Team
Pakistan paid dearly for some sloppy cricket as India came
out on top in the second one-day international at Rawalpindi.
Batting first, Pakistan managed a pedestrian 265 on a brilliant
batting track. India overcame the target with consummate ease
by having lost only three wickets with 41 balls to spare.
Inzamam
won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. The wicket
almost had a tinge of green on it and the Indian bowlers started
off well. Irfan Pathan dispatched first match centurion Salman
Butt in the very first over. Kamran Akmal, after looking set,
once again fell to an ambitious cut shot on a ball too close
to the body. Mohammad Yousuf came and went as he ran himself
out in customary fashion - needlessly running down the pitch
when there was no chance of another run. Inzamam also failed
to make an impression after he mistimed a leg-side shot straight
into the waiting hands of Sreesanth at mid-on.
At
this stage, Pakistan were reeling at four for 68 and the Indians
were firmly on top. It was the ideal circumstance for Younis
Khan to join Shoaib Malik. Both have tormented India for the
past two seasons, and they meant business once again. They
nudged a few deliveries, chipped some others, and belted the
rest as they partnered together for a near-perfect century
stand. However, as Malik approached a hundred, he once again
got out in the 90s by running for a suicidal second run. Pakistan
were five down for 170 at that mark.
In
the final 15 overs, however, Pakistan failed to build on the
solid foundation laid primarily by Malik and Younis, who was
still there. Afridi threatened briefly and Razzaq failed to
fire as Pakistan’s innings was folded for 265 all out,
four of whom were run out. Younis finished with a neat knock
of 81 but failed to stick around until the end.
It
required another cracker of a start by Pakistani bowlers which
never happened. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag blazed
away to a century stand within the first 15 overs as they
essentially took the game away from the hosts. Mohammad Asif
and Umar Gul toiled hard on a fairly unresponsive wicket.
Tendulkar was dismissed on 42 by long-time nemesis Abdul Razzaq
and Sehwag was run-out off a brilliant direct throw from the
deep by Umar Gul. But the two dismissals hardly bothered India.
Dravid and Yuvraj then steadied the ship with composed fifties
as India steered past Pakistan’s total in 43.1 overs.
The
series is now interestingly poised at one-apiece. The third
game on Monday is a day-night encounter in Lahore. With a
loss putting either team in a must-win situation for the remainder
of the series, the third match has become all the more crucial.
Just adding salt to the wound for Pakistan ahead of the third
ODI, Shoaib Akhar has been ruled out of the remainder of the
series so the responsibility purely lies now on Rana Naved,
Mohammed Asif and Umar Gul.
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