All posts by csb10.top

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, has pulled out of the opening one-day international against Sri Lanka to be with his wife Kelly in Wellington as the couple prepare for the birth of their first child.He has been replaced by Nathan Astle, the out of form opener who was originally dropped from the Sri Lanka series after a disappointing time during New Zealand’s recent series against Australia.According to Lindsay Crocker, New Zealand manager, Daniel Vettori will captain the team and Astle will join them after a provincial match on Friday. Fleming will return later in the series.Fleming joins Andre Adams on the absent list, the latter already out having broken a bone in his right hand. James Franklin, who like Astle had been dropped after a poor showing in Australia, has been drafted in as a replacement for Adams.An earlier version of this story with information from NZPA said Fleming’s wife had given birth already. She has not.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, meanwhile played down the effect of key absences in his side. He was quoted by www.stuff.co.nz as saying, “It’s something you have to get used to. I think over the last two years we have got used to guys coming in and out. We lost Shane (Bond) almost on the morning of the (first) match (against Australia), and lost Stephen. All sorts of little things happen and we have to get used to it and react to it. Especially when we’re as far away as the West Indies in the (2007) World Cup. We can’t just fly somebody in. We have to become an adaptable squad.”Bracewell also spoke about the inconsistency that has dogged the team recently. “We seem to get one part of our game right and have two fall away. We need to pick up some rhythm from what we did in the last series. We started to grow as a team. That’s really the main focus for me over these next four games is trying to continue some sort of rhythm.”

This is the first time a high-profile match involving international players will be played outside the venerated cauldrons of the Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums in Mumbai. If external appearance is any indicator, the DY Patil Sports Stadium is all decked up and ready for the big event tomorrow, when Mumbai Indians play Deccan Chargers.Located 35 kilometeres east of Mumbai, adjacent to the Mumbai-Pune highway, the stadium is a visual delight. It has a capacity of 55,000, which is 15,000 more than the Wankhede, and has all the amenities required to satisfy the needs of the spectator.Interestingly, the ground was not one of the venues for the IPL till two months ago. Preparations gathered momentum after the management of the Cricket Club of India, who are the owners of the Brabourne Stadium which was originally scheduled to host the matches, opted out after the IPL refused to give free tickets to its members. Since the Wankhede was not equipped to host ten games on the trot, the DY Patil Stadium came in to fill the breach.The ground, located inside the DY Patil Sports Complex, hasn’t yet been inaugurated and is still nearing completion. But the pitch and outfield look in excellent condition.Peter Muzzell, the chief curator who has worked on the four pitches in the centre, believes the track has all the qualities to make tomorrow’s game, and the rest of the games played here, exciting contests. “The main wicket was relaid recently and there was a corporate Twenty20 event held here recently on it and the scores were competitive,” Muzzell said.That event was the fourth edition of the DY Patil All-India Invitation Twenty20 championship where Virender Sehwag, representing ONGC, smashed a 35-ball hundred. Muzzell, who was the pitch consultant at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, expects similar fare tomorrow even though the pitch for the game is a new one. “It is a new wicket and all new wickets take time to settle. So we’ll have to wait for tomorrow, but I expect the scores to be on par with the rest of IPL venues,” Muzzell saidMore than the ground itself or the pitch, though, the problem for the venue is its location. The Wankhede is situated at the southern tip of Mumbai and is accessible through various modes of commute. The DY Patil ground, on the other hand, is situated outside the city. With the ground hosting night games, it remains to be seen if fans will be willing to travel long distances late at night for the cricket.Abey Kuruvilla, in charge of the sports complex, is confident that the event will attract a huge crowd. “There are 1.7 million people in New Bombay. Then the ground is located at a comfortable distance for people staying in neighbouring Pune and also some parts of Gujarat like Surat. Also, there are the people from the nearby districts like Raigad who have never seen such big cricket,” Kuruvilla said.On their part, the organisers are doing their bit to ensure the spectators have a good experience. They have worked out an arrangement to make the commute from the ground after the game a hassle-free experience. Buses of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport will ply from the venue to the nearby central railway stations every five minutes after the completion of each game. Reliance, the owners of Mumbai Indians, have also worked out a schedule with the railway authorities to provide additional train services for the fans late in the night.The fans have already given their initial verdict: the tickets for the first IPL game at the ground have been sold out.

Andy Bichel has not been put off by Mitchell Johnson’s slow start to the domestic season and feels he is in the perfect position to make his Test debut on Thursday. Johnson’s chances of being presented with a baggy green improved with the withdrawal of Shaun Tait from the squad with an elbow injury and the only thing missing from his preparation is a useful haul at state level.Johnson went wicketless in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales last week and has picked up only one victim in the tour game with the Sri Lankans in Brisbane. However, there was no problem with his pace in the second innings this afternoon and Bichel was impressed with his team-mate’s credentials.”He’s a left-armer, he gives you those options and we haven’t seen a left-arm quick for a long time,” he said. “He’s at the right age, he’s done his apprenticeship and knows the system, it’s perfect timing for him. He’s ready to go.”Sri Lanka have struggled with the bounce in Brisbane during the tour game and Johnson’s height and pace should provide some more discomfort during the Test. Australia will be without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath for the first time since their retirement and Johnson is an attractive option because he is a left-armer.”The make-up of the side, with Stuart Clark, Brett Lee and no Warne, you need some variation in the side,” Bichel said. “Stuart MacGill will fill the spin-bowling spot but you need some variation in our quicks and Mitchell’s the best way to get it.”Farveez Maharoof is pushing for a place in the Sri Lanka side and he helped his claims with 3 for 72 on a day when they struggled to knock over Queensland’s lower order. Dilhara Fernando, who is not playing in the match, is Maharoof’s main rival for a spot, although the reshuffling to cover Kumar Sangakkara’s injury may result in the visitors playing five bowlers.”I’ve been bowling well over the last two weeks and it was good to have a day out,” Maharoof said. “It won’t be easy with Dilhara, Lasith [Malinga] and [Chaminda] Vaas around. I’m still hoping that I’ll get a comeback and hope I get a chance to prove myself.”The Sri Lankans’ attack made an impression on Bichel as he posted his ninth first-class century with an aggressive 125. “Malinga will expose the older ball in Hobart, but not in Brisbane because he won’t get a lot of reverse-swing,” he said. “Maharoof bowled really well and Vaas swung the ball beautifully. They stack up pretty well.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

More than 21 years after Javed Miandad’s last-ball heroics in Sharjah, India and Pakistan played out a thrilling tie at the ICC World Twenty20, with Misbah-ul-Haq run out off the last ball of the match. But the tournament rules didn’t allow for the spoils to be shared, and it was India that prevailed in the bowl-out. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa were Dirty Harry-accurate, while Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed by a fair distance as a sell-out crowd celebrated an enthralling finale.The 33-year-old Misbah, who made a magnificent 53 from just 35 balls, had been an unlikely hero for Pakistan after Shahid Afridi’s dismissal, with 39 needed from 15 balls, had left them in a seemingly hopeless situation. He needed just one run from the last two balls of the innings, butSreesanth came round the wicket to deliver a dot ball and then a short one that Misbah could only parry to silly mid-off. He had no chance of completing the single.Earlier, Uthappa’s superb half-century had resurrected Indian hopes after a sensational new-ball spell from Mohammad Asif had skittled India’s top order. Asif bowled four magnificent overs on the trot, with mastery of the seam and impeccable control in overcast conditions. But from the depths of 36 for 4, India recovered to 141 for 9, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan buttressing Uthappa’s brilliant effort.India then fielded with great energy and bowled superbly to defend the total but Pakistan stormed back in the final three overs. They might however reflect on the batting order, with the destructive Afridi having come to the crease when the situation was almost beyond salvage.Rudra Pratap Singh had given India the perfect start, cleaning up the reckless Imran Nazir, and both he and Sreesanth kept the runs down to increase the pressure on Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. It was Butt that finally succumbed to it, edging Ajit Agarkar’s second delivery behind thestumps. That evened the scales somewhat, but after a fairytale comeback over from Pathan, it was India that were right on top.A misunderstanding with Younis Khan sent Akmal packing off the first ball, and when Younis then gloved one back on to the stumps, a Pakistani victory was no longer a formality. A partnership was needed, and Misbah and Shoaib Malik built one, concentrating mainly on singles and the odd clever thump over the field.Malik’s patience finally snapped in Pathan’s final over, with Harbhajan Singh taking the skier in the circle, and Pakistan needed almost two off every ball when Afridi walked to the middle. He never got going either, but instead of the death-knell, his departure sparked a stunning finish.

Harbhajan’s otherwise immaculate spell was ruined by a six and a four from Misbah, and when the woefully off-radar Agarkar was clouted by Yasir Arafat and Misbah for 17 in the penultimate over, Pakistan needed just 12 from six. Misbah placed one beautifully over cover and then thumped one straight down the ground but it was to be Sreesanth that had the final say.Such a keen contest looked extremely unlikely early on with Asif’s bowling reminiscent of the peerless Glenn McGrath. Gautam Gambhir was brilliantly caught on the follow through at the second attempt, while Sehwag was sorted out as he so often has been of late, inside-edging one back on to his stumps.Uthappa got going with a great flick off his pads for four, and a splendid lofted on-drive off Gul showed that he meant business. But there was little support at the other end, with Yuvraj Singh miscuing one off the leading edge to mid-off. Dinesh Karthik briefly alleviated the gloom withtwo glorious strokes off Asif, making room and lofting through the off side, but when the extra bounce induced another inside edge, Pakistan were right on top.Asif’s exit gave Uthappa and Dhoni the chance to resurrect the innings. Uthappa thumped Arafat for a straight six and then lofted him way into the stands at midwicket, but both batsmen struggled to work out the left-arm medium pace of Sohail Tanvir, who bowled off the wrong out a la Mike Proctor.Afridi’s introduction didn’t stem the Indian momentum either, with Uthappa cutting and driving for fours, but a brief rain delay after he had reached 50 made all the difference. A thin edge through to Akmal gave Tanvir a first wicket, and brought Pathan to the crease.A fascinating little tussle with Afridi followed. Two huge sixes over midwicket had the Indian fans cheering themselves hoarse, but Afridi had the last word with a quicker delivery that crashed into the leg stump.Dhoni clubbed Arafat for a straight four and then swung him over fine leg for six, but the promised late explosion never came. Once he skied one to Younis at deep cover, India were left to limp to the finish. In the end though, those runs that were eked out made all the difference to agame that was the best possible advertisement for cricket’s fledgling format.

The investigations into the murder of Bob Woolmer, the late Pakistan coach, are reported to have reached a significant breakthrough with a likely suspect being identified through footage from the hotel security camera. According to a report in the UK-based , detectives from Scotland Yard and a team of 30 officers studied the digitally-enhanced footage and the suspect was understood to be a male, though police were unable to confirm his identity.”The cleaned-up images from London show at least one individual of considerable interest to the inquiry,” a source close to the investigation told the paper. “The time of the footage and its location mean that this individual must be considered a suspect. Further work is being done on statements given by individuals to look at any inconsistencies. It is good progress.”Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica on March 18, a day after Pakistan’s loss to Ireland, and though the cause of death was determined, the authorities had struggled to develop lasting leads in the murder case. There was speculation that Woolmer may have been poisoned first before being strangled, as a toxicology report stated that samples taken from his blood, stomach and urine had shown the presence of a foreign substance.An inquest into the murder was scheduled for April 23 but had to be postponed owing to ‘significant developments’ into the case. Twenty witnesses were due to provide evidence but a statement from the Jamaican justice ministry on Thursday said the hearing would be postponed following advice from the coroner.

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have both been named in Pakistan’s 30-man preliminary squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, which takes place in South Africa in September.Shoaib and Asif last week escaped sanction from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after failing drugs tests in 2006. Both men missed the recent World Cup in the Caribbean through injury, and without them to spearhead the campaign, Pakistan slumped to a humiliating first-round exit at the hands of the Associate nation, Ireland.The squad – which will be captained by Inzamam-ul-Haq’s successor, Shoaib Malik – will be trimmed to 15 names in August.Squad Shoaib Malik (capt), Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Fawad Alam, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Farhat, Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naveed Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Yousuf, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanveer, Zulqarnain Haider, Mohammad Irshad, Najaf Shah, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman.

He may not enjoy the iconic status that an Andrew Flintoff does, but noone in these parts doubts the qualities that Jacques Kallis brings to thisSouth African side. His 119 spanned 160 balls, and was the slowest evermade by a South African in ODIs, but it was 28 more than India’s battingline-up made on a pitch that was nowhere near as menacing as Kingsmead canbe at times.Kallis assessed the conditions beautifully, playing some magnificentdrives early in his innings before settling down to shepherd the middleand lower order right to the end. “It was one of those wickets where therewas a lot of bounce,” he said, soon after picking up the Man-of-the-matchaward. “It wasn’t a free-scoring wicket. It just needed someone to batthrough the innings, and for others to bat around him. There was a periodin the middle when we could have picked it up a little bit more but myexperience told me to just hang in there. I realised that 250 was a verygood score.”India had done well to reduce South Africa to 63 for 3, but Kallis and ABde Villiers regained the initiative with a steady 87-run partnership thatlaid the platform for a solid total. “They all bowled well on a wicketthat was more bowler-friendly than some we’ve played on,” said Kallis. “Asa unit, they bowled pretty well. But maybe they were one bowler short.They made it difficult for us to score, especially in the middle period.”Graeme Smith, who departed early, leg before to Zaheer Khan, was delightedwith the result, saying that he was fairly confident once the runs hadbeen put on the board. “We knew the wicket would bounce. We were happywith 250. At times, we were a bit rusty and on another day, we could havegot 270. Jacques played superbly, and there were some good knocks aroundhim.”India’s response saw them collapse from a relatively healthy 62 for 2 to91 all out, with the exits of Dravid and Tendulkar heralding a depressingcollapse. “They didn’t start that badly,” said Smith. “We had them twodown early on, but they were pretty solid up to a point. I thought AndreNel’s spell was superb. He hit really great areas at pace and bowled witha lot of aggression. We knew that if we could get them three or four down,we could get stuck into the middle order.”The middle order subsided in embarrassing fashion, and Smith admitted thatinexperience may have played a part. “They’ve got experience at the top ofthe order with Tendulkar and Dravid,” he said. “Kaif has been around for along time. Maybe in the middle order, they’re a little bit inexperienced.This is Dhoni’s first tour out of the subcontinent, apart from theCaribbean. For him, it’s going to be a big challenge in these conditions.We just bowled really well tonight, and our energy in the field wasgreat.”He was adamant though that South Africa wouldn’t be looking at India as atwo-batsman team, even though the onus is clearly on Tendulkar and Dravidto deliver big runs. “In any team, you have a couple of guys who’ve beenaround a long time and have records behind them,” he said. “The young guyshave to take the responsibility and perform. We concentrate against everybatter. Obviously, the guys with records behind them are going to be morecrucial wickets.”Though Makhaya Ntini went wicketless and Charl Langeveldt went for a few,Smith was delighted with the collective effort in the field. When askedhow this fast-bowling quintet shaped up against their predecessors, hesaid: “I wouldn’t like to compare them to the past. I think this is a newera and these guys are setting their own standards. We’re proud of thepast, but this team wants to have its own style and create our ownrecords.”South Africa experienced a similar low recently, when they were thrashedby New Zealand on a pitch of questionable quality during the ChampionsTrophy, and Smith, who chuckled when asked what advice he would give theIndians, said that he had been delighted at the manner in which theybounced back from that. “For us, it was about stepping up our work-rate attraining and asking the guys to raise their levels,” he said. “I know whatwe’re capable of. The guys have proven that to me and everyone else inone-day cricket over the last two years. I don’t know how Rahul will workwith the Indian team. I don’t know their dynamics.”With both teams still feeling their way into a pivotal season thatclimaxes with the World Cup, Smith was clearly jubilant about the firststeps taken on home turf. “I think we were very good as a unit,” he said.”The batting was rusty in some areas. Game time is needed. We feel likewe’ve gone from net to net to net. We need time in the middle. As a team,we’re working well together and we’re happy. We’ve moved away from thefear of failure.”It’s a fear that will be uppermost in many Indian minds after a lamentabledefeat.

Distractions come in all shapes and sizes, as both England and Sri Lanka have been discovering on the eve of the first Test at Lord’s. While Sri Lanka’s preparations have been undermined first by some untimely criticism from the chairman of selectors, Ashantha de Mel, and latterly by the impending return of their veteran opener, Sanath Jayasuriya, England have a more intangible problem. They just can’t lay the Ashes to rest.Admittedly, it is the nicer problem to have. England’s first home Test after the summer before is set to take place almost eight months to the day after the Ashes triumph at The Oval last year, and for England’s stand-in captain, Andrew Flintoff, enough is enough. “There’s still an excitement about cricket and people are still talking about last year,” he told reporters on the eve of the game, “but at some point we’ve got to move on, and that’s going to be tomorrow morning.”Lord’s in the spring sunshine is a living, breathing metaphor for rebirth and renewal, with the smell of cut grass and the verdant greenery leaving you in no doubt that summer is round the corner. And when England take the field tomorrow, with a team comprising at least four men who’ve never played in a home Test before, they’ll have no option but to accept that the future is, in fact, the present.One of those new faces seems certain to be Sajid Mahmood, the Lancastrian paceman who endured a tough baptism in a one-day defeat against New Zealand two years ago, before re-emerging with mixed success against India this winter. “I’m sure he’ll have a few nerves jangling about,” said Flintoff, “but he’s a laid-back lad and he’ll get on with it. He’s quick, tall and gets bounce as well, so there’s definitely a good future for him.”England have delayed naming their team until they’ve taken one last look at a pitch that Flintoff imagined would be a good, flat batting deck, but with Alastair Cook already guaranteed his place at No. 3 ahead of Ian Bell, the final name seems a straight choice between the spinner Monty Panesar, and the extra seamer, Jon Lewis, who destroyed the Sri Lankans with nine wickets for England A at Worcester last week.

For all that England start as overwhelming favourites, to go into the match without a recognised spinner would be a huge gamble. As Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, pointed out, visiting sides have a tendency to raise their game whenever they visit Lord’s. In three separate visits since 1984, five Sri Lankan batsmen have added their names to the dressing-room honours board, including Jayawardene himself, who led a Sri Lankan run-fest in 2002 with 107 out of a towering total of 555 for 8.Only three of England’s players were around to witness that performance, but seeing as they were the key triumvirate of Flintoff, Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Hoggard, it’s a safe bet that their team-mates will be guarded against complacency. Hoggard endured a particularly torrid time, disappearing for 160 runs in 39 overs. Four years later, however, he stands on the brink of becoming the ninth England cricketer to take 200 Test wickets.”It would be fantastic to join an elite group of Englishmen,” said Hoggard, whose own Test debut also came at Lord’s, a gripping two-wicket victory over West Indies in 2000. The identity of his new-ball partner has yet to be confirmed – but it won’t be Steve Harmison, whose return to competitive action for Durham against Middlesex has been postponed because his wife has gone into labour.”I don’t think you’ll find a like-for-like replacement for Steve Harmison,” added Flintoff, as if to underline both England’s loss in this match, as well as the burden on his and Hoggard’s shoulders. Between them they have taken 97% (364 out of 372) of the wickets shared by England’s anticipated attack.As ever, Flintoff was his cheery phlegmatic self as he fronted up for the cameras. “I don’t think you can put the England captaincy and burden in the same sentence,” he reiterated when asked about the workload that has been forced upon him in the absence of Michael Vaughan.And besides, he still seemed a little starstruck after performing a duet with Elton John at his benefit dinner in Battersea the night before. “It was fantastic, something special for everyone there – though not me singing!” he said of his duet to the strains of Rocket Man. “But now I’m getting back to what I know best, playing cricket.”If only it were so simple for Sri Lanka, however. A desperately destabilising week shows no sign of abating, and the arrival of Jayasuriya midway through the match will only complicate matters further. However, their coach Tom Moody denied that the off-field issues had been a distraction. “We’re at Lord’s, we’ve had a couple of very good days of preparation, and we’re blessed with good weather,” he shrugged. “We’ll just concentrate on our game, and if we perform consistently, we’re sure we’ll be where we want to be after the fifth day.”Any side with Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas in their bowling attack cannot afford to be taken lightly, however, and for Murali, who has 611 wickets to his name but none as yet at Lord’s, the urge for a command performance in what is likely to be his first and last Test at the ground will be overwhelming.”I’m not the best one to ask!” joked Flintoff when asked what tips he had passed on to England’s youngsters. “Murali’s tricky, but he’s a great bloke as well. I’ll pass on advice, but when you face him, you’ve got to figure it out for yourself. Against someone as good as him, you just have to think on your feet.”England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Alastair Cook, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Sajid Mahmood, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Monty Panesar.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Michael Vandort, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Farvez Maharoof, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Nuwan Zoysa, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga.

The ICC needs to adapt to the demands of the present, its next chief executive has said. In an exclusive interview with Cricinfo, and later at a press conference in Cape Town, Haroon Lorgat, the South African set to take over from incumbent Malcolm Speed later this year, emphasised the challenges in different directions.Lorgat also stressed the image of cricket, which has taken a beating in recent years, needed to be looked after. “There have been certain incidents over the past few years that have impacted on the image of cricket,” he said. “Being such a global sport it is a challenge that is always going to be there, to protect the image and manage the potential conflicts that one might see coming.”There’s some work to done to ensure we better manage those sort of situations.”A few recent episodes, such as the Oval Test fiasco in 2006 and the subsequent handling of umpire Darrell Hair, as well as the shoddy organisation of the World Cup, had led to intense criticism of the ICC and Speed. Lorgat, though, said he would adopt a less confrontational when dealing with the member nations.”Whatever I say is not to be construed as a criticism of my predecessor but by nature I’m someone who has come through a team ethos,” Lorgat said. “I would prefer to make sure that as member countries we work together and that we come out with a common solution.”Lorgat was also unfazed by talk of India dominating affairs behind the scenes at the ICC, given their financial influence on the game. “I too have read various articles in the media about India’s influence on the ICC. But I have also read the views of various members, and they have not experienced anything of this sort,” he said. “So this could be a perception more than a reality. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all members to present a united front and assist the ICC in moving towards a common vision.”My understanding is that all member boards get along very well with each other. So once again, this could be a matter of perception more than reality,” he said. “I know the Board of Control for Cricket in India is very mindful of protecting and supporting the International Cricket Council in delivering the game across the globe. Working with India we can grow the game of cricket.”

ScorecardCaptains on either side excelled with both bat and ball but eventually India Under-19s beat their Pakistani counterparts by the narrow margin of seven runs in the second one-dayer at Sheikhupura on Thursday.After having bowled out India for a modest 224 in 49.5 overs, Pakistan managed only 217 for 9, though it was a good effort on their part to even get that far, as they had lost their sixth wicket at 143 in the 37th over. Riaz Kail, the captain, following his effort of 4 for 42 with his offspin, hit a painstaking 38 off 82 balls.Allrounder Imad Wasim (62) then found an able partner in Ahmed Iqbal (29) as the pair added 61 for the seventh wicket. Piyush Chawla, the Indian captain, had the final say with 3 for 50 in 10 and was declared the Man of the Match.Earlier, Chawla contributed with the bat as well, scoring 40 after Tanmay Srivastava (53) and Virat Kohli (45) added 88 for the third wicket. Srivastava and Kohli came in when India lost two early wickets. Chawla came in when India lost their fourth wicket at 133 and continued his good form with the bat on tour.The remaining two one-dayers will be played on over the weekend at Lahore’s Bagh-e-Jinnah and the Gaddafi Stadium respectively.