India v/s pakistan

SCORECARD

PAKISTAN: Overs: 45.1 II Score: 236/7 (Gul: 8*, Ajmal: 0*)

OUT! Finally Ishant Sharma rewarded for his superb effort with the wicket of Shoaib Mali. A subdued celebrations from the lanky pacer. Knows it well more than anyone else how hard he has worked for this. Sharma rolls his fingers and sends a slower one first up as Mali gets deceived into playing an aerial drive that is easily caught by Yuri at extra cover. He scored 24 (30b, 4X2).

PAKISTAN: Over’s: 45 II Score: 231/6 (Mali: 21*, Gull: 8*)

A good over from Ashore Dina as he keeps Mali guessing with his slower ones. Just three runs off it. There was a run out chance in the over as Mali played one to backward point and set off for a non-existent run. Gull had almost given up but Judea’s throw couldn’t find the timbers.

PAKISTAN: Over’s: 44 II Score: 228/6 (Mali: 19*, Gull: 7*)

Muar Gull bends on one knee and launches one from Raindrop Judea over midwicket region for a maximum! This over also ends Judea’s spell. His figures: 10-1-41-3. In the previous over, Dhoti brought in Yuri but he was given a cold welcome as Mali pulled a short one from him to midwicket for a boundary off the first ball. His last of the over gave the same result except it was to third man region.

PAKISTAN: Over’s: 41.3 II Score: 210/6 (Mali: 8*, Gull: 0*)

OUT! And Karman Kamala’s stay lasts for just two deliveries! He has been caught at slip by Sewage off Judea. It was a tossed up delivery from Judea and Kamala came forward for the drive. The ball took an outside edge and flew into the hands of Sewage. He goes for a duck. Half of Pakistan team is back in the hut.


PAKISTAN: Over’s: 41.1 II Score: 210/5 (Mali: 8*, K Kamala: 0*)

OUT! And Nassir Jam shed has been dismissed after a fine innings by Raindrop Judea! Nassir Jam shed skips out and misses one from Judea. Dhoti misses the chance as he cannot collect it cleanly. However, it lobs off his gloves and on the second attempt, he manages to disturb the bails. The umpire calls for a replay and Jam shed is adjudged out. He scored 106 (124b, 4X12, 6X2).

PAKISTAN: Over’s: 40 II Score: 205/4 (Jam shed: 103*, Mali: 6*)

A brilliant punch towards mid off for a boundary by Nassir Jam shed to bring up his third century in the Odes – all of them against India. The first one came in the Asia Cup last year while the next two have come in the current series. He punches the air in delight and the dressing room is on its feet to congratulate him for the brilliant effort. This over also ended Ashbin’s quota of 10. His figure for the match: 10-0-49-1

PAKISTAN: Over’s: 39 II Score: 197/4 (Jam shed: 99*, Mali: 4*)

Whetted shot from Jam shed! He was looking impatient and what a way to break the shackles! Aback of a length delivery from Dina and Jam shed hits it straight over his head for a biggie!
PAKISTAN: Over’s: 38 II Score: 187/4 (Jam shed: 90*, Mali: 3*)

Appeal for a run out and Billy Bowden asks for the TV replay. A direct hit from Viral Kohl from mid off. Replays show that Jam shed had made his ground and with that he moves into the 90s. Just three runs from Ashbin’s over. Pakistan were 141/0 at one stage and have lost four wickets since then while scoring just 41.
PAKISTAN: Over’s: 35.6 II Score: 182/4 (Jam shed: 88*, Mali: 0*)

R Ashbin traps Micah in front and India get their fourth wicket in the Pakistani skipper. He scored just 2 (5b). Shoji Mali is the new man in. Off spinner from Ashbin as Micah attempts to work it to fine leg but misses it as it hits him on the pad. That would have gone on to hit the stumps. Nothing wrong with the decision now. India have tightened their grip as the match has progressed.
PAKISTAN: Over’s: 34.3 II Score: 177/3 (Jam shed: 86*, Has: 1*)

OUT! Unlucky for Youngish Khan as he is wrongly adjudged law off Suresh Riana as India get another wicket! Youngish attempts a sweep and gets a big inside edge that hits him on the pads. The Indians appeal loudly and umpire agrees raising his finger. He scored 10 (20b,). In comes Misbah-ul-Haq.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 33 II Score: 171/2 (Jamshed: 81*, Khan: 8*)

Even though Ishant Sharma hasn’t picked a wicket in this match so far for India, he has clearly been the top bowler for them. He hasn’t given them the width and has kept it tight right from the word go. Hopefully, he starts picking up the wickets as well that’ll definitely raise his confidence level. Meanwhile, signs of desperation from the Pakistani batsman as Jamshed charges forward to hit one from Sharma but misses it completely. B Kumar back into the attack.
PAKISTAN: Overs: 29 II Score: 158/2 (Jamshed: 76*, Khan: 1*)


Raina misfields one as Jamshed adds another boundary to his total. It was a powerful hit that even Raina couldn’t stop that. Meanwhile, there was a chance of a run out in the previous over as Jamshed played one back to Jadeja. Younis Khan was out of his crease and Jadeja displayed presence of mind to collect it and hit the stumps. Umpire called for TV replay but Khan was safely home.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 26.3 II Score: 151/2 (Jamshed: 70*, Khan: 0*)

Dinda drops it short and Jamshed goes after it like a hungry leopard depositing it over deep square leg fence for the first six of the day. A brilliant shot!

PAKISTAN: Overs: 25.6 II Score: 145/2 (Jamshed: 64*, Khan: 0*)

An appeal from Jadeja for an lbw but the umpire is not interested as Azhar Ali attempts a sweep. He immediately sets off for a single but Jamshed sends him back. Meanwhile, Dhoni picks it up and throws it towards the stumps where Sehwag smartly takes off the bails befor Azhar could make his ground. Ali is disappointed. He scored 2 (10b). In walks Younis Khan.
PAKISTAN: Overs: 25 II Score: 141/1 (Jamshed: 63*, Ali: 1*)

And Dhoni brings back Ashoke Dinda. A good over from the pacer as he gives away just two runs. The run rate has dropped below six.
PAKISTAN: Overs: 23.5 II Score: 141/1 (Jamshed: 62*, Ali: 0*)

OUT! And Ravindra Jadeja makes the first breakthrough. He has cleaned up Mohammad Hafeez who went for a sweep but missed it completely as his bails were disturbed to the delight of Indian supporters in the stadium. He scored 76 (74b, 4X10). In walks Azhar Ali.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 23 II Score: 140/0 (Jamshed: 61*, Hafeez: 76*)

Another good over for Pakistan as they collect twelve runs off it. Two boundaries off it – one each from Hafeez and Jamshed. A good opening stand this for Paksitan.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 20 II Score: 117/0 (Jamshed: 54*, Hafeez: 60*)

Pakistan are off to a solid start in this second ODI against India. Both the openers have scored a fifty each and are looking strong in the middle. Jamshed completed his fifty with a boundary off Ashwin in style.  

PAKISTAN: Overs: 16 II Score: 98/0 (Jamshed: 45*, Hafeez: 50*)

A single off Raina brings up Hafeez’s 15th ODI half-century. Meanwhile, Nasir Jamshed has scored two boundaries off the over. The first one came off the first ball through extra cover while the second came off a short ball that was handsomely pulled towards midwicket. The current run rate is 6.12.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 15 II Score: 88/0 (Jamshed: 36*, Hafeez: 49*)

A good effort from Virat Kohli as Nasir Jamshed played one from Ashwin in the air to backward point. Kohli went after it with a full length dive but failed to gobble it. In the previous over, B Kumar was brought back into the attack and was creamed for 11 runs including two boundaries each by Hafeez and Jamshed towards midwicket (pull) and past the slip region (deliberate) respectively.
PAKISTAN: Overs: 12 II Score: 70/0 (Jamshed: 29*, Hafeez: 38*)

Jamshed adds two boundaries to his total from the overs of Ashwin and Sharma. The four off Ashwin cams through an outside edge to third man while one off Sharma was actually an invitation to be hit for four as the bowler strayed from the line to the legs. Jamshed played it to deep backward region as the cherry raced towards the fence.
PAKISTAN: Overs: 10 II Score: 59/0 (Jamshed: 19*, Hafeez: 37*)

Just one run from Ishant’s third over. He is bowling well today. So after 10 overs, Pakistan are 59/0. The Indian quicks managed to induce edges but the luck was on the batsmen’s side as they went through gaps and for a boundary. With every passing over, the duo of Hafeez and Jamshed have grown more accustomed to the conditions and are easily scoring runs. The powerplay has ended and time for the introduction of spin. R Ashwin into the attack and is bowling with a slip.


PAKISTAN: Overs: 9 II Score: 58/0 (Jamshed: 18*, Hafeez: 37*)

The score has gone past 50-run mark. Hafeez drove Dinda through on side for a boundary that took the score past 50. The penultimate delivery is superbly timed and pushed through covers for another boundary. The run flow is increasing by the over. 10 runs from it.


PAKISTAN: Overs: 7 II Score: 41/0 (Jamshed: 18*, Hafeez: 20*)

Two consecutive boundaries scored by Jamshed off the first two deliveries from Kumar. The first one came via an edge to third man region while the second through a glance to fine leg boundary. The southpaw is getting into his groove. The next three from the bowler are dots while the last one produces a couple. 10 runs from the over.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 6 II Score: 31/0 (Jamshed: 8*, Hafeez: 20*)

So Ishant Sharma introduced into the attack. A positive start by the lanky pacer who keeps Hafeez guessing. He nips one in as Hafeez mistimes and then extracts extra bounce then beats him with movement. However, Hafeez leans forward and delightfully drives his last for a couple through cover region. Just two runs from the over.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 4 II Score: 24/0 (Jamshed: 8*, Hafeez: 13*)

Dinda bowls one on Jamshed’s pads and he smartly flicks it over Ashwin’s head at square leg for his first boundary. Seven runs including a boundary and three singles from the over.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 3 II Score: 17/0 (Jamshed: 3*, Hafeez: 12*)

Again Kumar induces an outside edge and as was before goes wide of Ashwin for a boundary to third man region. Hafeez came forward and looked to play it towards point region. It took a thick outside edge and went for four. Eight runs from the over.

PAKISTAN: Overs: 1 II Score: 5/0 (Jamshed: 1*, Hafeez: 4*)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has begun the proceedings for India as Nasir Jamshed and Mohammed Hafeez take guard for Pakistan. Last time Kumar opened the bowling, he had bowled Hafeez off the first delivery. He managed to induce an edge off him but it went wide of second slip, where R Ashwin was stationed, for a boundary. Five runs from the first over for Pakistan. Ashoke Dinda will join Kumar from the other end.  

Toss: India win the toss and elect to bowl first.
Ravindra Jadeja comes in for Rohit Sharma in the Indian XI. Pakistan, however, go with the same team.

Latest Update: Despite unlikely overnight rains, match is all set to start on time. Earlier, it was thought that match would be delayed but since there has been no rain since morning, it is expected that match would start at scheduled 12 noon. The conditions, though, remain overcast.

10 a.m. update: The start of the match may be delayed due to a bad weather condition in Kolkata. The scheduled start is 12 noon (IST).

Wrecked by Pakistani seamers in their opening ODI match, India`s under-fire cricketers will have to pull themselves up against the arch rivals when they clash in a must-win second cricket one-dayer with the form of their top-order batsmen a concern.

Teams (from):

India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal(w), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan

Match Starts: 12 noon .

 Riding on Nasir Jamshed`s second consecutive century, the visitors posted 250 all out and then shot out the Indians for a paltry 165 to record a convincing victory with two overs to spare at the Eden Gardens.

It was yet another woeful display by the famed Indian batting line-up, which has been struggling for some time now and has been largely responsible for the team`s forgettable results in recent times.

The huge defeat to the arch-rivals will now raise questions on the future of some of India`s under-performing batting stars, who have let the team down more often than not.

Jamshed (106) notched up his third ODI century, all three coming against India, but Pakistan suffered a dramatic collapse after being at a healthy 141 for no loss at the mid-way stage. Mohammed Hafeez the other contributor with a rollicking 76 off 74 balls.

The floodgates opened up after the dismissal of Hafeez as none of the other batsmen could hang around for long on a slow Eden Garden track, which made stroke-making difficult after the ball became older.

The Indians needed a good start from their struggling openers -- Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag -- but it did not materialise yet again, putting pressure on the jittery middle-order.

Sehwag (31), Gambhir (11), Virat Kohli (6), Yuvraj Singh (9) and Suresh Raina (18) perished in quick succession to give the visitors the upper hand in what eventually turned out to be a lop-sided contest.

Skipper Dhoni, who scored a heroic unbeaten 113 in the first ODI in Chennai, again provided some resistance with a cautious and unbeaten 54 but wickets kept tumbling at the other end to nullify his efforts.

The series defeat against Pakistan marks another low for the struggling team which suffered an embarrassing Test series debacle against England at home and levelled a T20 series 1-1.

Thursday’s defeat has also rendered the third and final ODI at Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi on Sunday inconsequential.


India lost to Pakistan last time around at home in 2004-05 when they lost the six-match series 2-4.

And now India have lost all the four matches they have played against Pakistan at Eden Gardens.

Chasing a modest 251, the under-fire opening duo of Gambhir and Sehwag had a sedate start. Sehwag scored a few boundaries but just when the partnership looked like building, Junaid provided the breakthrough in the form of Gambhir.

The left-hander chased a widish delivery and the ball hit his stump after taking an inside edge of his blade.

It was a familiar story from there on as the failing middle-order found the going tough against some disciplined fast bowling of Umar Gul and Junaid.

India were reduced to 70 for four as promising Kohli continued and Yuvraj could not get to double digit score, both being dismissed caught behind taking thin edges.

As India stuttered, Gul almost dismissed Raina running into the non-striking end but his throw missed the stumps with the Indian left-hander diving forward.

Raina also started his walk back when he was stumped off Hafeez.

Promoted ahead of Jadeja, Ashwin (3) did not last long going down to the guile of Shoaib Malik for yet another stumping.

Jadeja (13) could not give the support Dhoni needed in the middle when he was caught at mid-on as it was just a matter of time for the visitors to seal the series.

Earlier, under overcast conditions, Jamshed scored a fluent 106 from 126 balls and along with Hafeez put up a handsome 141-run opening partnership.

But India made a dramatic comeback riding on left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's 3 for 41 as Pakistan were bundled out in 48.3 overs.

After giving the first breakthrough, Jadeja took two wickets -- Jamshed and Kamran Akmal -- in one over to trigger a collapse and Ishant Sharma (3/34) polished off the tail.

From 141 for no loss, Pakistan lost 10 wickets in 25 overs as India made a spectacular comeback.

At the start, the inexperienced Indian attack of Ashok Dinda and Bhuvneshwar Kumar could not make use of the overcast conditions.

In his 'home' debut, Dinda was wayward with his bouncers, conceding three wides -- two in his second over -- while Bhuvneshwar too lacked the bite as the Pakistani duo went scotfree.

The 23-year-old Jamshed continued from where he had left in Chennai, while Hafeez made up for his duck with a sensible batting display and rotating the strike.

The duo never panicked and such clinical was their approach that they put on 100 runs in exactly 100 balls -- incidentally, Pakistan's first century stand by any opening pair at the Eden.

Part-time spinner Jadeja finally gave the breakthrough almost at the midway stage when Hafeez missed the ball trying to break free.

Azhar Ali (2) continued his poor run when he was run out after being sent back by Jamshed as Pakistan lost their second wicket in four runs.

They quickly lost third wicket as Younis Khan (10) was adjudged leg before despite a bat-pad. Jamshed, however, kept his cool to bring up his second consecutive century.

Jamshed clobbered Jadeja over his head for a straight boundary to move to 96. He straight drove one uppishly in the mid-off boundary region to bring up his hundred.

But he could not carry his innings through as he became Jadeja's second victim. Jadeja claimed Kamran Akmal (0), his third, in the same over to trigger Pakistani middle order collapse.

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PCB might not release Pak players for BPL

Karachi: Furious after Bangladesh refused to tour Pakistan citing security fears, the PCB has hinted that it will not release its players for the Twenty20 Premier League there.

In a statement issued last night, the Pakistan Cricket Board indicated that Bangladesh`s refusal to send its team to Pakistan has affected relations between the two Boards.

"Now for the 2013 edition of BPL, we have to see the commitments and engagements of our players before releasing them for the tournament. To associate the release the Pakistani players with Bangladesh tour to Pakistan does not hold any merit," the statement said.

PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf earlier reacted strongly to the announcement by BCB President Nazmul Hassan that Bangladesh would not tour Pakistan.

"If they don`t want to come it’s their own decision and we didn`t force them. Now their own reputation is at stake. If they don`t want to respect their bilateral relationship then we will also respond in a same manner," he said.

On the Bangladesh Premier League, Zaka said, "We will take a principled stance on BPL. But one thing is sure our players might not be free as we are making our own arrangements from next year."

In the space of nine months, the Bangladesh board has twice left the PCB fuming after announcing it would be sending its team to Pakistan.


In April, it backed off citing an order from the Dhaka High Court which restrained Bangladesh players from going to Pakistan because of security concerns. And on Monday, the BCB President cited the same reason and said the tour could not take immediately.

The PCB said the statement about security concerns by the BCB chief was "inappropriate".

"The decision to tour Pakistan is the sole prerogative of BCB, however, it is inappropriate to call security situation in Pakistan as the main reason behind this decision.

"The recent cricket activity in Pakistan itself reflects that the atmosphere in Pakistan is congenial for any international team visit to the country," the statement said.

"Moreover, a team of BCB and Bangladesh government jointly visited Pakistan to ascertain the security situation and they left fully satisfied on the subject.

"Now it would only be proper for the new president of BCB to read the report submitted by that team or visit Pakistan before making any such comments on the Pakistan`s current situation," it added.

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Chris Gayle blasts Brad Haddin on Twitter

Sydney: West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has blasted Brad Haddin on Twitter, saying he could bat better than the Australian wicketkeeper even with his non-preferred right hand.

With the dust yet to settle on their heated exchanges during the Sydney Sixers` convincing triumph over the Sydney Thunder in a Big Bash League clash at ANZ Stadium on Thursday, Gayle has told Haddin to stop worrying about his big pay cheque.

It comes after Haddin exaggeratedly blasted the explosive Jamaican for being all talk while failing to deliver on his hype and pay cheque at the Thunder, as per media reports.

In a loud-mouthed rant, Gayle this morning retorted, tweeting: “Haddin dig at him self to get back a test game! ScarFaceLine...“The World is Mine" I`m the world champion/ World Boss!”

“Also tell him stop watch my money and watch himself!! Not my fault he ain`t good as I am even if I bat right hand!!!”

The bad blood was sparked when Haddin was dismissed off Gayle`s bowling midway through the Sixers` comfortable run chase. Already angered by the amount of time Gayle was taking in between deliveries, Haddin ultimately holed out to Simon Keen on 18 runs.

Gayle leaned back in the middle of the ground, beat his chest and then broke into his trademark Gangnam Style dance. Haddin shook his head as he walked off then turned to Gayle to hand out his bat, implying he had done nothing with the willow earlier.

Haddin later said that Gayle has been all about talks so far this tournament and his team, Thunder haven`t won a game so far. Gayle has scored just 70 runs in five matches at an average of 14 as the Thunder head towards the Big Bash elimination.

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South Africa look to strengthen No.1 Test ranking

Dubai: South Africa will begin the New Year by aiming to strengthen their No.1 status in the ICC Test Championship Table, when they play a two-match series against New Zealand from Jan 2 at Cape Town.

South Africa currently lead the rankings with 123 rating points and have a five-point lead over second-placed England. Graeme Smith`s side retained the Test Championship Mace in December 2012 after it defeated Australia 1-0.

For South Africa to retain the No.1 spot, they just need a 0-0 result or better in the two-match series against New Zealand. South Africa could at best gain one rating point for winning the series 2-0 but could lose one point if they win the series 1-0.

In the event of the series ending at 1-1, South Africa would drop down to 119 points, just one ahead of England, currently placed at 118.

But if South Africa were to lose the Test series against New Zealand 0-1, they would also lose the top position to England - dropping seven points in the process to end on 116.

Then, South Africa`s final position on the table will depend on the result in the Australia-Sri Lanka series. Australia currently lead the series 2-0 and they could gain three rating points to end at 117 if they win the third Test starting in Sydney from Jan 3. New Zealand, on the other hand, would remain at No.8 on the table but would gain seven ratings to finish at 86.

In the event of South Africa losing both their Tests against New Zealand, they would lose eight ratings to fall to 115 ratings points to finish third on the table. A 2-0 win for New Zealand would push them up to 88 points but they would remain in eighth place.

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1st ODI: Dhoni’s ton goes in vain as Pakistan defeat India by 6 wickets

 SCORECARD

Chennai: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s heroic unbeaten century under pressure went in vain as arch rivals Pakistan held their nerve to clinch the first one day international with a comfortable six-wicket victory in a low-scoring contest here on Sunday.

India posted 227 for six after recovering from a precarious 29 for five one stage but that turned out to be insufficient for the Pakistanis who rode on Nasir Jamshed`s unbeaten century to overhaul the target with 11 balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Dhoni played a captain`s knock with an unbeaten 113, his 8th ODI century, to script a brilliant Indian recovery after left-arm pacer Junaid Khan (4/43) exploited the overcast conditions to rip through the top-order and leave the hosts gasping for breath within the first 10 overs.

The Indian captain found an able ally in Suresh Raina (43) first and then Ravichandran Ashwin (31 not out) to take the score beyond the 200-run mark which looked doubtful at one stage following the top-order collapse.

Dhoni and Ashwin put on a record seventh wicket partnership of 121 runs but the Indian captain`s superlative knock off 125 balls lost much of its value as the Pakistani batsmen went about the task of chasing down the target without taking too many risks.

Younis Khan (58) and Shoaib Malik (34 not out) were the other notable performers for Pakistan.

The Pakistani innings started on a disastrous note as ODI debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a beauty to get rid of Mohammed Hafeez with the very first delivery of the Pakistan innings.

The ball came back sharply after pitching as Hafeez didn`t offer a stroke only to find his off-stump knocked back.

The youngster got rid of Azhar Ali a few overs later to reduce the visitors to 21 for two. But the experienced Younis Khan and Nashir steadied the Pakistan innings with a solid 112-run third wicket partnership.


Both Jamshed and Younis benefitted due to some horrendous decisions given by the Indian umpire S Ravi. Jamshed was lucky to get a reprieve on 24 when an inside edge was caught by Virender Sehwag in first slip off Ashwin but Ravi turned down the appeal.

Ravi also negated a plumb leg before decision against Younis when the right-hander missed a delivery from Ashwin in his bid to play the sweep shot.

Younis returned to the pavilion when Ashwin latched on to a low catch off Ashok Dinda, a decision which was referred to the TV umpire by on-field umpire Billy Bowden. But by that time, the visitors were already in a good position and just needed to bat sensibly to reach the target.

Jamshed, who grew in confidence as the innings wore on, was dropped by Yuvraj Singh when on 68 off Dinda much to the disappointment of a sizeable holiday crowd at the Chepauk.

Just when Pakistan seemed to be cruising along comfortably, Ishant Sharma enlivened the proceedings to some extent by getting rid of captain Misbah-ul Haq (16) with a slower ball which knocked down the off stump.

It was Malik, who hit the winning runs with a pull towards deep mid-wicket boundary off the first ball of the penultimate over.

Earlier, put into bat, India plunged into trouble straightaway with Gautam Gambhir (8), Virender Sehwag (4), Virat Kohli (0), Yuvraj Singh (2) and Rohit Sharma (4) returning to the pavilion in quick succession as Junaid got the ball to swing under overcast conditions.

The Pakistani pacers took advantage of the moisture on the track and troubled the top-order batsmen with the new ball. Once the ball got a little older, Dhoni and Raina applied themselves and started rebuilding the Indian innings.

The two teams will now travel to Kolkata for the second ODI to be held on January 3 while the third and final match will be staged at the Ferozeshah stadium in New Delhi on January 6.

Pacer Junaid had justified his captain Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to bowl first in damp conditions with struggling opener Sehwag becoming Junaid's first victim.

The Delhi batsman, considered a game-changer for his ability to take the attack to the opposition, swung it Pakistan's way after slogging for 11 balls to get four runs.

Sehwag was castled by a Junaid delivery that came in a shade after pitching.

The big four of the Indian batting order were all bowled, three of them by Junaid, who seemed unplayable getting the ball to move appreciably both in the air and off the pitch.

The proverbial promising batsman of the side, Rohit added another one to his growing list of failures, becoming Junaid's fourth victim after scratching around for 14 deliveries for his four runs.

Rohit's last six ODI innings now read a disappointing 4, 4, 4, 0, 0 and 5. In fact, the top five managed to pull off just two fours for the team.

At 29/5 in a little less than 10 overs, India were staring firmly down the barrel before Raina and Dhoni came together to repair the innings slowly and steadily.

The duo cautiously added 73 runs for the sixth wicket and defied Pakistani bowlers for a good 23 overs.

Dhoni got a life on 16 when in the 26th over rival skipper Misbah-ul Haq dropped him at midwicket of Mohammed Hafeez's bowling and the Indian, who smashed seven fours and three sixes, made it count.

Dhoni was suffering from dehydration and also battled cramps towards the end of India innings.

Meanwhile, Raina's patient innings came to an end when he lost his leg stump to Hafeez. But Dhoni was unfazed and, in fact, accelerated from that point, reaching his fifty with a whip over midwicket boundary off Umar Gul.

For a man not exactly known for solid technique, Dhoni was the lone Indian batsman to smash spin ace Saeed Ajmal for a six. A new ball had to be sought to replace the one which went out of the ground.

He also brought up his hundred in style, hoicking Irfan over cover in the 49th over, which produced 21 runs with Dhoni doing most of the scoring. For Pakistan, Junaid was the most successful bowler, grabbing 4/43 in his nine overs.

This was the first match played under the new ICC rules.

Under these rules, one new ball was used at each end, bowlers were allowed two bouncers an over, there was no batting Power Play, the bowling Power Play was completed before the 40th over, and at no stage in the innings more than four fielders were allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

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