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.

Cricket-ICC delegation to leave Pakistan after emergency

An International Cricket Council delegation, in Pakistan to look at the organisation of next year's Champions Trophy, has cut short its tour because of the imposition of a state of emergency.Delegation member Samiul Hasan told Reuters on Sunday the tour was being curtailed because of the political situation in Pakistan."We will return and complete the assessment tour later on," Hasan said.The delegation visited Lahore and Sheikhupura and was due to go to Rawalpindi and Karachi, all venues which will host the Champions Trophy practice and main matches.President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in the country on Saturday suspending the constitution and restricting media activity.In recent years Pakistan has faced objections from visiting teams to playing at some venues because of security concerns. South Africa refused to play a one-day international in Karachi after a suicide bomber's explosion ripped through a rally of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, killing some 139 people on Oct 18.

Pakistan cricket team focussed on match

The Pakistan cricket team is unfazed by the sudden imposition of emergency rule back home saying that the team is all set for the first of the five one-day internationals (ODI) with India at the Nehru Stadium here Monday."We are here to play to cricket and are fully focused on the series. Cricket will go on as usual," team's media manager Ehsan Malik told reporters Sunday.The Pakistan team is upbeat with the 'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar back in the side."This is a good sign for Pakistan cricket with Shoaib back in the squad and we have a very balanced team," Pakistan team captain Shoaib Malik told a pre-match press conference here.The team had a long net practice session with players like Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Yusuf and Kamran Akmal having a long session with the bat."We are professionals and are used to playing in different conditions. It would be difficult for the bowlers taking the field first," said the captain on asked about the early start of the match Sunday.The match starts 8.30 am with a fair amount of due expected on the pitch and the outfield."We have a good bowling and batting attack and we shall decide on the best 11 players for the match after a team meeting later tonight," Malik said.