June 11, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 06, 1429

DHAKA, June 10: Helped by a resounding opening stand that followed an excellent bowling performance, India outplayed arch-rivals Pakistan by 140 runs in the triangular series limited-overs match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on Tuesday.

Pakistan, chasing a mammoth 331 for victory, crumbled under pressure and were dismissed for a paltry 190 in 35.4 overs. Only captain Shoaib Malik (53) resisted the Indian bowling. For India, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla claimed four wickets apiece as Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Earlier on Tuesday, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir thrived on Pakistan’s fielding lapses to hammer blazing half-centuries as India posted a challenging 330 for the loss of eight wickets.

Sehwag was let off once during his 89 and left-handed Gambhir twice in his 62 before putting their team on course for a big total with a 155-run stand for the opening wicket.

Yuvraj Singh then capitalised on a superb start and reached his half-century when he swung leg-spinner Shahid Afridi for a third six in his 54-ball 55.

Gambhir was on four when dropped by Younis Khan in the slips off paceman Umar Gul in the opening over and then on 29 when let off by the same fielder off left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz.

Sehwag survived a chance on 43, grassed by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal off fast bowler Rao Iftikhar.

Pakistan paid dearly for these lapses as the Indians dominated the attack with attractive strokes on both sides of the wicket. Sehwag smashed one six and 13 fours in his 26th half-century and Gambhir six boundaries in his eighth.

Umar was the most successful bowler with 3-61, while Afridi and Wahab each took two wickets. Wahab was not allowed to complete his 10th and last over after bowling two beamers.

Pakistan made one change from the side that beat Bangladesh by 70 runs in the opening match on Sunday, replacing Fawad Alam with Rao.

All-rounder Yusuf Pathan made his debut for India.

Scoreboard

INDIA:

G. Gambhir c Kamran b Riaz 62

V. Sehwag c Kamran b Riaz 89

Y. Singh b Umar 55

Yusuf Pathan c Iftikhar b Afridi 3

R. Sharma b Afridi 9

MS Dhoni lbw b Sohail 24

S. Raina c Misbah b Umar 26

Irfan Pathan c Malik b Umar 18

P. Kumar not out 6

P. Chawla not out 0

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-4, NB-9, W-20) 38

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 330

FALL OF WKTS: 1-155, 2-174, 3-199, 4-231, 5-269, 6-271, 7-322, 8-324.

BOWLING: Umar 10-0-61-3 (3w); Sohail 9.4-0-57-1 (5w); Wahab 9.2-0-86-2 (9nb, 6w); Rao 10-0-63-0 (1w); Afridi 10-0-52-2 (5w); Younis 1-0-2-0.

PAKISTAN:

Salman Butt c Rohit b Kumar 9

Kamran Akmal c Yusuf b Kumar 38

Younis Khan c Dhoni b Kumar 0

Mohammad Yousuf lbw b Kumar 11

Misbah-ul-Haq c Dhoni b Ishant 24

Shoaib Malik c Raina b Chawla 53

Shahid Afridi st Dhoni b Chawla 23

Sohail Tanvir c and b Chawla 6

Umar Gul c Ishant b Yuvraj 7

Rao Iftikhar not out 16

Wahab Riaz lbw b Chawla 0

EXTRAS (LB-3) 3

TOTAL (all out, 35.4 overs) 190

FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-14, 3-26, 4-81, 5-94, 6-138, 7-156, 8-169, 9-180.

BOWLING: Kumar 9-1-53-4; Ishant 6-0-28-1; Irfan 6-0-38-0; Chawla 8.4-0-40-4; Yuvraj 4-0-17-1; Yusuf 2-0-11-0.

RESULT: India won by 140 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Virender Sehwag (India).

UMPIRES: Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka) and Enamul Haque (Bangladesh).

TV UMPIRE: A.F.M. Akhtaruddin (Bangladesh).

MATCH REFEREE: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).

NEXT MATCH: India v Bangladesh on Thursday.—Agencies