India beats Pakistan by five wickets

GAUHATI, India: Skipper Mahendra Dhoni's sparkling 63 spurred India to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first limited-overs international Monday.Chasing Pakistan's 50-over total of 239 for seven, India reached 242 for five with 18 balls to spare after Dhoni put on a brisk 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (58).Dhoni struck eight boundaries off 77 deliveries, while Yuvraj Singh's 74-ball knock contained six boundaries and one six.Indian opener Sachin Tendulkar equaled Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya's world record of playing in 403 one-day internationals, but was dismissed on four by pace ace Shoaib Akhtar.Akhtar also dismissed Dhoni to return figures for two for 50.
Opener Sourav Ganguly (39) and Gautam Gambhir (44) built the Indian innings through their 82-run stand for the second wicket. They departed in quick succession with Ganguly being run out and Gambhir's stump shattered by leg-spinner Shahid Afridi.Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh then smothered the Pakistan attack and put India on the victory course.

Earlier, Mohammad Yousuf's unbeaten 83 bolstered Pakistan after the home team's spinners kept the batsmen in check.Yousuf struck seven boundaries off 88 deliveries to boost Pakistan, which also saw opener Salman Butt return to form with a sparkling half-century.Butt dominated the Indian pace attack to post a 57-ball 50, which contained eight hits to the fence before be got run out during a mix up with Younis Khan.Trying to regain his crease after taking off for a sharp single, Butt was beaten by Yuvraj Singh's accurate thrown from short mid-off to wicketkeeper Dhoni.Electing to bat first after skipper Shoaib Malik won the toss, Pakistan lost opener Kamran Akmal (12) cheaply as he was trapped lbw by Irfan Pathan, but Butt's assertive knock boosted Pakistan's run-rate.Spinners Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik slowed down the scoring to bowl India back into the contest after Butt's departure.Trying to break the shackles imposed by the spinners, Younis (29) miscued a shot against Harbhajan Singh and holed out to Pathan on the long-on fence.Part-time spinner Tendulkar then dismissed Shahid Afridi (31) and Shoaib Malik (2), emerging as the most successful bowler for India.Yousuf's revival act saw him share a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket from Misbah-ul-Haq, who contributed 27.