Pak pack a punch in last ODI

Ironically, an even contest was simmering between the two sides 8212; India were 183/5 at the end of 35 overs and Pakistan were 182/3 at the same stage during their innings 8212; when the doors were slammed hard by a third party as India looked to force a foot inside in search of 307 after a disastrous start.

In hindsight and on the basis of team effort, Pakistan deserved to win the final match at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday evening. While the Pakistan batsmen worked in the middle order, their quicks did the trick to leave India gasping at 62/4. Umar Gul went flat out to beat the bat and Sohail Tanveer moved the ball both ways from a nagging length.

Sachin Tendulkar looked in supreme touch till he attempted another drive and was caught at short gully in his anxiety to accelerate after he had hit Sohail Tanveer for three boundaries in one over. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa couldn8217;t make much of the dropped chances while Virender Sehwag flattered to deceive in his brief stay. It was left to Rohit Sharma to stand up and be counted, and the young lad didn8217;t disappoint. The maiden 50 of his one-day career came in a mature manner and in his first proper innings in the centre. His 81-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh came in 16.3 overs, and kept India alive in the match when the skipper joined Yuvraj amidst huge applause.

Pakistan, put in to bat, had scored their second 300-plus score in this series to post the highest ever score on this ground, bettering the previous mark by three runs. India had scored 303 against Sri Lanka here, and that was when Dhoni had gone berserk to hit an unbeaten 183. The entertainment quotient had gone up by a few notches at the break with the Indian skipper expected to match his feat and outdo his counterpart as well. But it didn8217;t materialise.

If only Shoaib Malik had hit such a form even a match earlier, this encounter would have been highly competitive but the Pakistan skipper8217;s innings in the afternoon was spectacular nevertheless as he capped it with the figures of 3/61 with the ball later on. In his 89 from 82 balls, he displayed an array of crisp front-foot drives 8212; one rasping cover-drive off Sreesanth in his third spell being the pick of his six fours.

Though the impact of his twin strikes over the ropes and less than run-a-ball rate might indicate otherwise, Malik wasn8217;t overly aggressive through his innings. Malik was lucky to be reprieved on 28, dropped by Yuvraj Singh off Murali Kartik at covers.

Malik walked in to join forces with his senior pro, Mohammad Yousuf and together they milked the Indian bowling with sublime timing and precise footwork against the spinners. Their association of 168 runs for the fourth wicket did more harm than what appeared on the surface. Not only did it even out the three quick wickets in a span of 23 balls for mere 12 runs, it also made sense as Pakistan8217;s first notable opening stand of 65 between Imran Nazir and Salman Butt did not go waste. Later, it allowed young Fawad Alam, who scored 32 not out from 23 balls with two fours and six, and the fast maturing Misbah-ul Haq to come in with an open mind and clobber 81 runs in the last 10 overs.

Though the run rate hovered around four per over from the beginning, the first noticeable acceleration in their innings came about in the 32nd over when they progressed from 150 to 200 came in mere 5.2 overs. Yousuf was the quickest of the two to reach to the individual 50 in 60 balls while Malik took four balls extra to reach the mark. Both Malik and Yousuf walked out stumped to Kartik and Yuvraj respectively, within a few minutes of each other. But the latter8217;s 74 reiterated his utility value in this young side, and among the three-dimensional cricketers.

Indian bowling, as usual, lacked the bite from the part-timers and Pakistan grabbed their share to earn some brownie points in this series-ender and bring down the margin to 2-3.

Later, Dhoni admitted that losing too many wickets upfront was the major reason for the team8217;s failure to chase down 307. 8220;When the opposition scores more than 300, you need to maintain the run rate for a successful chase. Otherwise, it keeps mounting and creates pressure,8221; Dhoni said

Dhoni, however, complimented the way both Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh played in the series. He said that Tendulkar8217;s aggressive batting played a major role in the series win. He also said that Yuvraj, who was adjuged the man of the series, was taking up a lot of responsibility and that augurs well for the team.

Scoreboard

Pakistan

S Butt c Sharma b Sreesanth 36

I Nazir c and b Sreesanth 20

Y Hameed c Dhoni b Sreesanth 1

M Yousuf st Dhoni b Yuvraj 74

S Malik st Dhoni b Kartik 89

Misbah c and b Pathan 22

F Alam not out 32

S Tanvir not out 3

Extras: b-10, nb-1, w-18 29

Total: for 6 wkts in 50 overs 306

Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-70, 3-77, 4-245, 5-261 6-299

Bowling: Praveen 10-1-50-0, Sreesanth 10-1-52-3, Pathan 10-0-59-1, Kartik 10-0-62-1, Sehwag 4-0-26-0, Yuvraj 6-0-47-1.

India

G Gambhir lbw b Tanvir 12

S Tendulkar c Misbah b Tanvir 3 0

R Uthappa c Misbah b Iftikhar 1

V Sehwag c Ahmed b Tanvir 10

R Sharma c Hameed b Malik 52

Y Singh c Ahmed b Gul 50

MS Dhoni c Nazir b Malik 24

I Pathan b Tanvir 43

P Kumar c Tanvir b Malik 12

M Kartik c Nazir b Iftikhar 16

S Sreesanth not out 10

Extras: lb-3, w-11 14

Total: all out in 49.5 overs 275

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-26, 3-57, 4-62, 5-143, 6-188, 7-195, 8-214, 9-238

Bowling: Gul 10-0-50-1, Tanvir 9.5-0-53-4, Iftikhar 10-1-52-2, Alam 10-0-56-0, Malik 10-0-61-3

Pakistan win match by 31 runs

India take five-match series 3-2