Three green jerseys converged under a swirling white ball in the 44th over. None of them caught it.
Bowler Mohammed Sayyam, wicketkeeper Hamza Zahoor, and Usman Khan sprinted toward the spiraling top edge off Kavya Patel's bat with India tottering at 202 for 9. Each player waited for another to call. In the final second, all three froze and backed away, leaving the leather to thump harmlessly onto the turf. Patel and non-striker Ishan Sood merely grinned at the reprieve, while Sayyam threw his arms up in fury and turned on his teammates in an animated on-pitch inquest.
Yet the comedy of errors could not overshadow the grit of Arjun Rajput.
India had endured a dreadful start after pacer Ali Raza trapped skipper Lakshya Raichandani for a duck. The top order splintered against Rizwanullah and Sayyam, plunging India into dire peril at 86 for 5. Rajput refused to fold. The young batter took complete charge of the innings, dispatching Pakistan's pace battery across the ground to compile a blistering 107 off just 85 deliveries. His century dragged India past the 200-run threshold almost single-handedly before Pakistan's attack wrapped up the tail.
Pakistan eventually bowled India out for 208 in 46.3 overs, leaving themselves a target of 209 runs to seal the contest.