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DLF Cup: India, Pak share honours
Dravid's men overcame a fighting knock from Inzamam to win by a big margin. Full Scorecard
India overcame the might of Inzamam-ul Haq to beat Pakistan by 51 runs in the second and final DLF Cup one-dayer on Wednesday.
After India had set a challenging target of 270, Inzamam (79 in 91 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) was refusing to give up even after losing one partner after another.
With Inzamam's sublime batting, and some brutal hitting from number nine Rana Naved-ul Hasan (27 in 17 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) the asking rate was coming down gradually.
Pakistan were hoping for the best. But eventually, Inzy was run out by his counterpart Rahul Dravid after Rana was caught at long-on by Venugopala Rao off Irfan Pathan.
And with that Pakistan's hopes of a miracle win was over.
Pakistan were finally all out for 218 in 45.2 overs. Pathan got three wickets and so did Ramesh Powar.
This was after some fine batting by Dravid (92), Virender Sehwag (73) and MS Dhoni (59) helped India score 269/5.
With this win, the two teams shared the DLF Cup. Pakistan had won the first match by six wickets on Tuesday.
Pak innings
Pakistan's chase began and so did Pathan's attempt to get back his rhythm.
Unlike Tuesday, the left-arm-pacer had a big total on the board to defend. But he struggled again, bowling the same line to the left-hand-right-hand combination of Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik.
While Farhat was quick to cut him, Malik flicked him. Those were easy runs for Pakistan and those were coming at a time when Sreesanth was keeping the pressure on the batsmen from the other end!
But strange things happen in this game. It was not Sreesanth, but Pathan who gave India the breakthrough when he had Farhat lbw. The ball seemed to have gone down leg, but the umpire ruled him out.
At 22, Pakistan lost their first wicket and it was Pathan's 100th in ODIs.
It was a wicket India needed. Pakistan changed their gameplan, sending the maverick Shahid Afridi at number three to join Malik.
But Afridi (0) failed to beat Pathan's swing and his middle stump took a walk.
Suddenly, there was spring in Pathan's steps.
Dravid brought Ajit Agarkar in the 12th over. Till then Younis Khan, the new batsman, had just added 22 runs with Malik.
But Tuesday's man-of-the-match fell in the very first over from Agarkar, edging one to Dhoni.
Pakistan were gasping at 45/3 and skipper Inzamam joined Malik who was batting well.
Inzy's knock
The asking rate was going higher and higher. But Inzamam was sedate, primarily because the way Pathan and Agrakar bowled.
Changing pace and bowling to the field, they kept him quiet. Dravid brought back Sreesanth for a second spell. And whenever the young man pitched it short, Inzy rocked back to pull.
Those three were welcome boundaries for the big man. Pakistan were still struggling at 70/3 after 20 overs.
It was not the most fluent of starts for Inzy. But knowing him, you never know. This man can change a match in a matter of overs!
Dravid decided to use Harbhajan Singh and Pawar, the two slow bowlers against two batsmen — Inzamam and Shoaib Malik — who were looking for quick runs.
And eventually Malik (46 in 70 balls, 5 fours) fell while trying to push the scoring rate. He shot off Powar was brilliantly taken by Yuvraj Singh at square-leg.
That brought in Mohammad Yousuf who could do little. He was too new at the wicket to play the strokes, and his mis-timed shot off Powar went to Suresh Raina at mid-on.
Pakistan were tottering at 108/5 in 27 overs. Dravid's ploy of using spin from both ends started Pakistan's middle-order collapse.
Kamran Akmal (18) joined his captain in an attempt the save the sinking ship.
But his effort went in vain as the wicketkeeper-batsman failed to convert his start and his top-edge off Harbhajan was taken by Dravid at short-cover.
Abdul Razzaq (1) was no alien to these situations. But this was not his day as he became Powar's third victim by giving a catch to the man at long-on.
Inzamam was refusing to give up and completed his 83rd half-century, which eventually went in vain.
Indian innings
The strength of Indian batting finally came to the fore on Wednesday. Inspired by Dravid's 92 (116 balls, 10 fours), India scored 269/5 after opting to bat.
The Indian captain was not alone. His deputy, Virender Sehwag made a welcome return to form with a fine 73 (83 balls, 10 fours, 1 six). The two shared a fine 138-run partnership for the first wicket.
MS Dhoni too chipped in with a brilliant 59. India could have scored more, but Pakistani pacers bowled well in the death overs, denying the batsmen the chances to score freely.
It was because of that pressure Dravid lost his wicket. He was bowled by Mohammad Asif and soon Dhoni too lost his stumps to Rana Naved-Ul Hasan.
The manner of dismissals told that Pakistani pacers bowled wicket to wicket.
But in came Yuvraj Singh (24 in 11 balls) who made room to play some astounding shots before falling to Rana.
The improvement was still remarkable as it was only yesterday that the Indian batters were bundled out for 197.
Dhoni's knock
After spending a miserable time, Pakistan could finally smile. Inzamam's faith in Shahid Afridi's spin paid off.
In his very first over the Pathan from Peshawar sent back the Najafgarh blaster who was late to respond to his googly and was bowled.
But that not before he scored very fine 73, which gave India a solid platform.
Some unique cricket was going on ever since Dhoni came. He kind of played the paddle-sweep without bending down on his knees. He played those not once, but on four occasions. Every time he would get the four in the fine-leg area.
Inzamam placed a short-fine-leg, but Dhoni played fine enough to beat that man!
Soon Dhoni completed his half-century, helping India reach the 200-mark in the 39th over.
The opening stand
After taking rest in two matches, Sehwag was finally back. Nervous as he was, the first over from Asif was played watchfully, and he met every ball with his bat close to the body.
It was so unlike Sehwag. But it wasn't until the fourth over that India got off the mark.
And soon runs started flowing with both Sehwag and Dravid playing some beautiful on-drives.
From 0/0 in three overs, India reached 22/0 in the next three.
The two batsmen didn't stop there. Dravid started playing through the off side. With the punch off the back foot and the cut, he was making life difficult for the bowlers.
At the other end, Sehwag was different. Apart from one inside-out shot, his strokes were all about timing. Suddenly it seemed India were batting on a different surface than the one on Tuesday!
After going through a lean phase, Sehwag was relieved to complete his half-century, his 21st in one-dayers. It was a very fluent knock. And along with the wristy Dravid, he gave the team a solid start.
Maybe, that was the tonic Sehwag needed. When Inzamam-ul Haq introduced Abdul Razzaq, we could see Sehwag of yore. Clearing his front foot out of the way, he hit Razzaq's fuller one straight over long off.
It was a shot seen from Sehwag after ages. Dravid too reached his fifty soon. The Indian captain this day brought back memories of Mohammad Azharuddin. His flicks were so pretty that you could watch those again and again without ever getting bored.
It was beautiful batting, though it must be said that Pakistan could have bowled better. Their seamers were repeatedly bowling to Dravid's legs, and inevitably, they suffered.
Teams
India: AB Agarkar, MS Dhoni, R Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, IK Pathan, RR Powar, SK Raina, V Sehwag, S Sreesanth, Y Venugopal Rao, Yuvraj Singh.
Pakistan: Abdul Razzaq, Iftikhar Anjum, Imran Farhat, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Yousuf, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan.
