wahabuddin khan`s report
Pakistan won the best for the last as their batsmen piled up 306-6 and then bowled out India for 275 to win the fifth and final ODI in Jaipur on Sunday. Shoaib Malik and Mohd Yousuf struck fluent fifties to boost Pakistan's total, while India capitulated in front of the Pakistani bowlers led by Sohail Tanvir, who bagged four wickets. Batting first, Pakistan's new opening pair of Salman Butt and Imran Nazir settled quickly.when a slower Santh delivery prompted Nazir to slap a simple return catch, Pakistan were struggling on 77-3 in the 17th over.Then Yousuf and Malik came to the crease, and the experienced pair mixed the occasional boundary with a series of ones and twos to rebuild Pakistan's innings.Yousuf was twice lucky to remain at the crease, firstly when he was trapped in front by Yuvraj only for the appeals to be waved away by umpire Billy Doctrove, and then when his top-edged sweep fell between the fielders at square leg.But, he and Malik - who heaved two wonderful sixes over mid-wicket and six fours in an aggressive knock - had soon moved Pakistan to 245-3 with eight overs remaining.
Kartik returned to the attack to have Malik cleverly stumped, and Yousuf fell in similar fashion to Yuvraj two overs later, but Misbah-ul-haq (22) and Fawad Alam (31no) took up the baton.The pair put on 38 in 4.5 overs, sharing two sixes and three fours, and even after Misbah fell to a brilliant caught-and-bowled to Irfan Pathan, Alam saw Pakistan past 300.It was always going to be a tough total - despite the batsman-friendly surface in Jaipur - but Pakistan got off to a fabulous start with four wickets in the first 12 overs. Tanvir was the hosts' main tormentor, the seamer trapping Gautam Gambhir plumb in front in the fourth over, and inducing a rash swipe from Virender Sehwag in the 12th.
That came after the seamer had snared the precious wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, the Little Master edging to slip just as he looked like getting into his stride.Rao Iftikhar was the other early wicket-taker, Robin Uthappa falling to a simple catch at first slip two balls after he had been dropped by the same fielder, but Sharma and Yuvraj built something of a recovery.With the dewy conditions playing havoc with the spinners' grip and the seamers increasingly ineffectual under the lights, the pair milked the ones and twos in putting on 81.However, minutes after reaching his maiden half-century, Sharma fell for 52 when he dollied Malik to long-on - and Yuvraj followed suit when he was given out caught behind off Umar Gul on 50 despite the ball appearing to come off his shoulder.While Dhoni remained even the asking rate of over nine an over did not seem totally out of India's reach, but the wicket-keeper soon took one liberty too many when he skied Malik to mid-wicket.The hosts were never in the race thereafter and Malik took his third wicket with his off-spinners when Kumar holed out at mid-wicket, before Kartik skewed Iftikhar to backward point to end his enterprising knock of 16.Pathan (44 off 39 balls) produced some late fireworks, but he was left with far too much to do and home resistance was finally ended with a ball to spare when Tanvir clean bowled the left-hander to finish with figures of 9.5-0-53-4. Indian skipper Dhoni said the early strikes by Tanvir left his team struggling and praised Malik and Yousuf.
"Pakistan exploited the conditions," he said. "Our top order batsmen played the kind of shots they would not on a normal day."
No comments:
Post a Comment