From the second India beat Australia in the second quarterfinal and ensured that they would face Pakistan in the semi-final at Mohali, the entire cricketing world was abuzz. Immediately the game gained a number of monikers – “the greatest match ever”, “the mother of all games”, “the final before the final”. There was intense discussion across social media as fans from both sides plotted on how to get tickets for the game and how to get to Mohali for the match. Face paint and body paint was prepared and war cries sounded out all over the internet. Opportunistic Indian media used the game as a platform to discuss the India-Pakistan political relationship and much was made of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s attendance at the match. Terms like “cricket diplomacy” flew around the news networks like a plague. Talks of Sachin’s possible 100th international century and an injured Shoaib Akhtar coming out to play were discussed at length.

But at 2:30 pm in Mohali today, all of that flew out the window. The anthems had been sung, hands had been shaken. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were out in the middle for India, ready to let cricket do the talking.

They got off to a flying start, Sehwag getting off the mark with a four for the sixth time in this World Cup and Sachin playing a slightly more sedate role, offering Sehwag the strike at will. It looked effortless as Sehwag hammered the ball, taking it in turns to hit the advertising boards at cover and midwicket. Gul, one of Pakistan’s top performers with the ball had a nightmare of a start as his second over conceded 21 runs, all with Sehwag on strike. But it was a brief blitz as he was out for 38 runs, off just 25 balls, in the sixth over, with the score already at 48-1.

Sehwag’s dismissal was a stutter, but a small one as Tendulkar began to take the lead, assisted ably by Gautam Gambhir, who hit two boundaries and ran hard between the wickets. He reached 27 off 32 balls before he was stumped as he danced down the track to Hafeez.

Virat Kohli came in to bat, but his recent form wasn’t reflected as he looked ill at ease out in the middle. His innings lasted just 21 balls before he hit a length ball straight to Umar Akmal at backward point off the bowling of Wahab Riaz. By this time, Sachin Tendulkar had scored 60 runs and had been dropped twice. The score was 141-3.

Yuvraj, India’s man of the tournament with bat and ball, came to the crease and was bowled by Riaz for a golden duck. Wahab, who had been looking threatening all day, was on a hat-trick and India had hit a roadblock. Dhoni allayed fears and looked to be aggressive as he got two slightly lucky fours behind the wicket. But the Pakistan spinners had done well at restricting the rate after the early blitz, and when Tendulkar finally fell on 85 in the 37th over, 15 runs short of his 100th international century, the rate was just pushing 5 runs per over. From there some attacking batting by Raina, helped by Dhoni and a late Harbhajan cameo took India to 260-9 in their 50 overs. Again, it was 30 runs short of where it looked to be headed after their flying start. Wahab Riaz had given a standout bowling performance with an amazing spell of 5-46. Pakistan had definitely given themselves a chance.

India had dropped Ravichandran Ashwin to play three seamers, expecting bounce from the Mohali wicket. But they were disappointed as the wicket proved to be relatively slow. India had had bowling concerns throughout the tournament, and with an inconsistent and impetuous but very aggressive Pakistan top four, they would have felt worried in the first few overs of Pakistan’s innings. Their chase started off confidently as Hafeez and Kamran Akmal hit boundary after boundary in the first few overs.

When Akmal fell to Zaheer’s slower ball in the 9th over, the Indian team looked delighted, and their delight was compounded when Hafeez was caught behind attempting a paddle sweep, with the score at 70-2.

The middle overs were a long struggle as the Pakistan middle order attempted to stay at the crease then saw the increase in required run rate and perished while trying to bring it down. Boundaries dried up completely, with Pakistan reaching just 104 at the halfway mark. Misbah ul Haq, in particular, struggled as he attempted to steady the chase but succeeded only in placing great pressure on his partners at the other end. Umar Akmal played a blazing quick innings of 29, with 2 sixes and 1 four, off just 24 balls. But when he was bowled by Harbhajan, with 119 runs still to get off 103 balls, Pakistan looked to be out of batsmen and hope. Even more so when power hitter Abdul Razzaq was dismissed for just 3. Afridi came to the crease and tried to be the aggressor while Misbah remained steady at one end. He scored 19 off 17 balls before he was caught off a Harbhajan full toss. The game looked to be India’s to lose. And so it was, although some sloppy bowling and a last minute blitz from Misbah sent flutters of concern rippling through the capacity crowd at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. In the end, a lack of aggression and some smart bowling by India’s seamers and Harbhajan Singh sealed a 29 run victory to put India through to the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on Saturday in Mumbai.

The game was by no means a master class in cricket – even with his 86, Sachin looked patchy and unsteady at the crease. Pakistan had dropped him four times, and a few other catches besides. India’s fielding was hardly at their best today. There were some questionable referrals on both sides today and it seemed that neither team had gotten the UDRS memo: don’t question Simon Taufel’s decisions. Ever. He proved to be accurate as ever today, getting every LBW shout correct and demonstrating why he is so highly regarded as the best umpire in the world. In the end, it was all about the result of this marquee match, the biggest game of the tournament, and India kept their unbeaten record against Pakistan in five World Cup encounters. Importantly, the spirit of the game was clean, and after its intense media build up, the on field conduct from both sides was superb.

Afridi was gracious at the post match presentation, full of praise for his bowlers and acceptance that the batting had failed them again. He thanked the crowd and bowed out of the tournament with grace and class. Dhoni admitted that the team had read the pitch entirely wrong and that the win was something of a relief.

Despite this match’s label as the real final, no trophy was handed out today and Dhoni and Kirsten’s Indian team will now travel to Mumbai to face Sri Lanka in the first ever all Asian World Cup final. The match has already been spoken about in terms of “scripts” – Sachin on 99 hundreds, Muralidaran bowing out of the ODI arena, both in their last World Cup match. One game left and the world champion will be decided. India or Sri Lanka. Sachin or Murali. But for today, the party in India continues as though they’ve won after a victory over their local rivals. Not the greatest game ever, but definitely not just another game of cricket.