Pakistan beat India by 85 runs in 2nd ODI & Won Series
By Zaheerul Hassan
Pakistan openers Hafeez and Jamshed post 141 to give them a flying start Pakistan produced a superb all-round team effort to beat India by 85 runs in the second one-day international at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The tourists defending a total of 250 were home with two overs to spare as India were bowled out for 165 with skipper MS Dhoni remaining unbeaten on a defiant 54.
India were throttled by the attack of Pakistan and never looked in the hunt despite clawing back to restrict the visitors who threatened to run away with the game when opener Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed posted 141 runs in 24 overs.
Nasir Jamshed was the scourge of the Indians once again making his third one-day career century, all of which have come in consecutive matches against India.
It began with a hundred at Mirpur in the Asia Cup followed by the knock in the Chennai.
Zaheer Abbas is the only batsman to score three ODI 100s in a row against India in 1982/83.
India never got going against Pakistan’s new ball duo of Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan in particular.
Dhoni ran short of partners hitting out valiantly in the end completing his half century with three boundaries off one over Junaid Khan.
Ishanth Sharma was the last man out with Junaid Khan ripping his off stump in his most expensive over to finish with 3 for 39.
Dhoni stood on the burning deck as India collapsed to 151 for 9.
Saeed Ajmal sounded the death knell for India with a triple strike in his eighth over when he accounted for the dismissals of Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ashok Dinda.
He finished with excellent figures of 3 for 20.
Ironically India’s batting powerplay overs yielded just 20 runs for the loss of these three wickets.
Ishant Sharma is the last man in, and Dhoni threw caution to the winds and hit a boundary off the first ball after Sharma walked in. The last boundary before this one came 15 overs ago, with runs slowing to a trickle and the required rate mounting to 24 runs per over.
The current run rate is 3.27.
Skipper Dhoni has now made a patient 40 off 79 deliveries, but in an obviously losing cause.
India can now only delay a well-deserved Pakistan series win today, but may not be able to avoid it.
The mandatory batting powerplay has been taken after over #35. Ravindra Jadeja was seventh out for 13 in the 40th over failing to clear Junaid Khan at mid on off Saeed Ajmal. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar followed two balls later trapped leg before for a duck. Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin became Kamran Akmal’s fourth victim of the innings stumped off the bowling of Shoaib Malik for 3 after facing 22 balls.
India made 94 in 25 overs, the half-way mark of their innings while Pakistan were 143 at the half-way mark.
Suresh Raina was the man out before Ashwin, stumped by Akmal off the last ball of the 26th over. He made 18 off 42 deliveries.
With the home team losing wickets at regular intervals, it is now looking like a losing cause unless Dhoni can produce something spectacular – and quick.
As the lights came on early at Eden Gardens, India survived the first 9 overs without losing a wicket.
But Pakistan came back strongly, taking wickets at regular intervals, giving away just 28 runs in less than 10 overs, to put the home team on the back foot.
Pakistan are beginnng to take a stranglehold on the match as India lost five wickets for 52 runs after double-strikes by Junaid Khan and Umar Gul.
R. Ashwin is now giving company to skipper MS Dhoni who fashioned a magnificent recovery in the first ODI in Chennai.
The visitors knocked off both of India’s openers Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and No. 3 Virat Kohli as well as No. 4 Yuvraj Singh in quick succession, in the 10th, 12th, 15th and 19th overs. Gautam Gambhir was the first one to depart, managing 11 off 25 deliveries. Kohli followed, making 6 off 9 while Virender Sehwag, who made a tentative 31 off 43 deliveries was caught plumb in front of the wicket by Umar Gul. Yuvraj then edged a bouncer to wicketkeeper Umar Akmal, who made no mistake with an easy catch. India made a cautious start of their chase, accumulating 50 for the loss of opener Gautam Gambhir’s wicket in the 10th over. India lost their second wicket when Kamran Akmal took a brilliant catch on the leg side off Junaid Khan to dismiss Virat Kohli for 6 off 9 deliveries. Earlier, Virat Kohli brought up India’s 50 with a sweetly timed jab to backward point fence in the 11th over.
In contrast to Pakistan who got 59 without loss in the first 10 overs, India managed 42-1 with Sehwag making 23 off 34 balls with three boundaries.
Pakistan’s new ball duo of Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan bowled excellent opening spells to keep India’s dashing openers somewhat subdued by his standards.
Junaid Khan in particular troubled both Sehwag and Gambhir with deviation on either side of the wicket.
Sehwag was beaten by Junaid’s pace, accuracy and movement off the wicket but it was punctuated by a cracking shot to the fence in the sixth over.
Junaid Khan was finally rewarded when he got one through the gate of left hander Gambhir who made 11 off 25 balls with one boundary.
India got bonus runs off overthows in the fifth over after Sehwag had cut Irfan to the point boundary.
Gautam Gambhir got his first boundary when he cut Junaid Khan to third man.
India’s first boundary came in the third over when Sehwag caressed Irfan through extra cover.
Junaid Khan conceded just two runs in his first over.
Virender Sehwag survived being bowled off the second delivery of the innings by Mohammad Irfan as he attempted to cut with the ball whizzing past the off stump.
India fought back to restrict Pakistan to 250 all out after the visitors were off to a flier of a start, making 141 in 23.5 overs before India managed to get their first breakthrough.
Pakistan are looking to seal the series with a second win against India at Eden Gardens today even as the home team is looking to even the series by registering their first win against Pakistan at the Kolkata ground.
The visitors were given a flying start by openers Mohammed Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed who posted 141 in 23.5 overs before India pegged them back as Pakistan lost their remaining nine wickets for the addition of 109 runs.
However, clever bowling changes on the part of India saw Pakistan folding out for 250 in 48.3 overs.
India won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first in the second one-day international at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Jamshed top scored with 106 and Hafeez made 76 while spinner Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Ishant Sharma claimed three scalps apiece.
Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals after Hafeez virtually threw his wicket away and triggered a batting collapse after their century opening stand.
Hafeez played right across a straight delivery from Jadeja to see his stumps disturbed after making 76 off 74 balls with 10 hits to the fence in the 24th over of the innings.
The Pakistan tail failed to wag with Saeed Ajmal miscuing a pull off Kumar to Sehwag at midwicket.
Sharma bowled Gul and last man Mohammad Irfan to finish with impressive figures of 3 for 34.
Shoaib Malik picked up two boundaries off Yuvraj to maintain the tempo after the twin dismissals of Jamshed and Kamran Akmal.
Umar Gul joined the party by whacking Jadeja for a huge six over midwicket in his final over.
Ishant Sharma claimed the wicket of Malik caught by Yuvraj Singh in the 47th over for 24 off 30 balls with the help of two boundaries.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja finished with figures of 3 for 41, including the prized wicket of Hafeez to break the opening stand.
Nasir Jamshed raced to his third one-day century against India, the second in succession by cracking Ashwin to the long off after having slammed a straight six off Dinda in the previous over. His knock contained 12 fours and two sixes so far.
Jamshed departed in the 42nd over when he gave the charge to Jadeja only for Dhoni stump him on his second attempt. Jamshed knock of 106 off 123 balls contained 12 fours and two sixes.
Kamran Akmal was dismissed for a duck two balls later edging to Sehwag at slip to give Jadeja his third wicket.
Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq were dismissed in quick succession as India pegged back Pakistan.
Khan was unfortunate to be given out leg before to Raina for 10 with TV replays showing he had got a thick inside edge.
But there was no doubt about Misbah’s dismissal who lunged forward but missed the line off Ashwin to be trapped leg before.
Hafeez and Jamshed made a mockery of the Indian attack as both scored their half-centuries within the first 20 overs. Hafeez and Jamshed lived dangerously as they chanced their arm in the power-play overs, but India could not get a breakthrough or stem the steady flow of runs, until Jadeja castled Hafeez in the 24th over. Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership by bowling Hafeez, who scored 76 off 74 balls.
Almost immediately, in the 26th over, the new batsman Azhar Ali was run-out for just 2 off 10 balls attempting to sneak a single when the players were appealing for a leg before wicket.
That was two in quick succession after India failed to earlier manage a breakthrough for 24 overs.
Ali lunged forward to to sweep but got a bit of glove onto his pads. The ball rolled over to the leg side. While Jadeja was still appealing for an LBW, Ali sets off for a single but was sent back by Jamshed. Ali slipped – Dhoni chased the ball and lobbed it to Sehwag who whipped off the bails.
Younus Khan was the new batsman in, but he did not last long. Khan was trapped leg-before by Suresh Raina in the 35th over. He made 10 off 20 balls that he faced.
Hafeez scored his half-century in as many balls, hitting ten boundaries, including two off one over from Ashok Dinda. He completed his run a ball 50 with a single off Suresh Raina in the 16th over. It was his 15th one-day half century. Earlier, he brought up the 50 of the Pakistan innings with an exquisite on-drive off Ashok Dinda. His opening partner Jamshed, on the other end, joined him a couple of overs later, completing his seventh ODI half-century and his second against India, having hit one six and eleven boundaries, including two off one over from Suresh Raina. Jamshed went into overdrive at the other end as he pummelled the Indian bowlers, cracking two boundaries apiece off Kumar and Raina, and a six off Dinda. Jamshed’s half century came off 57 balls reaching it in style by slamming Ashwin to the long-on fence for his eighth boundary. Kumar who made a dream T20 debut and claimed a wicket with his first ball in ODIs went for 39 in his first five overs.
It certainly seems to be living up to Gardens curator Prabhir Mukherjee’s prediction of a high-scoring match as tweeted by a Pakistani journalist from Karachi Faizan Lakhani working for GEO NEWS who spoke to him on the eve of the match.
Pakistan, aiming to seal a historic series triumph after going up 1-0 with a six-wicket win in Chennai on Sunday, named an unchanged side.
India, looking for their first ODI win against their arch rivals in four meetings at Eden Gardens, replaced out of form batsman Rohit Sharma with left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
“The wicket has been under covers, the conditions are overcast, so we want to exploit it. There is considerable amount of pressure after losing the first game, it is a do-or-die situation. Jadeja in for Rohit. We wanted to strengthen the bowling,” said Dhoni after winning the toss.
Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq said: “It’s a good feeling to be one-up in a three-match series. In Chennai there was more moisture in the pitch, this one looks dry.”
The first boundary of the match came via a thick outside edge past second slip by Mohammad Hafeez off the fifth delivery bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Nasir Jamshed’s first boundary came in the fourth over when he flicked the second delivery bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin to the square leg fence.
Hafeez brought up the 50 of the innings with an exquisite on-drive off Ashok Dinda.
