In an eagerly awaited and excitement-filled Champions Trophy cricket match, Pakistan overcame traditional rival India by 54 runs, in Centurion (South Africa), on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Pakistani audience, especially young men, stayed glued to the TV screen till late in the night to watch Pakistan’s prayed-for victory.

Batting first, Pakistan scored a total of 302 runs for 9 wickets in fifty overs. Shoaib Malik thrilled his Pakistani audience by scoring a magnificent 128 while Mohammad Yousaf complemented the batting spirit with an 87. The pair set a new record of fourth-wicket partnership for Pakistan by taking the score from 65for 3 to a dazzling 271. The Indian team played hard to make it against the challenging batting performance but they could get no farther than 248; the team went all out for 248 in the 45th over.

The victory kept the young men of Pakistan awake till late in the night. Out of excitement, many young men could not sleep for a while even after the match ended. They kept watching news channels for comments on the match and glimpses of Pakistan’s victory. Pakistan has now claimed a place in the semi-finals and the excited cricket fans can hardly wait to see how far their cricket heroes tread this time.