D(hon)isheartened Pakistan wIn(di)and salvage pride

The fifth – and final – One-day International of India’s 2007/08 series home against Pakistan was the former’s last in 2007. The match was purely of academic interest.

India (Shar)made four changes to theiR Playing eleven – Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Singh made way for Rohit, One-day International debutant Praveen Kumar, Murali Kartik and Sreesanth.

Pakistan made four changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Akhtar made way for Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Fawad Alam and One-day International debutant Sarfaraz Ahmed.

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, inserted the Pakistanis. The second Powerplay of their innings was between the 11^th and the 15^th over. Pakistan’s openers put on 50 off 10.3 overs (67 balls). India had conceded four extras at that point. While

Salman’s contriBut(t)ion to the partnership was 31, Nazir’s contribution to it was 18.

Butt, whose 49-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, eventually scored 36.

Thirteen overs into the match, he was caught by Sharma. Sreesanth broke the 65-run partnership. Hameed, who faced five balls, scored a run. Ten balls later, he was caught by Dhoni. Sreesanth broke the five-run stand.

Eighty-eight balls into the match, the first drinks break was taken. Pakistan had scored 70 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. Nazir was batting on 19. The second Powerplay of Pakistan’s innings was between the 16^th and the 20^th over.

Nazir, whose 40-ball innings included three boundaries, eventually scored 20. (Sreesan)Thirteen balls later, he was caught by the Kerala pacer, who had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he picked up his 50^th wicket in One-day Internationals.

Pakistan scored 100 off 21.3 overs (134 balls). India had conceded 15 extras at that point. The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 66 balls. While the contribution of both Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik – Pakistan’s skipper and the player of the match – to the partnership was 24 apiece, extras’ contribution to it was a couple.

Pakistan scored 150 off 31.3 overs (197 balls). India had conceded 18 extras at that point. Thirty-three overs into the match, the second drinks break was taken. Pakistan had scored 169 for the loss of three wickets at that point. While Yousuf was batting on 41, Malik was batting on 47.

Malik’s half-century – which included a couple of boundaries and a six – came off 56 balls. The fourth-wicket pair put on 100 off 110 balls. While Yousuf’s contribution to the partnership was 38, Malik’s contribution to it was 50. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a dozen.

Yousuf’s half-century – which included three boundaries – came off 60 balls. Pakistan scored 200 off 36.5 overs (233 balls). India had conceded 26 extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 150 off 148 balls. While Yousuf’s contribution to the partnership was 59, Malik’s contribution to it was 82. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a dozen.

Malik, whose 82-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 89. A hundred and fifty-three balls later, he was stumped by Dhoni. Kartik broke the 168-run partnership, which was the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Pakistan against India*.

Pakistan scored 250 off 43.2 overs (273 balls). India had conceded 27 extras at that point. Yousuf, whose 82-ball innings included four boundaries, eventually scored 74. Ten balls later, Yuvraj Singh, the player of the series, broke the 16-run stand.

Misbah-ul-Haq, whose 17-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 22. Five overs later, he was caught by Pathan, who broke the 38-run stand. Pakistan scored 300 off 49.1 overs (310 balls). India had conceded 29 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Alam, whose 23-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 32. He was unbeaten, as was Sohail Tanvir, who faced three balls, scoring as many. India scored 306 for the loss of half-a-dozen extras off 50 overs. Sehwag, who bowled four overs, conceded 26. He was wicketless, as was Kumar, who bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 50.

Yuvraj, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 47. He picked up a wicket. Kartik and Pathan bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket. While the former conceded 62, the latter conceded 59. Sreesanth bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 52, picking up three scalps.

Gautam Gambhir, whose 15-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored a dozen. Twenty-two balls into the chase, he was trapped leg before wicket by Tanvir, who broke the 15-run stand. Robin Uthappa, who faced 10 balls, scored just a run. Eighteen balls later, he was caught by Misbah. Rao Iftikhar Anjum broke the 11-run stand.

India scored 50 off 9.2 overs (61 balls). Pakistan had conceded five extras at that point. Tendulkar, whose 27-ball (Sach)innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 30. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Misbah. Tanvir broke the 31-run stand.

The second Powerplay of India’s innings was between the 11^th and the 15^th over. Sehwag, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Nine balls later, he was caught by Ahmed. Tanvir broke the five-run stand.

Fourteen overs into the chase, the first drinks break was taken. India had scored 66 for the loss of four wickets at that point. While Sharma had scored half-a-dozen, Yuvraj hadn’t opened his account.

India scored 100 off 22 overs (139 balls). Pakistan had conceded eight extras at that point. The 24^th over of their innings – bowled by Malik – was a five-ball over, called by umpire Suresh Shastri.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 50 off 78 balls. While Sharma’s contribution to the partnership was 29, Yuvraj’s contribution to the partnership was 17. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was four.

Sharma’s half-century – which included three boundaries and a six – came off 58 balls. He eventually faced 61 balls, scoring 52 (which, at that point in his career, was his highest score in One-day Internationals and his only half-century). Ninety-nine balls later, he was caught by Hameed. Malik broke the 81-run partnership.

Twenty-eight overs into the chase, the second drinks break was taken. India had scored 143 for the loss of five wickets at that point. Yuvraj was batting on 28. India scored 150 off 29.2 overs (184 balls). Pakistan had conceded 10 extras at that point.

Yuvraj’s half-century – which included three boundaries and a six – came off 61 balls. He eventually faced 62 balls, failing to add to the aforementioned score. Forty-seven balls later, he was caught by Ahmed. Umar Gul broke the 45-run stand.

Dhoni, whose 32-ball innings included a boundary, scored 24. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Nazir. Needless to say, Malik was in seventh heaven.

India scored 200 off 38.5 overs (242 balls). Pakistan had conceded 13 extras at that point. Kumar, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. Twenty-one balls later, he was caught by Tanvir. Malik broke the 19-run stand.

Kartik, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 16. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Nazir. Anjum broke the 24-run stand.

India scored 250 off 46.3 overs (289 balls). Pakistan had conceded 14 extras at that point. Pathan, whose 39-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 43. Thirty-three balls later, Tanvir broke the 37-run stand. Sreesanth, whose 16-ball innings included a boundary, was unbea‘ten’.

Pakistan eventually conceded 16 extras. India, who were dismissed for 275 off 49.5 overs, lost by 31 runs. Alam bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 56. Gul, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 43. He picked up a wicket. Anjum bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 52, picking up a couple of wickets.

Malik, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 61. He picked up three wickets. Tanvir, who bowled 9.5 overs, conceded 53. He picked up four scalps. At that point, those were his best figures in One-day Internationals. His previous best was a couple of scalps for 26.

(*Note: It broke the unbroken 163-run partnership between Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq in Mohali in 1999. It was also the highest fourth-wicket partnership recorded in Jaipur.)

India won the five-match series 3-2.