Nov 12: India leads 2-1 in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan
Fine all–round performance by Yuvraj Singh paved the way for Team India, after pushing behind Salman Butt’s valiant century knock, to register a comfortable 46-run victory over Pakistan taking the crucial 2-1 lead in the five match ODI series at the Green Park stadium here on Sunday.
Left-handed Salman Butt career best knock (129) went in vain, as the Pakistan team ran out of fuel in the end after chasing the stiff target of 295 set by India.
Butt was the ninth batsmen to get out after fighting all the way and threatening the Indian team, ending a 142-ball effort studded with 17 fours. Pakistan team was bowled out for 248 in 47.2 overs on a slow track.
Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh’s came up with strokeful 77 off 95 balls, while knitting a crucial 100-run partnership with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (49 of 52 balls) for the fourth wicket, providing the much needed momentum after the mid-innings fall.
Then later in the Pakistan innings, he sent back the dangerous Mohammed Yousuf before removing Shoaib Malik in an impressive spell of 1/18 in five overs. Pakistan team was certainly sulking at the end on the costly dropped chance of Yuvraj on 26.
Pakistan’s explosive ‘Pathan’ Shahid Afridi (12) returned to his opening slot with Butt to chase the big total and when everyone at the ground was eagerly waiting for his colorful knock, the Indian Pathan cleaned him up, as Irfan Pathan stamped his return with the new-ball after a long time.
He uprooted Afridi’s off-stump in the fourth over. Another nemesis for India Younis Khan (21) was shown the door by local lad RP Singh reducing the visitors to 72 for two.
Butt, at the other end raced to his fifty in just 48 balls. Butt impelled Pakistan to 100 in 99 balls. But again Yuvraj came up with some fine fielding performance, as Mohammad Yousuf’s (16) short stint in the middle was cut short with a direct hit leaving Pakistan at 104 for three.
Yuvraj excelled with the ball as well as he trapped Paksitani Skipper Shoaib Malik (12) in front in the 28th over. Kartik dismissed Misbah-ul-Haq (34) in the 42nd over to set off a batting crumple.
Soon Kamran Akmal (2) fell to RP, while Sohail Tanvir (0) returned to Pavillion after a big mix-up with Butt. From 214 for four, Pakistan went down to 231 for seven in 44 overs.
Later Harbhajan, who has been not been lucky enough to get the wicket, finally gave the deadliest blow when he trapped Butt sealing the doors for Pakistanis to win the match any further.
Earlier putting into bat, Sourav Ganguly (39) and Sachin Tendulkar (29) after struggling initially once again gave India a good start through a 68-run opening stand.
Pakistan had a set back in the first ball of the innings when wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped Ganguly leaving hapless Shoaib Akhtar in frustration. He bowled two wide balls that followed. At the other end, Tendulkar too survived an aggressive Shoaib Akhtar spell, during which he edged the pacer just over first slip where Misbah-ul-Haq was late to react piling up Shoaib’s agony.
India was well settled at 68 in the 11th over without the loss of any wicket, when Sohail Tanvir’s double strike gave a jolt to India, as the hosts lost both the openers in a space of 14 runs.
Akmal amending his previous mistake brilliantly caught Tendulkar of Tanvir’s delivery in the15th over. Ganguly lost his off-stump as the duo recorded 44th half-century opening partnership. Tendulkar-Ganguly duo surpassed Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrists’ record of 43 fifty-plus stands.
The run rate came to a halt in between and then Gautam Gambhir (25) was unlucky to fall down to Abdur Rehman.
Skipper Dhoni initially looked uncomfortable against Rehman, while Yuvraj got a lease of life as the star of the day Butt did the only mistake that cost them the match, he dropped him at mid-wicket off Shoaib Malik.
But suddenly Yuvraj broke his calm scoring two pounding sixes in Rehman’s fourth over clearing the mid-wicket and long on boundary. It worked as a catalyst to Dhoni as he responded in the same manner, sending his counterpart Malik one over the sightscreen and the other landed on the roof at long on.
Yuvraj celebrated his seventh fifty with a six over long off to Afridi, but Dhoni (49) fell short of a single run as he dragged a Shoaib Akhtar delivery onto the stumps.
Yuvraj looked excellent in his century but he got out to Misbah-ul-Haq off Rehman in the 47th over, while birthday boy Robin Uthappa (19) played a cameo before Gul castled him.
Tanvir was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers, as he claimed two for 26 in his tight spell. And Irfan Pathan (17) and Harbhajan (10) remained unbeaten in the end taking the team to a fighting total of 294.
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