Adil Najam
Game Update: Pakistan won the match by 54 runs. Shoaib Malik named Man of the Match.
The thrill of a Pakistan-India cricket encounter is always special. This time around at the ICC Champions Trophy Tournament in South Africa it is no different.
The story of the moment is that Pakistan has set India 303 to win. A good score but certainly not insurmountable. At the time of writing this, India was 91/2 in 14 overs, in the 50 overs game (current score here).
Earlier report on Pakistan’s innings, from The News:
An enterprising century by Shoaib Malik and brilliant 87 by Mohammad Yousuf helped Pakistan set India a difficult target of 303 runs in their Group A match in the ICC Champions Trophy here on Saturday. Malik made 128 from 126 balls and struck 16 fours while Yousuf hit seven fours in his 88-ball innings. Both added 206 runs, a record fourth wicket partnership against India. For India, seamers Ashish Nehra bagged four wickets for 55 runs while Ishant Sharma claimed two for 39. Pakistan captain Younus Khan elected to bat after winning the toss against India in the Champions Trophy here on Saturday.
Pakistan won their opening match of the four-team group against the West Indies, while India are playing their first game. Defending champions Australia are the other team in the group, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. Pakistan made one change from the side that beat the West Indies, with Younus coming in place of Misbah-ul-Haq.
Pakistan: Younus Khan (captain), Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul Hasan, Umar Gul,
Mohammad Aamer, Saeed AjmalIndia: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh.
India 205/5 in 35 overs.
Anyone’s game.
Chaa gaye…. got that wicket we so desperately needed…..
Shukar hai…. abb aik aur wicket please.
Some more comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
– “go pakistan!”
– “Afridi Chaa gaya”
– “INSHA ALLAH.”
– “BHoom BHoom Afridi”
– “Pak 302/9(50) | Ind 138/4(25) – R Dravid* 38(59), SK Raina 2(3)”
– “G A Laala:P”
– “2 more batsman left then only then Singh etc. This and next partnership is critical.”
– “ALLAH KERAY PAKISTAN JEET JAI AMEEN NAHI TO KAL KA SARA DIN UDAS GUZRAY GA”
– “ALLAH Pakistan ko kamayabii ataa farma.Ameen!”
– “ameen”
– “Summa Ameen
nd plzz pray dat Sh0aib Malik will be player ov da match..abhi to kaafi pitt raha hai bowling karate hoey =(“
Seems like this game just may hav ebeen lost
India 200-4 in 33.2 overs….. sixes and fours flying off Shoaib Malik!
Got the 4th wicket.
WOOOOOW
WE CAN DO THIS.