pressure was too great for his brain to control the mental explosion.

There is no shame in this defeat even though it might be at the hands of Pakistan’s biggest rivals. Malik and Lawson have revived Pakistan as a force in world cricket. It is an era begun with energy, passion, discipline and much excitement.