With Pakistan needing one run to overtake India’s 141-9, Misbah-ul-Haq was run out off the last ball of the innings to leave his team on 141-7.
In the bowl-out, Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi failed to hit the stumps at the other end.
Indian bowlers Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa hit the wicket each time to give their team a 3-0 win.
Both Pakistan and India qualified for the Super Eights round after ousting Scotland from the race.
A sell-out crowd at the Kingsmead watched a slug fest between the two teams that swung from one corner to the other before the match ended with the scores level.
Pakistan appeared on course to victory when they restricted India to 141-9 after captain Shoaib Malik had won the toss and elected to field in overcast conditions.
But India hit back to reduce Pakistan to 103-6 in the 18th over, leaving the batting side needing a challenging 39 to win off the remaining 14 balls in the low-scoring match.
The seventh-wicket pair of Yasir Arafat and Misbah swung the game Pakistan’s way by adding 38 off the next 13 balls, but failed to complete the crucial winning run.
Misbah, who made 53 off 35 balls, patted the last ball from Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and ran but failed to beat the throw from the infield to the bowler, who broke the wickets.
Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan, returning to the Indian team after nine months, took 2-20 in his four overs.
For Pakistan, seamer Mohammad Asif returned the second-best figures in Twenty20 cricket to restrict India to 141-9 in the first session.
Asif, named Man-of-the-Match, used the overcast conditions to wreck India’s top order with 4-18, second behind New Zealander Mark Gillespie’s 4-7 against Kenya earlier in the week.
India were reduced to 36-4 before Uthappa retrieved the innings with 50 off 39 balls.
Indian skipper Mahendra Dhoni hit 33 and Irfan Pathan made 20 to boost the total amid three frustrating stoppages as light showers swept the ground.
Scoreboard
INDIA:
G. Gambhir c and b Asif 0
V. Sehwag b Asif 5
R.V. Uthappa c Kamran b Tanvir 50
Yuvraj Singh c Shoaib b Asif 1
K.D. Karthik b Asif 11
M.S. Dhoni c Younis b Yasir 33
Irfan Pathan b Afridi 20
Harbhajan Singh b Afridi 1
A.B. Agarkar run out 14
S. Sreesanth not out 1
EXTRAS (B-2, W-3) 5
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 20 overs) 141
FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-9, 3-19, 4-36, 5-82, 6-116, 7-123, 8-139, 9-141.
DID NOT BAT: R.P. Singh.
BOWLING: Mohammad Asif 4-0-18-4; Umar Gul 4-0-27-0 (1w); Yasir Arafat 4-0-39-1 (1w); Sohail Tanvir 4-0-18-1 (1w); Shahid Afridi 4-0-37-2.
PAKISTAN:
Salman Butt c Dhoni b Agarkar 17
Imran Nazir b R.P. Singh 7
Kamran Akmal run out 15
Younis Khan b Pathan 2
Shoaib Malik c Harbhajan b Pathan 20
Misbah-ul-Haq run out 53
Shahid Afridi c Karthik b Harbhajan 7
Yasir Arafat not out 12
EXTRAS (LB-2, W-5, NB-1) 8
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 20 overs) 141
FALL OF WKTS: 1-12, 2-44, 3-47, 4-47, 5-87, 6-103, 7-141.
DID NOT BAT: Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif.
BOWLING: R.P. Singh 4-0-22-1 (3w); Sreesanth 4-0-30-0 (1nb, 1w); Agarkar 4-0-35-1; Irfan Pathan 4-1-20-2 (1w); Harbhajan Singh 4-0-32-1.
RESULT: Match tied. India won bowl-out 3-0 (Sehwag, Harbhajan, Uthappa hit for India; Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi missed for Pakistan).
UMPIRES: B.R. Doctrove (West Indies) and S.J.A. Taufel Australia).
TV UMPIRE: Steve Davis (Australia).
MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Asif.—AFP