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India fire big time, Pak cringe in pain

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07 Jun, 17 11:55
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India fire big time, Pak cringe in pain Birmingham : On a day of rain and shine, in a match interrupted and shortened by intermittent drizzle, the top four Indian batsmen hit 50s and India raced to 319 in 48 overs against Pakistan. This, clearly, was too much for Pakistan. They lacked the discipline, skill and desire needed to secure a win. Chasing a revised target of 289 in 41 overs, calculated by the D/L method, Pakistan were bowled out for 164 in 33.4 overs, losing by 124 runs.
The teams played true to their rankings in ODI cricket - No. 3 India batted with resolve and flair in difficult conditions to post a huge total. Pakistan, chasing runs at 7.04 an over right from the start, were never in the match. Only Shoaib Malik scored at more than run-a-ball, but his innings was all too brief (15). Opener Azhar Ali got the sole 50 of the innings, but he didn't have the firepower to force India to the back foot. The Indians were disciplined in bowling.
India's acceleration
Forty-four overs into the game, India 247/2, the Indians in the stands were delighted. Then, in a flash, the batsmen changed gears - the last four overs brought 72 runs. Virat Kohli, who'd crept to 44 off 56 balls with only two fours, and had been dropped on the last ball of the 44th over, suddenly became sublime.
As if by magic, Kohli found his touch, his timing. The fourth ball of the 45th over, bowled by Hasan Ali, was slower and shorter. Spotting it early, Kohli hit an extraordinary shot -- he hit a flat-batted pull-drive over long-on, earning a six and reaching 50. This seemed to fire him up. Spotting the ball sailing over the rope, Kohli shouted an encouragement to himself. Seventeen runs came off the over, nine of them off the bat of Yuvraj Singh.
Carnage
Carnage followed. The next over from Wahab Riaz cost Pakistan 21 runs. Kohli hit 4, 4, 6 to send the Indians in the crowd into frenzy. Hasan Ali, the impressive young quick who'd bowled his first seven overs for only 30, came up for the 47th of the innings and second ball, got Yuvraj LBW. Fourth ball, Ali provided Kohli a half-volley outside off - and bang! Four to the cover boundary. Next ball, slightly shorter and wider, was struck over the covers for six.
But worse (for Pakistan) was still to come. Yuvraj's dismissal had brought in Hardik Pandya, and the last over, bowled by Imad Wasim, had Pandya on strike. Wasim made the mortal mistake of bowling a full delivery. Dutifully, Pandya struck it for six over long-off. Second ball was full, again - a six over long-off, again. Wasim, twice bitten, bowled the third ball slightly shorter, but the result was the same - six over midwicket.
In the high stands, holding glasses of beer and wine, the Indians looked sozzled and delirious with joy. They'd come to the ground to watch Pakistan's team thrashed, beaten. The first part, the thrashing of the bowlers, was to their liking.
Rohit, Shikhar power India
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed asked India to bat first because it was going to rain, and because Pakistan's bowlers had the potential to trouble India. One curiosity -- for some strange reason, Pakistan opened with Amir and spinner Wasim.
Amir's first over was a maiden - in fact, with deliveries that were quick and angling across Rohit, Amir beat the right-hander three times in four balls. Only 9 runs came off the first four overs; the first four of the innings was struck off the 26th delivery.
But slowly, the balance of power shifted. Rohit was the first to start hitting the fours, but Dhawan was quicker when he did accelerate, striking 38 off 28 balls after being 12 off 22. The two had added 136 off 24.3 overs when Dhawan fell, trying to hit Shadab Khan for six but failing to clear the boundary.
Yuvraj came in with the licence to attack, and he did just that - he got to 53 off 32 balls. Rohit missed his 100 by 9 runs when he was run out on a call from Kohli.
Kohli may have been at fault for that call for a risky run, but he and Pandya made up with the big strikes at the end. A total of 24156 people watched the match at the ground. Most of them, Indian fans, went home happy.
यह खबर निम्न श्रेणियों पर भी है: National News
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