India beat the Pakistanis agA(zharudd)in

India made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Sairaj Bahutule and Debasis Mohanty made way for Hrishikesh Kanitkar and One-day International debutant Rahul Sanghvi. Pakistan made no changes to theirs. Due to bad light, a couple of overs were reduced from other innings.

On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, inserted the Pakistanis. Shahid Afridi, whose 20-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 18. Thirty-four balls (Rob)into the match, he was caught by Singh. Harvinder Singh broke the 30-run stand. Aamer, whose 17-ball innings included a six, scored 14. Thirty-eight ballS(ohai)later, he was caught by Nayan Mongia. Harvinder broke the 36-run stand.

Saeed Anwar, whose 132-ball innings included 14 boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 140. Two hundred and two balls, he was caught by Azharuddin. Harvinder broke the 230-run stand. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 112-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six, scored 117. Six balls later, he was caught by Navjot Singh Sidhu. Javagal Srinath broke the run-a-ball stand.

Azhar Mahmood, whose six-ball (Sach)innings included a boundary, scored 10. Eight balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Tendulkar broke the 12-run stand. Mohammad Hussain, who faced a couple of balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 13 extras. Pakistan scored 314 for the loss of five wickets off 48 overs. Sourav Ganguly, the player of the match, bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceding five. Sanghvi, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 38.

Kanitkar, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 34. Robin, who bowled eight wicketless overs, conceded 47. Tendulkar, who bowled seven overs, conceded 49. He picked up a wicket, as did Srinath, bowled 10 overs, conceding 61. Harvinder, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 74. He picked up three scalps.

Tendulkar, the player of the series, scored 41. His 26-ball innings included seven boundaries and a six. Fifty balls into the chase, he was caught by Mahmood. Afridi broke the 71-run stand. Robin, whose 83-ball innings included four boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 82. A hundred and seventy-nine balls later, he was caught by Aaqib Javed. Hussain broke the run-a-ball stand.

Azharuddin, who faced 11 balls, scored four. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Sohail. Saqlain Mushtaq broke the 18-run stand. Ganguly, whose 138-ball innings included eleven boundaries and a six, scored 124. Eight balls later, Javed broke the six-run stand.

Sidhu, who four-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Four balls later, Mushtaq had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he trapped him leg before wicket. Ajay Jadeja, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Fourteen balls later, Mushtaq broke the 15-run stand.

Kanitkar, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. He was unbeaten. The seventh-wicket pair put on 10. Nayan Mongia, whose six-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Eight balls later, Rashid Latif, Pakistan’s skipper, ran him out. Srinath, who faced three balls, scored five. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 27 extras. India, who scored 316 for the loss of seven wickets off 47.5 overs, won by three wickets with a ball to spare. It was then the world record for chasing the highest total to win an ODI.

Manzoor Akhtar bowled four overs, conceding 24. He was wicketless, as was Mahmood, who bowled eight overs, conceding 55. Afridi, who bowled 6.4 overs, conceded 56. He picked up a wicket, as did Javed, who bowled 9.2 overs. He conceded 63. Hussain, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 40. He picked up a wicket. Mushtaq, who bowled 9.5 overs, conceded 66. He picked up three scalps.

India won the best-of-three finals 2-1.

India lose to (Azh)arch-rivals Pakistan

This was, incidentally, the first match of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup that wasn’t delayed by fog. India made no changes to their playing eleven. Pakistan (Moham)made just one change to the eleven that last played the Indians – Mushtaq Ahmed made way for Hussain. On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, chose to bat.

Sachin Tendulkar, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored (Azh)arun. Nine balls later, Mahmood broke the five-run stand. The second-wicket pair put on 77. Sourav Ganguly, whose 43-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 26. Ninety-nine balls later, he was caught by Hussain, the player of the match, off his own bowling.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, who faced 21 balls, scored half-a-dozen. Thirty-five balls later, he was caught by Mahmood. Hussain broke the 14-run stand. Azharuddin, whose 88-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 66. Thirty-five balls later, he was caught by Saeed Anwar. Hussain broke the 20-run stand.

Singh, whose 13-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored five. Twenty-three balls later, he was caught by Shahid Afridi. Hussain broke the eight-run stand. Nayan Mongia, who faced 26 balls, scored 10. Forty-four ballS(ohai)later, he was caught by Aamer. Saqlain Mushtaq broke the 27-run stand.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 66-ball innings included a boundary, scored 34. Sixteen balls later, Javed broke the run-A(-)(aqi)ball stand. Sairaj Bahutule, whose run-a-ball (Saqla)innings included a boundary, scored 11. Seventeen balls later, he was stumped by Rashid Latif, Pakistan’s skipper. The offie broke the 15-run stand.

Javagal Srinath, whose 14-ball innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. Eleven balls later, Javed broke the two-run stand. Harvinder Singh, who faced five balls, scored three. He was unbeaten. Debasis Mohanty, who faced nine balls, scored four. Ten balls later, he was caught by Ijaz Ahmed. Saqlain broke the five-run stand.

Pakistan conceded 11 extras. India were dismissed for 189 off 49.5 overs. Manzoor Akhtar, who bowled three overs, conceded 19. He was wicketless, as was Afridi, who bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 21.

Mahmood bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 28, picking up a wicket. Javed, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 49. He picked up a couple of wickets. Saqlain, who bowled 9.5 overs, conceded 36. He picked up three wickets. Hussain bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 33, picking up four scalps.

Afridi, whose 13-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 21. Seventeen balls into the chase, he was caught by Bahutule. The Karnataka pacer broke the (Srina)thirty-one-run stand. Anwar, whose 40-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six, scored 51. Sixty-five balls later, he was caught by Ganguly. Harvinder broke the 74-run partnership.

Sohail, whose 56-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 36. Twenty-nine balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Robin broke the 18-run stand. Ijaz, whose 46-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 40. He was unbeaten.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, whose run-a-ball innings included three boundaries and as many sixes, scored 40. Seventy-four balls later, he was caught by Sidhu. Robin broke the 66-run stand. Hussain, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. He was unbeaten.

India conceded five extras. Pakistan, who scored 193 for the loss of four wickets off 31.3 overs, won by six wickets with 111 balls to spare. Mohanty bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceding 26.

Tendulkar bowled 3.3 wicketless overs, conceding 17. Bahutule bowled five wicketless overs, conceding 53. Harvinder, who bowled five overs, conceded 33. He picked up a wicket, as did Srinath, who bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 38. Robin bowled nine overs, including three maidens. He conceded 24, picking up a couple of scalps.

The best-of-three finals were levelled 1-1.

India rout Pakistan; (Azharudd)In lead

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Pakistan made just one change to the eleven that last played the Indians – Fazl-e-Akbar made way for Mushtaq Ahmed. Early morning fog delayed the start of the match by 45 minutes. The match was reduced to a 46-overs-a-side match. On winning the toss, Rashid Latif, Pakistan’s skipper, chose to bat.

Shahid Afridi, whose 41-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 29. Sixty-nine balls into the match, he was caught by Sourav Ganguly. Harvinder Singh broke the 45-run partnership. Aamer Sohail, whose 17-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Thirty-two balls later, he was caught by Nayan Mongia. Debasis Mohanty broke the 28-run stand.

Saeed Anwar, whose 60-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 38. Forty-one balls later, he was caught by Ganguly. Sairaj Bahutule broke the 22-run stand. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 52-ball (Sach)innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 34. Sixty-nine balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Tendulkar, the player of the match, broke the 47-run partnership.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, whose 48-ball innings included a boundary, scored 33. Thirteen balls later, he was caught by Harvinder. Tendulkar broke the run-a-ball stand. Manzoor Akhtar faced 10 balls, scoring nine. Twenty-five balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Tendulkar broke the 17-run stand.

Latif, who faced (Srina)three balls, scored just a run. Five balls later, he was caught by Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper. Javagal broke the one-run stand. Azhar Mahmood, whose 32-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 30. Thirteen balls later, Srinath broke the 24-run stand.

Although Saqlain Mushtaq, who faced nine balls, was unbeaten, he had no reason to be in seventh heaven. Mushtaq, whose four-ball innings included a six, scored 10. He was unbeaten. Pakistan conceded 11 extras. India scored 212 for the loss of eight wickets off 46 overs. Robin Singh, who bowled nine wicketless overs, conceded 26.

Harvinder, who bowled five overs, conceded 20. He picked up a wicket. Bahutule, who bowled seven overs, conceded 31. He picked up a wicket. Mohanty, who bowled nine overs, conceded 46. He picked up a wicket. Srinath bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 40, picking up a couple of wickets. Tendulkar, who bowled seven overs, conceded 45. He picked up three scalps.

Tendulkar, whose 78-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and five sixes, scored 95. A hundred days short of his 25th birthday, he became the youngest batsman to reach the 6,000-run mark in One-day Internationals. Twenty-five overs into the chase, Afridi broke the 159-run partnership.

Ganguly, whose 87-ball innings included eight boundaries, scored 68. Thirty-one balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Mushtaq, who broke the 23-run stand. Azharuddin, whose 38-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 30. He was unbeaten, as was Ajay Jadeja, who faced 21 balls. He scored 11.

Pakistan conceded nine extras. India, who scored 213 for the loss of a couple of wickets off 37.1 overs, won by eight wickets with 53 balls to spare. Akhtar had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he conceded 11, and was wicketless.

Mahmood and Aaqib Javed bowled four wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 26, the latter, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 24. Saqlain, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 53. Afridi and Mushtaq bowled nine overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 49, the latter conceded 48.

India led the best-of-three finals 1-0.

Pakistan (Azh)are beaten; India advance

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Hrishikesh Kanitkar made way for Harvinder Singh. Pakistan made three changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Akhtar Sarfraz, Moin Khan and Wasim Akram made way for Aamer Sohail, Rashid Latif (who was leading the team for the first time) and One-day International debutant Fazl-e-

Akbar.

Early morning fog delayed the match, which was reduced to a 37-overs-a-side match. On winning the toss, Latif inserted the Indians. Sourav Ganguly, whose 17-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 13. Three overs into the match, he was caught by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Aaqib Javed broke the 14-run stand.

Tendulkar, whose 44-ball (Sach)innings included 11 boundaries, scored 67. Eighty-three balls later, he was stumped by Latif. Saqlain Mushtaq broke the 112-run stand. Navjot Singh Sidhu, whose 42-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 36. Eighty-seven balls later, he was caught by Azhar Mahmood, who broke the 89-run partnership.

Ajay Jadeja had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored half-a-dozen. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Manzoor Akhtar. Mushtaq broke the 21-run stand. Robin Singh, who faced three balls, scored a run. Five balls later, he was caught by Saeed Anwar. Javed broke the three-run stand.

Sairaj Bahutule, who faced three balls, scored a run. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Afridi. Mushtaq broke the four-run stand. Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper and the player of the match, scored 100. His 111-ball innings included seven boundaries. The next ball, he was caught by Mahmood off the bowling of Mushtaq.

Nayan Mongia, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten, as was Javagal Srinath, who faced a ball. He didn’t get off the mark. Pakistan conceded 20 extras. India scored 245 for the loss of seven wickets off 37 overs.

Sohail, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded nine. Fazl-e-Akbar, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 19. Akhtar, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 30. Afridi, who bowled eight wicketless overs, conceded 38.

Mahmood, who bowled seven overs, conceded 65. He picked up a wicket. Javed, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 34. He picked up a couple of wickets. Mushtaq, who bowled eight overs, conceded 41. He picked up four wickets.

Afridi, whose six-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Tendulkar had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he caught him. Debasis Mohanty broke the five-run stand. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 11-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 18. Twenty-seven balls later, Harvinder broke the 39-run stand.

Sohail, whose 20-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 19. (Srina)Three dot balls later, he was caught by Tendulkar off the bowling of the Karnataka pacer. Anwar, whose 11-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 13. Eighteen balls later, Harvinder broke the run-a-ball stand.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 84. Akhtar, whose 57-ball innings included a boundary, scored 39. A hundred and two balls later, Bahutule and Mongia ran him out. Inzamam, whose 69-ball innings included seven boundaries and three sixes, scored 77. Twenty-five balls later, he was caught by Tendulkar, who broke the 39-run stand.

Mahmood faced 16 balls, scoring as many. Nine balls later, he was caught by Tendulkar. This was his fourth catch. He equalled the Indian record for the most catches in an ODI [held by Sunil Gavaskar and Azharuddin (incidentally, against Pakistan). Harvinder broke the 12-run stand. Latif, who faced 18 balls, scored 14. He was unbeaten. Mushtaq, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Seventeen balls later, Srinath broke the 17-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair put on 13. Fazl-e-Akbar, who faced eight balls, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – fourteen balls later, Mongia ran him out. India conceded eight extras. Pakistan, who scored 227 for the loss of nine wickets off 37 overs, lost by 18 runs.

Ganguly bowled a wicketless over, conceding eight. Robin, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 20. Bahutule, who faced seven wicketless overs, conceded 53. Mohanty, who bowled three overs, conceded 31. He picked up a wicket.

Tendulkar, who bowled four overs, conceded 24. He picked up a wicket. Srinath, who bowled eight overs, conceded 40. He picked up a couple of wickets. Harvinder, who bowled eight overs, conceded 47. He picked up three scalps.

India advanced to the best-of-three finals.

Pakistan triumph; India (Tendulk)are eliminated

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Pakistan made three changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – the Mohammads (Wasim and Hussain) and Waqar Younis made way for Akhtar Sarfraz, One-day International debutant Manzoor Akhtar and Wasim Akram (who was leading the team).

On winning the toss, Sachin Tendulkar, India’s skipper, chose to bat. Their openers put on 31. Karim, whose 30-(Sa)ball innings included three boundaries, scored 18. Akram ran him out. The second-wicket pair put on 113. Navjot Singh Sidhu, whose 64-ball (Mo)innings included five boundaries, scored 54. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Khan ran him out.

The third-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Robin Singh, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was caught by Khan off the bowling of Azhar Mahmood. Tendulkar, who faced four balls, scored three. He was caught by Inzamam. Manzoor broke the four-run stand.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 128-ball innings included three boundaries and as many sixes, scored 90. Akram broke the 53-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, who faced 10 balls, scored half-a-dozen. Saqlain Mushtaq broke the 24-run stand.

Mohammad Azharuddin, who faced 57 balls, scored 39. He was caught by Akram. Mushtaq broke the 15-run stand. Anil Kumble, whose run-a-ball innings included a six, scored 11. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 18 extras. India scored 239 for the loss of seven wickets off 50 overs. Each of the five bowlers bowled 10 overs. Aaqib Javed, who conceded 49, was the only wicketless bowler. Manzoor, Azhar and Akram (who spell included a maiden) conceded 50, 40 and 34, respectively. They picked up a wicket apiece. Saqlain, who conceded 55, picked up a couple of scalps.

Shahid Afridi, whose run-a-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 19. He was caught by Rajesh Chauhan, who broke the 48-run stand. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 21-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 16. He was trapped (Kumb)leg before wicket by the Karnataka leggie, who broke the 31-run stand.

Sarfraz, who faced 16 balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven. He was caught by Azharuddin. Chauhan broke the 14-run stand. Manzoor,who faced a dozen balls, scored five. He was trapped leg before wicket by Kumble, who broke the nine-run stand.

Inzamam, whose 29-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 19. He was caught by Karim. Ganguly broke the 42-run stand. Saeed Anwar, the player of the match, scored 104. His 213-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six. He was caught by Karim. Javagal Srinath broke the 82-run stand.

Khan, whose 52-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 49. He was unbeaten, as was Akram, who scored nine. His eight-ball innings included a boundary. The Indians conceded 15 extras. The Pakistanis, who scored 243 for the loss of six wickets off 47.2 overs, won by four wickets with 16 balls to spare.

Singh, who bowled three overs, conceded 19. He was wicketless, as was Abey bowled eight overs, including a maiden. He conceded 43. It was the Mumbai pacer's (Kuruvil)last appearance in the shorter format. Ganguly, who bowled seven overs, conceded 39. He picked up a wicket.

Srinath, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 43. He picked up a wicket. Chauhan, who bowled 9.2 overs, conceded 47. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Kumble, who bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 44.

Although the Indians had one match to go, they were knocked out of the tournament.

(Sach)India lose (Pakist)another bilateral series

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Pakistan (Moham)made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Saleem Elahi and Hasan Raza made way for Wasim and Mohammad Hussain.

On winning the toss, Saeed Anwar, Pakistan’s skipper, inserted the Indians. Although his 11-ball (Sach)innings included a boundary, Tendulkar, India’s skipper, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he was caught by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Aaqib Javed broke the 12-run stand.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 36-ball (Saqla)innings included three boundaries, scored 26. He was caught by Hussain. Mushtaq broke the 41-run stand. Singh, whose 22-ball (Rob)innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 17. Azhar Mahmood broke the three-run stand.

Vinod Kambli, who faced 17 balls, scored half-a-dozen. Mahmood broke the 10-run stand. Mohammad Azharuddin, who faced a dozen balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Moin Khan. Mahmood broke the 11-run stand.

Karim, who faced 47 (Sa)balls, scored 20. Hussain broke the 53-run partnership. Ajay Jadeja, whose 109-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 76. He was caught by Inzamam. Waqar Younis broke the 76-run partnership.

The eighth-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Rajesh Chauhan, whose run-a-ball innings included a couple of sixes, scored 32. He was caught by Hussain off the bowling of Younis. Nilesh faced a couple of balls, scoring as many. He was caught by the substitute, Hasan Raza. Javed broke the (Kulkar)nine-run stand.

The (Kuruvil)last-wicket pair put on a run. Abey, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Ijaz Ahmed ran him out. Debasis Mohanty, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 18 extras. India were dismissed for 216 off 49.2 overs. Shahid Afridi, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 26. Saqlain and Hussain bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 46, the latter conceded 37.

Javed, who bowled seven overs, conceded 35. He picked up two wickets, as did Waqar, who bowled 8.2 overs, conceding 33. Mahmood, who bowled nine overs, conceded 34. He picked up three scalps.

The Pakistanis were fined an over for a slow over rate. Ijaz Ahmed, the player of the match, scored 139. His 84-ball innings included 10 boundaries and nine sixes. He was unbeaten. Afridi, whose 23-ball innings included five boundaries and three sixes, scored 47. He was caught by Tendulkar. Kulkarni broke the 80-run partnership.

Wasim, whose 52-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 27. He was unbeaten. India conceded half-a-dozen extras. Pakistan scored 219 for the loss of one wicket off 25.2 overs, winning by nine wickets with 136 balls to spare.

Singh, who bowled two wicketless overs, conceded 22. Ganguly, who bowled 2.2 wicketless overs, conceded 28. Mohanty, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 38.

Chauhan, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 30. Kuruvilla bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 42. Kulkarni, who bowled eight overs, conceded 57. He picked up the only wicket to fall.

Pakistan won the three-match series 2-1.

(Sach)India beat Pakistan, level series

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Rahul Dravid made way for Vinod Kambli. Pakistan made no changes to theirs. On winning the toss, Saeed Anwar, the latter’s skipper, chose to bat. He scored 18. His 22-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Rajesh Chauhan, who broke the 55-run stand.

Shahid Afridi, whose 56-ball innings included nine boundaries and a six, scored 72. He was caught by Abey Kuruvilla. Nilesh Kulkarni broke the 71-run partnership. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 54-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 31. He was caught by Mohammad Azharuddin. Kulkarni broke the 22-run stand.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, whose 92-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 74. He was unbeaten. Saleem, whose 34-ball innings included a boundary, scored E(lah)ighteen. He was caught by Kulkarni. Chauhan broke the 49-run partnership. Khan, whose 33-ball (Mo)innings included a six, scored 31. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 21 extras. Pakistan, whose innings closed at 47.2 overs, scored 265 for the loss of four wickets. Crowd trouble on four occasions, a delay due to third umpiring decisions, and an injury on the field resulted in heavy loss of time, and a poor over rate. The fourth crowd disruption made the Indians walk out. At that stage, the innings closed.

Sachin Tendulkar had no to be in seventh heaven – he bowled a wicketless over. Debasis Mohanty, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 25. Robin Singh, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 23.

Kuruvilla, who bowled 7.2 wicketless overs, conceded 50. Sourav Ganguly, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 39. Kulkarni and Chauhan bowled 10 overs each, picking up a couple of wickets apiece. While the former conceded 66, the latter conceded 48.

India had to achieve its target (266) in 47 overs. Tendulkar, whose 18-ball innings included two boundaries and a six, scored 21. He was caught by Khan. Azhar Mahmood broke the 71-run partnership.

Ganguly, the player of the match, scored 89. His 96-ball innings included 11 boundaries. He was caught by Afridi. Waqar Younis broke the 98-run stand. The third-wicket pair put on 10. Kambli, whose 76-ball innings included seven boundaries, scored 53. Shahid Nazir, the substitute, ran him out.

The fourth-wicket pair put on half-a-dozen. Azharuddin, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary, scored six. Anwar ran him out. Ajay Jadeja, who faced 19 balls, scored eight. He was caught by Ahmed. Afridi broke the 10-run stand.

Singh, whose 32-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 31. He was unbeaten. Karim, whose 32-(Sa)ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 26. Younis broke the 62-run partnership. Chauhan, whose three-ball innings included a six, scored eight. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 24 extras. India scored 266 for the loss of six wickets off 46.3 overs, winning by four wickets with three balls to spare. Saqlain Mushtaq bowled 9.3 wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 46.

Aaqib Javed bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 73. Mahmood and Afridi bowled nine overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 56, the latter conceded 48. Younis, who bowled nine overs, conceded 36. He picked up two scalps.

The three-match series was level at 1-1.

Pakistan host India, are T(endulka)riumphant

India made a couple of Ch(auh)anges to their playing eleven – Vinod Kambli and Harvinder Singh made way for Rajesh and Nilesh Kulkarni. Pakistan made three changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja and Shahid Nazir made way for Saeed Anwar (who was leading the team), Saleem Elahi and Waqar Younis.

Sourav Ganguly, who faced five balls, did not get off the mark. He was caught by Hasan Raza. Younis broke the two-run stand. Sachin Tendulkar, India’s skipper, faced 11 balls, scoring just a couple. Younis broke the one-run stand.

Singh, whose 48-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored 20. Saqlain Mushtaq broke the 58-run partnership. Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 67-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 31. Shahid Afridi broke the 16-run stand.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 77-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 41. Aaqib Javed, the player of the match, broke the 89-run partnership. Karim, who faced a couple of (Sa)balls, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Ijaz Ahmed. Saqlain broke the one-run stand.

The seventh-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Chauhan, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. He was caught by Ahmed off the bowling of Saqlain. Rahul Dravid, whose 81-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 50. Javed broke the two-run stand.

The (Kulkar)ninth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. The Mumbaikar, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was dismissed by Javed. The (Kuruvil)last-wicket pair put on just a run. Abey, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was dismissed by Javed. Debasis Mohanty, who faced a ball, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 24 extras. India were dismissed for 170 off 49 overs. Ahmed, who faced half-a-dozen overs, conceded 25. He was wicketless, as was Azhar Mahmood, who bowled nine overs, conceding 35.

Afridi, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 38. He picked up a wicket. Younis bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 21, picking up a couple of wickets. Saqlain bowled nine overs, including three maidens. He conceded 13, picking up three wickets. Javed, who bowled eight overs, conceded 29. He picked up four scalps.

Anwar, whose 29-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 30. He was trapped leg before wicket by Kulkarni, who broke the 70-run partnership. Afridi, whose 60-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, scored 45. He was trapped leg before wicket by Kulkarni, who broke the 17-run stand.

The third-wicket pair put on 19. Elahi, whose 20-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Tendulkar ran him out. Ahmed, whose 42-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 22. He was caught by Tendulkar. Needless to say, Singh was in seventh heaven.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, whose 68-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 35. He was unbeaten. Raza, who faced 22 balls, scored five. He was caught by Tendulkar. Kulkarni broke the 25-run stand. Moin Khan, who faced 28 balls, scored a dozen. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 14 extras. Pakistan, who scored 171 for the loss of five wickets off 44.3 overs, won by five wickets with 33 balls to spare. Jadeja bowled three wicketless balls, conceding four. Tendulkar bowled three wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 11.

Mohanty and Ganguly bowled four wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 23, the latter conceded 21. Kuruvilla bowled eight wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 23.

Chauhan bowled 10 wicketless overs, including two maidens. He conceded 40. Singh, who bowled five overs, conceded 14. He picked up a wicket. Kulkarni bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 27, picking up three scalps.

Pakistan led the three-match series 1-0.

FIn(di)ally, Pakistan T(endulka)riumph, salvage pride

While India made no changes to their playing eleven, the Pakistanis (Moham)made a couple of changes to theirs – Saeed Anwar and Akram made way for Inzamam-ul-Haq and Hasan Raza.

On winning the toss, Rameez Raja, Pakistan’s skipper, inserted India, whose skipper, Tendulkar, scored 51. His 64-ball (Sach)innings included four boundaries and a six. He was trapped leg before wicket by Azhar Mahmood, who broke the 98-run partnership.

Vinod Kambli, who faced eight balls, scored just a run. He was caught by Saqlain Mushtaq. Mahmood broke the four-run stand. The third-wicket pair put on 104. Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 65-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 50. Ijaz Ahmed and Saqlain ran him out.

Sourav Ganguly, the player of the match and the player of the series, scored 96. His 136-ball innings included five boundaries and a couple of sixes. He was caught by Mahmood. Saqlain broke the eight-run stand.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 21-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 23. He was unbeaten. Singh, whose seven-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored nine. He was caught by Aaqib Javed, who broke the 23-run stand. Rahul Dravid, who faced four balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 17 extras. India scored 250 for the loss of five wickets off 50 overs. Saleem Malik, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded 13. Shahid Afridi, who bowled nine wicketless overs, conceded 48. Shahid Nazir, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 66.

Saqlain and Javed bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 51, the latter, whose spell included three maidens, conceded 40. Mahmood bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 27, picking up a couple of scalps.

Pakistan were fined a couple of overs for a slow over rate. Afridi, whose 30-ball innings included five boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 39. He was caught by Tendulkar. Ganguly broke the 109-run stand.

The second-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Ahmed, whose 42-ball innings included nine boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 60. He was caught by Tendulkar off the bowling of Harvinder Singh.

Raja, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. Ganguly broke the two-run stand. Malik, whose 11-(Sa)ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. He was caught by Karim. Harvinder broke the 16-run stand.

Inzamam, whose 86-ball innings included eight boundaries, scored 71. He was unbeaten. Raza, whose 84-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 41. He was caught by Karim. Mohanty broke the 113-run stand. Moin Khan, who faced three balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 29 extras. Pakistan, who scored 251 for the loss of five wickets off 41.5 overs, won by five wickets with 37 balls to spare. Jadeja, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 13. He was wicketless, as was Robin, who bowled four overs, conceded 15.

Kuruvilla, who bowled 9.5 wicketless overs, conceded 80. Mohanty bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 66, picking up a wicket. Harvinder bowled eight overs, conceding 33. He was wicketless, as was Ganguly, who bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 33.

India won the five-match series 4-1.

 

(Sach)India win (Pakist)another rain-hit match

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Nilesh Kulkarni made way for Vinod Kambli. Pakistan made one change to theirs too – Hasan Raza made way for Shahid Nazir. On winning the toss, Tendulkar, India’s skipper, (Sach)inserted the Pakistanis.

The match was reduced to a 28-overs-a-side match. Owing to rain and a wet outfield, it commenced at 2:36pm local time (1:06am Indian Standard Time on September 21). Shahid Afridi, who faced a couple of (Sa)balls, scored as many. He was caught by Karim. Debasis Mohanty broke the 31-run stand.

Saeed Anwar, whose run-a-ball innings included three boundaries and two sixes, scored 30. Abey Kuruvilla broke the 15-run stand. Ijaz Ahmed, whose 19-ball innings included a six, scored 15. He was caught by Ajay Jadeja. Harvinder Singh broke the 26-run stand. 

Rameez Raja, Pakistan’s skipper, faced 40 balls, scoring 20. He was caught by Karim. Sourav Ganguly, the player of the match, broke the 23-run stand. Saleem Malik, whose 27-ball (Rob)innings included a boundary, scored 17. He was caught by Singh. Ganguly broke the 12-run stand.

Khan, whose 27-ball (Mo)innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 23. He was caught by Tendulkar. Harvinder broke the 48-run stand. Azhar Mahmood, whose 24-ball innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 33. He was unbeaten, as was Saqlain Mushtaq, who didn’t face a ball.

India conceded 19 extras. Pakistan scored 159 for the loss of six wickets off 28 overs. Robin, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 33. Mohanty bowled five overs, conceding 35. He picked up a wicket, as did Kuruvilla, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceding 29.

Harvinder, who bowled five overs, conceded 25. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Ganguly, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 29.

India’s target was revised to 160 from 26 overs. Although his innings included a boundary, Tendulkar wasn’t in seventh heaven, because he scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Khan. Nazir broke the eight-run stand.

Ganguly, whose run-a-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six, scored 75. He was unbeaten. Robin, whose 18-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 16. He was caught by Akram. Nazir broke the 33-run stand.

Mohammad Azharuddin, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he was caught by Ahmed. Nazir broke the 13-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, whose 48-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 37. He was unbeaten.

Pakistan conceded 21 extras. India, who scored 162 for the loss of three wickets off 25.3 overs, won by seven wickets with three balls to spare. Aaqib Javed, who bowled 4.3 wicketless overs, conceded 35.

Saqlain, Akram and Mahmood bowled five wicketless overs, conceding 31, 27 and 25, respectively. Nazir, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 38. He picked up the three wickets that fell. 

India led the five-match series 4-0. It was the first time they won four consecutive One-day Internationals against Pakistan. The previous best was three on two occasions – from September 11, 1983 to April 13, 1984, and from February 20, 1985 to March 22, 1985.

  

(Sach)India take (Pakist)an unassailable lead

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Pakistan (Moham)made one change to theirs – Hussain made way for Ijaz Ahmed. On winning the toss, Rameez Raja, Pakistan’s skipper, inserted the Indians.

Sourav Ganguly, the player of the match, faced 20 balls, scoring just a couple. He was caught by Ahmed. Azhar Mahmood broke the 12-run stand. The second-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Karim,who faced 16 (Sa)balls, scored just a couple. He was caught by Moin Khan off the bowling of Aaqib Javed.

Sachin Tendulkar, India’s skipper, faced 10 balls. He didn’t open his account. He was caught by Khan. Mohammad Akram broke the 11-run stand. Rahul Dravid, who faced 79 balls, scored 25. He was caught by Saeed Anwar. Saleem Malik broke the 66-run partnership.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 33-ball innings included a couple of sixes, scored 20. He was caught by Khan. Akram broke the 44-run partnership. Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 110-ball (Saqla)innings included four boundaries, scored 67. He was caught by Mahmood. Mushtaq broke the 31-run stand.

Singh, whose 29-ball (Rob)innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 32. He was unbeaten, as was Abey Kuruvilla, who faced four balls, scoring a run. Pakistan conceded 33 extras. India scored 182 for the loss of six wickets off 50 overs.

Shahid, who bowled five overs, conceded 20. He (Afri)didn't pick up a wicket. Malik bowled half-a-dozen overs, including a maiden. He conceded 26, picking up a wicket. Mahmood, who bowled nine overs, conceded 30. He picked up a wicket.

Saqlain and Javed bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 48, the latter, whose spell included four maidens, conceded 17. Akram, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 28. He picked up a couple of scalps.

Anwar, whose 32-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 22. He was caught by Dravid. Debasis Mohanty broke the 52-run partnership. Afridi, whose 38-innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 44. He was caught by Tendulkar. Kuruvilla broke the 27-run stand.

Raja, whose eight-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 11. Hewas caught by Ganguly. Harvinder Singh broke the eight-run stand. Malik, whose 16-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Tendulkar. Ganguly broke the 16-run stand.

The fifth-wicket pair failed to get off the mark. Hasan Raza, who faced eight balls, didn’t open his account. He was caught by Jadeja off the bowling of Ganguly. Ahmed, whose 43-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 13. He was caught by the substitute (Vinod Kambli). Ganguly broke the 13-run stand.

Khan, whose 24-ball innings included a boundary, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he was caught by Singh. Ganguly broke the two-run stand. Mahmood, whose 18-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was caught by Karim. Mohanty broke the eight-run stand.

Javed, whose nine-run stand included a couple of boundaries, scored 11. He was caught by Kuruvilla. Ganguly broke the 15-run stand. Saqlain, whose 23-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. He was caught by Mohanty. Needless to say, Kuruvilla was in seventh heaven.

Akram, who faced seven balls, scored a couple. He was unbeaten. India conceded 15 extras. Pakistan, who were dismissed for 148 off 36.5 overs, lost by 34 runs. Robin bowled five wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 16.

Harvinder, who bowled five overs, conceded 41. He picked up a wicket. Mohanty, who bowled eight overs, conceded 43. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Kuruvilla, who bowled 8.5 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 26. Ganguly bowled 10 overs, including three maidens. He conceded 16, picked up five scalps.

The Indians led the five-match series 3-0.