Script turns India way, Pak lose plot

Together, they achieved what had seemed a distant possibility this morning8212;win the second match against Pakistan by 51 runs to tie the DLF Cup meet 1-1, reversing fortunes in the space of just 24 hours. Suddenly, yesterday8217;s Pakistani stars had no space to shine8212;Mohd Asif looked pedestrian, Shoaib Malik was easy fodder and Younis Khan made just 5.

India, propelled by their batsmen, once again produced the brand of cricket that have made them the most successful one-day team this season. Pakistan, meanwhile, messed up the script early in either half8212;failing to repeat that nagging off-stump line, then leaving things for too late8212;to manage just 218.

The Pakistan chase, in fact, was never really on as Pathan and Sreesanth made the ball swing in the stiff evening breeze. The man left standing was Inzamam-ul-Haq 79, who switched to a waiting game after Shahid Afridi misfired. With the run-rate creeping up8212;it touched the 7-mark in the 25th over8212;Dravid kept up the pressure, asking his fast bowlers to bowl longer spells before the off-spin combo of Powar and Harbhajan took centre-stage. The standout moment, though, was Yuvraj8217;s stunning catch, diving to his right at square-leg to pouch Shoaib Malik 46 off Powar.

Inzamam, meanwhile, stuck to it, though he was extremely lucky8212;first surviving a close leg-before shout off Pathan, then getting a reprieve from a diving Harbhajan at backward square-leg off Powar.

The Mumbai off-spinner proved to be a wily customer, bowling a lot slower with a classic loop, making life difficult for Pakistan on this slow, low wicket. And, as Inzamam8217;s final stand ended in, what else, a runout, the difference between the two teams was this number: 269, India8217;s total.

Sehwag shattered the confidence of Asif early in the innings as India, despite letting three overs go without a run, cashed in amply during the powerplay stages. Man-of-the-Match Dravid revelled in the role of opener in an innings stacked with neat drives all around the ground and laced with ten boundaries.

The opening partnership notched up 138 runs, then the skipper stitched together another 90 with Dhoni, who replaced Pathan as 8216;pinch-hitter8217; at No. 3. In fact, the Jharkhand cricketer shone on the field as he did on the electronic screen endorsing a soap.

In the end, what mattered was India stepped on the gas early while Pakistan hesitated and were left with too few wickets in hand.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA

Sehwag b Afridi 73

Dravid b Asif 92

Dhoni b Naved 59

Yuvraj c Asif b Naved 24

Raina run out 6

Irfan not out 7

Extras lb7, w1: 8

Total for 5 wkts, 50 overs: 269
Fall of wkts: 1-138, 2-228, 3-234, 4-255, 5-269

Bowling: Mohd Asif 10-2-57-1, Rana Naved 10-2-45-2, Iftikhar Anjum 10-1-51-0, Abdul Razzaq 5-0-39-0, Shahid Afridi 10-0-39-1, Shoaib Malik 5-0-31-0

PAKISTAN

Malik c Yuvraj b Powar 46

Farhat lbw Pathan 8

Afridi b Pathan 0

Younis c Dhoni b Agarkar 5

Inzamam run out 79

Yousuf c Raina b Powar 5

Akmal c Dravid b Harbhajan 18

Razzaq c sub Kaif b Powar 1

Rana Naved c Rao b Pathan 27

Iftikhar not out 11

Mohd Asif b Sreesanth 1

Extras b4, nb2, w11: 17

Total all out, 45.2 overs: 218
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-23, 3-45, 4-91, 5-108, 6-147, 7-148, 8-198, 9-209

Bowling: Irfan Pathan 10-0-35-3, S Sreesanth 7.2-0-31-1, Ajit Agarkar 8-1-30-1, Harbjahan Singh 10-0-57-1, Romesh Powar 10-0-61-3