KARACHI, May 19: Pakistan duo of Tahir Masood and Javed Ahmed performed splendidly to put India under pressure at the conclusion of three segments on the opening day of the two-day final of the Open event of the 14th Asia & Middle East bridge championship at a local hotel on Saturday.

Pakistan’s card-masters showed their class by winning the third segment 67-55 to make a major turnaround.

The final is heading towards an exciting finish as both the teams were locked at 153 victory points (VPs) with two segments to be played on Sunday.

Tahir and Javed were supported by Rashid Jafar and Sarfraz Ahmed Khan.

The Indian team having fancied Ashok Goel, Aloke Sadhu, Debasish Roy, Kamal Mukherjee, Kamal Roy and Pritish Kusheri in their line-up were enjoying a handsome carry over lead of 25 VPs when they entered the final.

The Indian team dominated the first segment 57-34 but Pakistan came back strongly to win the second segment 55-37.—APP