Asia Cup as it happened: Magical Afridi wins it for Pakistan at the death

2140 IST: Time for the post-match presentation. Kohli: The idea was not to let them get used to one bowler in particular. The guys put in a great effort and I am really proud of them. Mishra was getting the ball to turn a bit and had left him for the later overs and Ashwin was confident with his bowling at the death. You have to say a few short on that kind of wicket. Little slow at the beginning but then it got better. 260 or 270 would have been a competitive total. This was an enjoyable game. Really proud of how the team has played. When you have a young team, it is not always the result that counts. Misbah: It was a really important win for us. We have been called not good chasers but today, the way we played after being under pressure. It was a wonderful partnership with Hafeez. And Shahid was wonderful at the death. If I am not scoring and Pakistan is winning, nothing is better than that. Hafeez is the Man of the Match. Hafeez: The role given to me by the management - we want a no. 3 batsman - and it is working for me. For the captain, I am everywhere. So happy to do work for Pakistan. Thinking with Maqsood to just play normal because the run-rate was not much. Shahid, with his magnetic approach, finished the game very well. 2123 IST: Afridi wins it at the death SIX! SIX! Afridi has won the game with two lusty blows. Gave himself room and hoicked the first over long-on. The second was sliced over cover but had enough on it with the short boundaries to clear the rope. Afridi stands in the middle of the pitch in his famous star pose. The Pakistan team rush on the field to celebrate. India and Ashwin are stunned. Afridi finished with 34 from 18 balls. 3 sixes and 2 fours. That’s 30 of those 34. Afridi: All thanks to Allah. I was under pressure after playing bad shots in the last match. The captain told me to take my time and I did that. Whenever we play against India it’s a great occasion and I’m very happy. We knew this was a crucial match. Our goal is to win this tournament. Very important for our country and my team.2119 IST: After 49.1 overs, Pakistan 236/9 OUT! Ashwin has bowled Ajmal round his legs with a carrom ball. That’s a first ball duck for him. India fighting back in the last two overs. Saeed Ajmal b Ashwin 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) 2117 IST: After 49 overs, Pakistan 236/8 OUT! The debutant Talha has also holed-out, this time to long-off. Mohammad Talha c Jadeja b Kumar 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) 2113 IST: After 48.3 overs, Pakistan 235/7 Bhuvi bowls the 49th, which means Ashwin will bowl the final over. OUT! Gul has holed out to long-on, where Rahane takes a good catch diving forward. Big wicket for India and some respite for Bhuvi. Umar Gul c Rahane b Kumar 12 (12b 0x4 1x6) Pakistan still have the edge with Afridi at the crease though. 2109 IST: After 48 overs, Pakistan 233/6 Shami keeps the ball full but he can’t prevent the singles and singles are all Pakistan need. Four from the over. 13 needed from 12 now. 2104 IST: After 47 overs, Pakistan 229/6 Kohli has to bowl Bhuvi now. Boom Boom sweeps the medium pace for four from way outside off stump to the square leg boundary. No fielders on there. Gul comes to the party too with a crunching pick-up over a full delivery. That sails over midwicket for SIX! 13 from this over too. Pakistan need 17 from 18 balls now. 2100 IST: After 46 overs, Pakistan 216/6 Jadeja comes on. Pakistan need 43 from 30 balls. What will Boom-Boom do? Answer: He smashes a 100 kph half-tracker over deep midwicket. Jadeja bowls the next ever quicker - 103 kph - and the top edge from the sweep runs away to the boundary. Why is no one telling Jadeja to slow it down instead of firing it in quicker? What is the coaching staff for? 13 from the over. 30 needed from 24 now. 2055 IST: After 44.4 overs, Pakistan 203/6 Mishra returns. OUT! Maqsood has fallen to the pressure. Flicks to Ashwin at square leg and takes for a suicidal single. He is halfway down the track when Afridi sends him back after initially responding. karthik removes the bails with Maqsood not in the frame. He then throws the ball into the ground in celebration. Sohaib Maqsood run out 38 (53b 2x4 1x6) 2048 IST: After 43.3 overs, Pakistan 200/5 OUT! Hafeez goes for the sweep but can’t keep it down and Bhvi dives forward at square leg to take the catch on the second attempt. Big wicket for Ashwin and India Mohammad Hafeez c Kumar b Ashwin 75 (117b 3x4 2x6) Shahid Afridi strikes to the wicket. He can win it for either side. The crowd roars when he is on strike, knowing anything is possible.

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2045 IST: After 43 overs, Pakistan 199/4 Shami’s turn to bowl. Mishra prevents four runs with a dive at short fine leg when Shami bowls too straight. Then for some reason, Shami bowls it short and Hafeez pulls off the front foot and over square leg for SIX! 2040 IST: After 42 overs, Pakistan 190/4 Jadeja comes back for India with a maiden. It is the first maiden of the innings for India and comes at a vital time. 56 from 48 needed now. That is 7 an over for those of you counting at home. 2037 IST: After 41 overs, Pakistan 190/4 Mishra is back. The ball is still turning for him. A wide off his last ball gives Pakistan an extra ball and Maqsood makes the most of it by muscling him just over the deep midwicket rope for SIX! That was the googly and Maqsood picked it. Also the first boundary conceded off Mishra, believe it or not. Four runs from the first five balls, seven from the last delivery. 11 from the over. Pakistan need 56 from 54 balls. 2033 IST: After 40 overs, Pakistan 179/4 Bhuvi is back at the other end. Kohli making sure everyone has overs to spare at the death. Every bowler would have bowled 8 overs after Bhuvi completes this one, leaving two overs apiece. Wonder when the last time was that India bowled only 5 bowlers in a 50-over game. 67 to get from the last 10 overs for Pakistan. 2028 IST: After 39 overs, Pakistan 173/4 Jadeja replaces Bhuvi and almost gets Hafeez. The batsman flicks uppishly towards midwicket and Ashwin is inches away from a spectacular diving catch. Instead, it is two runs. Pakistan need 73 from the final 11 overs to win the match. 2025 IST: After 38 overs, Pakistan 169/4 Missed stumping. Karthik has fluffed his lines. Maqsood charges the bowler, who has set up the trap. He bowls the carrom ball down legside. All Karthik has to do is collect the ball with Maqsood yards down the track. Except Karthik snatches at it and bats it about 20 feet away from him, allowing Maqsood to get a single instead. Ashwin can’t believe it. Gestures wildly at Karthik but it is too late. Karthik has been poor behind the stumps today. Worse than Dhoni even. 2020 IST: After 37 overs, Pakistan 166/4 Bhuvi keeps going at the other end. Hafeez picks up and flicks to square leg, where Rohit puts in the dive on the ropes but the ball bounces in front of him and hops over the rope. Good over for Pakistan. Eases the pressure a bit. 2015 IST: After 36 overs, Pakistan 159/4 Time for the PowerPlay. Time for spin in the shape of Ashwin. Three singles result from that combination.

2008 IST: After 35 overs, Pakistan 156/4 Shami into his eighth over. Hafeez turns him to leg to pick up two and get to his half-century. Has taken him 82 balls and been a disciplined knock under the circumstances. The drinks are coming on to the field now. 2004 IST: After 34 overs, Pakistan 153/4 Three runs from Bhuvi’s over. Pakistan being cautious. They know there isn’t much batting to come. 2000 IST: After 33 overs, Pakistan 150/4 Shami gets a genuine edge but it is wide of a diving Karthik and Maqsood picks up four. The two batsmen bump fists afterwards. Also brings up Pakistan’s 150. 1956 IST: After 32 overs, Pakistan 145/4 Bhuvi comes back. Kohli doing his best to make sure his spinners have overs remaining for the death. Bhuvi gives away just a single. That will make Kohli happy. Bhuvi still has five overs to go. 1952 IST: After 31 overs, Pakistan 144/4 Shami comes back. He has four overs left after this. Beats the bat to end the over. A good one. Just two from it. 1947 IST: After 30 overs, Pakistan 142/4 Pakistan’s target is under 100 now. Maqsood muscles the caroom ball to the square boundary on the offside. That fair flew off the face. 1944 IST: After 29 overs, Pakistan 136/4 Sir Jadeja is back. Better from him. Just three runs conceded this time. 1940 IST: After 28 overs, Pakistan 133/4 A slip for Ashwin too. Just three from the over. Ashwin also bowling too quickly. Average speed is over 90 kph. 1937 IST: After 27 overs, Pakistan 130/4 Mishra continues. I might have been tempted to keep him for the later overs and bowl Rohit Sharma now. But what the hell do I know anyway? The flipper beats Maqsood’s outside edge to end the over. Mishra giving India’s selectors plenty to think about her. 1934 IST: After 26 overs, Pakistan 128/4 Ashwin comes back. Hafeez sweeps powerfully to sqaure leg. No man on the boundary there so easy pickings. Now Kohli pushes the man back. 1930 IST: After 25 overs, Pakistan 123/4 Mishra’s average speed so far has been 81 kph. Jadeja’s is 90 kph. Mishra has figures of 2 for 14 from 7 overs. Jadeja has 0 for 41 from 6 overs. Rohan Gavaskar makes the good point that Ashwin and Jadeja’s batting ability is what puts them ahead of Mishra in the pecking order. Problem is spinners should not be evaluated on their batting ability. You need to pick your best bowlers. You won’t need extra batting if your bowlers take wickets.

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1927 IST: After 24 overs, Pakistan 118/4 Down legside from Jadeja and Hafeez picks up two with an under edge and Karthik dives over. Still bowling too quickly too. 1923 IST: After 22.2 overs, Pakistan 113/4 OUT! A superb catch from Jadeja. Umar can’t resist a slog at Mishra. The ball turns too much, takes the toe end and loops high over cover. Jadeja does excellently to run back, stretch out his arms and grab the ball at full stretch. Umar Akmal c Jadeja b Mishra 4 (17b 0x4 0x6) Rohan Gavaaskar calls it a daft shot. That would be correct.

1920 IST: After 22 overs, Pakistan 112/3 Unsurprisingly Ashwin replaces Jadeja. India need Jadeja to get it right though. Will be tough to make up his overs elsewhere. Just two from Ashwin’s over. 1918 IST: After 21 overs, Pakistan 110/3 Just one run from Mishra’s over. It is bizarro world out there - Jadeja being tonked and Mishra being miserly. Mishra has figures of 5-0-8-1 so far. 1915 IST: After 20 overs, Pakistan 109/3 Jadja is back. The hundred comes up when Hafeez guides him through the offside. He improves on that with a cut in front of point that reaches the boundary this time. Jadeja is bowling too quickly on this surface, says Akram. The question is whhy can’t someone on the field tell Jadeja to slow it down? Why can’t Jadeja watch Mishra and figure it out himself? 1912 IST: After 19 overs, Pakistan 99/3 Mishra mixing up his deliveries nicely. He has changed the complexion of the game. 1908 IST: After 18 overs, Pakistan 97/3 Just one from Shami’s last over. Pakistan needs to steady the ship. The match is following a similar pattern to India v Sri Lanka. There two the openers put on a solid stand before some quick wickets brought India back. The question is, who will play the role of the Pakistani Sangakkara? 1903 IST: After 16.2 overs, Pakistan 96/3 OUT! Misbah, what have you done? There was never a single on offer when Hafeez blocked one into the covers. He does take a few steps forward and stops, by which time Misbah has committed and made it almost half-way down the pitch. Jadeja swooped to his left and threw to Mishra, who threw the stumps down. Misbah-ul-Haq run out 1 (4b 0x4 0x6) Second game in a row Misbah is run-out. India are right back in this match.1900 IST: After 16 overs, Pakistan 96/2 Kohli brings back Shami. Wants to keep his spinners for the late overs, which is not surprising. We saw the damage Ajmal and Hafeez did at the death. 1855 IST: After 15 overs, Pakistan 93/2 A slip is in place for Mishra, who is getting plenty of turn. An outside edge from Hafeez fetches the batsmen two runs but it was false stroke. OUT! Mishra gets a wicket with possibly the worst ball of his first two overs. It was short and there for the pull but it comes on quicker than Shehzad accepts and the turn means he hits it straight to short midwicket rather than to the right of him. Mishra deserved that wicket though. Ahmed Shehzad c Ashwin b Mishra 42 (44b 6x4 0x6) 1850 IST: After 14 overs, Pakistan 89/1 Jadeja at the other end is struggling to keep the runs down. Only one dot ball in that over and even though there was no boundary, 8 come from it. 1846 IST: After 13 overs, Pakistan 81/1 Mishra comes on and gets sharp turn right away and rips one across Shehzad’s bat. Is there a more pleasing sight in cricket than a legspinner bowling a big legbreak? The slower pace at which Mishra bowls might be helping the ball grip this surface. 1842 IST: After 12 overs, Pakistan 80/1 Hafeez tonks Jadeja down the ground for SIX! Pakistan want to finish this in a hurry. 1838 IST: After 11 overs, Pakistan 71/1 OUT! Ashwin has bowled Sharjeel through the gate. Sharjeel didn’t pick the carrom ball - it turned like a leg break - but it was also lazy shot. Left a huge gap between bat and pad. 1834 IST: After 10 overs, Pakistan 67/0 Spin from both ends. On comes Jadeja. Shehzad takes him on with a sumptuous back-foot punch through the covers, then a delicate cut that beats Bhuvi at point and fetches him four more. The target is 179 from 40 overs now. 1830 IST: After 9 overs, Pakistan 58/0 Right on cue Ashwin comes on. Kohli has him bowling around the wicket at middle and leg stump. India does like to neutralise their offspinners’ ability to take wickets. Two from the over though, which Kohli will probably consider a victory. 1825 IST: After 8 overs, Pakistan 56/0 Sharjeel crushes Shami over deep midwicket for SIX! Picks up a length ball and just smashes it. One bowler later pulls him over mid-on for four. Shami bowling from around the wicket, which is allowing Sharjeel to pick up the line and swing through it. Expect Kohli to bring on a spinner pretty quickly. 1821 IST: After 7 overs, Pakistan 45/0 Kohli has a slip in for Bhuvi, encouraging him to pitch the ball up. It’s good thinking. Shehzad plays a superb straight drive to the first ball, but India will want the batsmen coming forward to drive. Kohli has Bhuvi switch to bowling around-the-wicket to the left-hander though and the result is a thump down the ground. Too many changes too quickly to allow the bowlers to find a rhythm. 10 from the over. 1815 IST: After 6 overs, Pakistan 35/0 Pakistan pick up some bonus runs with eight leg byes. Anything too straight just runs away to the short boundary. Shami continues to struggle to bowl at left-handers. 1810 IST: After 5 overs, Pakistan 24/0 A brilliant decision from Oxenford. Karthik and Bhuvi were celebrating Shehzad being caught behind and it looked and sounded out for all money. Replays showed the ball just clipped the back leg and missed the edge. On commentary, Sanjay Manjrekar says the keeper would have known it was body and not bat but still appealed vociferously. There is little room for old fashioned sportsmanship in the modern game. 1807 IST: After 4 overs, Pakistan 21/0 For some reason after bowling 5 dot balls Shami decides to bowl a bouncer. Shehzad helps himself to four runs with a powerful pull shot. 1803 IST: After 3 overs, Pakistan 17/0 Few signs of swing for Bhuvi. Sharjeel slashes one between the two fielders that are straddling the point position. Those are the only runs from the over. 1759 IST: After 2 overs, Pakistan 13/0 Shehzad absolute purrs one through the offside. Pakistan openers getting a jump on the Indian opening bowlers here. 1754 IST: After 1 over, Pakistan 7/0 Time for the chase. Can India’s bowlers respond? Will Jadeja’s late flurry make a difference? Pakistan highest successful chase since the new rules came into force in Oct 2013 is 242. A good start from the openers will ease Pakistan’s nerves significantly. 1716 IST: After 50 overs, India 245/8 Seven runs from the final over bowled by Junaid, six of them to Jadeja, who brings up his 50 from 46 balls. He was lucky to still be there but made the most of his luck. Ajmal was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with 3 for 40, from his 10 overs. Misbah might have missed a trick by bowling Gul in the death, but Pakistan were also unlucky to lose Talha to injury. Of course, things would have been different if the umpire had given Ashwin too.Join us again in about 35 mins for the chase. 1708 IST: After 48.5 overs, India 237/8 OUT! Shami’s turn to slog and perish. Skies one high in the air and square leg takes an easy catch. Ajmal has three wickets now. Been a stunning penultimate over. No runs and two wickets from five balls so far.1706 IST: After 48.5 overs, India 237/7 OUT! A wild slog from Ashwin as he charges Ajmal. The doosra means he misses it completely and Umar Akmal has as easy a stumping as you will get in international cricket. Ashwin st †Umar Akmal b Saeed Ajmal 9 (7b 2x4 0x6) 1704 IST: After 48 overs, India 237/6 Ashwin given not out despite a clear nick through the keeper. Everyone except the umpire knew it was out. He promptly plays an ugly slog through midwicket for four. “Justice has gone to sleep,” says Harsha on commentary. Gul bowls the bouncer and the top edge goes for another four. Ashwin making the most of his good fortune. Jadeja rubs it in by flicking Gul from offstump over cow corner for SIX! 16 from the over. The irony is neither batsmen should actually be at the crease right now. 1657 IST: After 46.2 overs, India 214/6 OUT! Ajmal has struck. Rayudu tries to slog him over midwicket but mistimes it and the sub fielder takes an easy catch at long-on. It was the doosra, which he didn’t pick. Rayudu c sub (Anwar Ali) b Saeed Ajmal 58 (62b 4x4 1x6) 1654 IST: After 46 overs, India 213/5 Jadeja has Gul ducking when he smashes one straight back at him. The boundary brings up the 50 partnership - 53 from 57 balls - which has been a crucial one for India. Gul predictably drops it shorted and Jadeja is waiting for it. Pulls powerfully to the midwicket boundary. Excellent over for India. Gul was not doing anything with the ball and got punished. 41 have come from the last 5 overs. 1649 IST: After 45 overs, India 201/5 Jadeja turns a good over for Pakistan into a decent one for India by slashing Hafeez’s last ball past point in the circle. The boundary brings up India’s 200. They will need to motor in the last five now to put up a defendable total. 1645 IST: After 44 overs, India 195/5 Gul is back. Rayudu stands tall and cuts him past point. 1640 IST: After 43 overs, India 188/5 Rayudu brings up his 50 from 55 balls with a single to long-on. Been a very good knock under pressure. Dropped! Oh dear! Hafeez, who has taken two good catches in this match, drops a dolly. Jadeja had a wild swipe at one and the top edge spooned straight up in the air. Hafeez calls for it, settles under it, and allows it to top out of his hands. Stats show he has taken 16 catches since Oct 2012 but also dropped 12. Typical of Pakistan cricket, that. You just don’t know what you are going to get. 1635 IST: After 42 overs, India 182/5 Afridi comes back. Meanwhile Talha is off the field and getting treatment from the physio. Just as Rameez Raja says it is hard to hit Afridi for six, Rayudu charges him and lofts him over deep midwicket for SIX! Rameez promptly talks about the small boundaries being unfair for the spinners. Either way, it is 10 runs from the over. 1632 IST: After 41 overs, India 172/5 Hafeez switches to around the wicket. Four from the over. 1629 IST: After 40 overs, India 168/5 Some treatment from the physio for Rayudu after he puts in the dive to get home at the non-striker’s end. That was also the only run from Ajmal’s over. The PowerPlay ends with India having scored 21 runs for the loss of Karthi. 1622 IST: After 39 overs, India 167/5 Rayudu charges Hafeez and chips him over midwicket and to the boundary. Placement more than power the key to that shot. Rayudu as 35 from 44 balls now. Been a good knock from him. Big appeal for lbw against Jadeja last ball of the over. Kept low and stuck him on the back foot in front of legstump as he shaped to cut. Umpire shakes his head but it looked good to me first-up. Ball-tracking shows it would have hit the middle of legstump. Jadeja lucky to survive.1619 IST: After 38 overs, India 161/5 Turn and bounce as Ajmal rips one past Jadeja’s outside edge. Jadeja responds by cutting Ajmal behind point for four. FYI, Ajmal has picked up Jadeja’s wicket every time he has bowled to him. 1612 IST: After 36.1 overs, India 155/5 OUT! Karthik sweeps Hafeez straight to Ajmal at short fine leg. Was a top edge and Ajmal took a good low catch diving forward. Hafeez bowling from over the wicket. Karthik c Saeed Ajmal b Mohammad Hafeez 23 (46b 1x4 0x6) Poor cricket from India. A lack of patience has cost them three wickets now - Rohit, Rahane and Karthik. 1610 IST: After 36 overs, India 155/4 Not sure why Ajmal is bowling a leg-and-middle line from around-the-wicket. Karthik is happy to sweep him away to the square leg boundary. It is a tactic Dhoni uses with Ashwin and is rarely successful but captains seem to think is keeps the runs down. Not in this case - 8 from the over. 1606 IST: After 35 overs, India 147/4 Hafeez bowling a tight offstump line. Karthik and Rayudu pick up a single each. Karthik has also hit his threshold of 40 deliveries. Time for fireworks? Well, time for the PowerPlay at any rate. 1603 IST: After 34 overs, India 145/4 Afridi has a loud shout for lbw against Karthik turned down. The batsman was well down the wicket and ball-tracking suggests it was umpire’s call whether it was hitting the bails. 1600 IST: After 33 overs, India 144/4 Hafeez replaces Junaid. Just two from the over. He got some turn too. 1554 IST: After 32 overs, India 142/4 Afridi racing through his overs. Four singles from it. Time for drinks again. 1550 IST: After 31 overs, India 138/4 Junaid continues. A wide and four singles are the damages. 1546 IST: After 30 overs, India 133/4 Afridi not threatening the Indian batsman at all. Five easy runs from the over. 1542 IST: After 29 overs, India 128/4 Just two from Junaid’s over and a missed run-out chance. Karthik took off from the non-striker’s end when Rayudu dropped one on the offside. Rayudu was expecting that and was late out of the blocks. The Pakistani fielder failed to pick up the ball cleanly though and throws his hat and sunglasses on the ground in frustration. 1538 IST: After 28 overs, India 126/4 Afridi is back. Misbah choosing the double-change. Just three from the over. A STAR SPORTS stat shows that Karthik scores at a strike-rate over 200 between 40th and 60th deliveries of his innings. And at 183 after 60 deliveries. He has faced 17 so far. This innings is unlikely to follow that pattern with 22 overs still remaining though. 1535 IST: After 27 overs, India 123/4 Junaid is back. Rayudu tries to run the last delivery of the over down to third man but is beaten. He was oh, so close to nicking to the keeper. Rayudu has 19 from 17 to this point, in contrast to Karthik who has 5 from 13. 1530 IST: After 26 overs, India 118/4 Rayudu plays a lofted late cut to third man but the fielder just fails to make up enough ground to take the catch. India living dangerously here. 1525 IST: After 25 overs, India 113/4 Ajmal’s previous 4 overs have gone for 11 runs. he can take some credit for the wicket of Rahane because he has helped dry up the runs and India knows they can’t take him on so they have to target the other bowlers. He produces a beauty of a doosra from around-the-wicket to beat Rayudu’s defense. 1518 IST: After 23.2 overs, India 103/4 OUT! Rahane tries to play one shot too many. The ball wasn’t quite there for the flick over midwicket and Hafeez does very well to leap and grab it overhead. Rahane c Mohammad Hafeez b Mohammad Talha 23 (50b 3x4 0x6) Talha has two wickets on debut and causing India lots of trouble. Lots of pressure on Rayudu and Karthik now. No Dhoni to provide a bulwark.1516 IST: After 23 overs, India 102/3 Ajmal getting some turn now. Rahane decides to take him on anyway, chipping down the track and chipping Ajmal over cover against the spin to the boundary. Top shot. Also brings up India’s 100. Taken 87 balls for the second 50. The first took 49.1513 IST: After 22 overs, India 96/3 Talha doing an excellent job here on his debut. Has 1/14 from 5 overs so far and getting good bounce out of the wicket. Have India missed a trick by playing just two fast bowlers?1507 IST: After 21 overs, India 93/3 Ajmal giving Rahane a torrid time. An edge loops to the legside and Umar can’t quite get there to take the catch. Then the doosra beats Rahane completely but he keeps his back leg firmly anchored. 1503 IST: After 20 overs, India 92/3 A wicket-maiden for Talha. India struggling a bit now. Pressure on Rayudu especially to deliver. Also, questions much be raised about Rohit Sharma’s temperament. He seems incapable of adjusting his game to different conditions and situations. 1459 IST: After 19.1 overs, India 92/3 OUT! Rohit, Rohit, what have you done? Short from Talha and he tries to repeat the pull over square leg but this time the ball is on to him faster than he expects. The mishit swirls high in the air but Hafeez takes an excellent catch, avoiding a collision with a fellow fielder as well. **Sharma c Mohammad Hafeez b Mohammad Talha 56 (58b 7x4 2x6)**1458 IST: After 19 overs, India 92/2 Three singles from the over. Just in case you need reminding one-day cricket is a batsman’s game, here’s a reminder from Harsha Bhogle.

1455 IST: After 18 overs, India 89/2 Talha gets the ball to come back in a tough and take the inside edge of Rahane’s bat. No danger for the batsman as the ball just ricochets into his pads but there was a puff of dirt as the ball hit the wicket. Manjrekar says this pitch is not as flat as everyone thinks it is. India have slowed somewhat. Just 21 from the last 5 overs. 1450 IST: After 17 overs, India 85/2 Saeed Ajmal, the world’s best spinner, now has the ball. Not much turn for him either. Sanjay Manjreka reckons there will be more turn in the second innings though. India hope he is right. 1443 IST: After 16 overs, India 84/2 some random trivia for you: Talha’s jersey has his named spelled Talah. He bends his back trying to bowl a bouncer and it is not only high but wide. Very, very wide. Time for drinks. 1440 IST: After 15 overs, India 82/2 Rohit brings up his 50 with a rasping cover drive off Afridi. Took him 44 balls and contains 7 fours and 2 sixes. That’s 40 of his 51 runs in boundaries. 1435 IST: After 14 overs, India 74/2 The first sighting of Talha. Big shout for lbw first ball but it was always going down leg. Rahane gets a lucky boundary when he gloves a short ball fine enough to beat fine leg. 1430 IST: After 13 overs, India 68/2 Things have slowed a touch since Kohli’s dismissal as Pakistan can now push an extra fielder back. Rohit now likely to be the key for India. Rayudu and Karthik at 5 and 6 have not impressed so far in this tournament. 1423 IST: After 11 overs, India 65/2 It is Afridi time. No turn for him either. Rohit slices him between point and short third man for yet another boundary. He is making batting look very easy. 1420 IST: After 10 overs, India 60/2 Rahane gets off the mark with a classic straight drive past the bowler. Timed it superbly. Fielder at mid-on had no chance of cutting it off. Still, a big over for Pakistan. OUT! Kohli gives Umar Akmal catching practice behind the stumps. Umar accepts. Tried to glide Gul to third man and only succeeding in edging it straight to the keeper. Short from Gul and the ball seamed into Kohli just a touch and cramped him. Pakistan gets their man cheaply. Kohli c †Umar Akmal b Umar Gul 5 1414 IST: After 9 overs, India 56/1 Junaid switches to bowling around the wicket. Rohit brings up India’s 50 with a lofted drive to the long-off boundary. Fastest 50 in this tournament for India. Rohit follows it up by charging Junaid again and lofting the ball back over the bowler’s head. The pitch is clearly to Rohit’s liking. It also doesn’t have anything in it for the bowlers. 1409 IST: After 8 overs, India 48/1 Kohli plays one uppishly into the covers but luckily for India away from the short cover fielder. He looks at his bat in frustration. Looking a bit frustrated is Kohli, who has 5 from 10 balls. 1405 IST: After 7 overs, India 44/1 The good Rohit and bad Rohit on display. He charges Junaid first ball and is lucky the mishit does not carry to mid-on. Three balls later, he picks up a length ball from Junaid and deposits it over the square boundary on the legside. Follows that up with another flick to the fine leg boundary. 1400 IST: After 6 overs, India 32/1 The first over without a boundary. FYI, Kohli’s highest ODI score of 183 came at Mirpur against Pakistan. A good omen for India? 1355 IST: After 5 overs, India 30/1 Pace from both ends now. Junaid Kahn replaced Hafeez. Junaid drops it short trying to angle it across Rohit, who simply caresses the ball to the point boundary.1350 IST: After 4 overs, India 25/1 Gul decides to test Rohit with a bouncer. Gul fails. Rohit goes back in a flash and absolutely murders it over square leg for SIX! That was drool-worthy. 1345 IST: After 3 overs, India 18/1 Pakistan continue with Hafeez. Rohit charges him and goes inside-out over cover. Got to the pitch of the ball nicely. OUT! The ploy of using Hafeez works. The ball pitches on legstump and turns slightly. Dhawan goes back and tries to flick, misses, and it hits his back leg in front of the legtstump. After much thought, the umpire raises his finger. Ball-tracker suggests it would have clipped legstump. Dhawan lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 10 (13b 2x4 0x6) Kohli in early again. Dhawan walks off in a bit of a daze. 1340 IST: After 2 overs, India 11/0 Conventional pace in the form of Umar Gul at the other end. Dhawan finds the gap in the covers this time as Gul angles the ball across him. It was a bit too full and Dhawan does love that offside so. 1335 IST: After 1 over, India 5/0 Pakistan start with offspin, perhaps because Hafeez has had success against left-handers. Dhawan starts off by slapping Hafeez behind point for four. The battle has begun.1315 IST: Here are the playing XIs Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Umar Akmal†, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Talha, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan. India: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Umar Akmal†, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Talha, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan. 1300 IST: Pakistan have won the toss and will bowl first Misbah: Big opportunity for everyone to perform well and become a hero. It’s always a pressure game. We’ve included Mohammad Talha in for Anwar Ali Pakistan have brought in a fast bowler for this game in Talha, a change Akram approves of. Kohli: We would have bowled first too but it looks like a good batting track and it is up to us to put runs on the board. Pakistan have not done so well chasing in the recent past. India have also made one change. Amit Mishra comes in for Stuart Binny, with Kohli saying the spinners are able to grip the bowl better once they dry the dew off it. So contrasting strategies there. 1255 IST: India’s batsmen vs Pakistan’s bowlers Hello and welcome to our coverage of the marquee game of this Asia Cup. The game is being played in Mirpur, so this is a different pitch. The toss is just a few minutes away and in his pitch report, Arun Lal said the surface was rock hard, which should make it suit the batsmen. Pakistan have arguably the best bowling attack in this tournament. India relies on their batting, so this sets up the perfect clash of opposites. On the other hands, Pakistan’s batting is unpredictable and India’s beleaguered bowling attack has shown signs of improvement. Sunil Gavaskar reckons Rohit Sharma needs to adjust his approach on tracks that keep low and slow. He can’t take that big backlift and simply play through the line. Preview Driven into a corner after their defeat to Sri Lanka, India will look to regroup quickly and plug their loopholes as they go into the make or break match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Sunday. With back-to-back victories over Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka have virtually assured themselves of a berth in the final of the Asia Cup, and now it’s a two-way battle between the traditional rivals to be the other finalists in the five-nation tournament. [caption id=“attachment_1415017” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Virat Kohli faces his first big test as India captain. AFP[/caption] Both teams go into the match on an even keel, a win and one loss each, but the defending champions Pakistan have a slight edge as they have a bonus point in their kitty from their win against associate nation Afghanistan. India registered a facile victory over hosts Bangladesh in their tournament opener but went down to Sri Lanka by two wickets Friday night. Pakistan were also beaten by a narrow 12-run margin by the same opponents in their opening match of the Asia Cup. For India, it was Virat Kohli’s sparkling century that did the job against Bangladesh, while for Pakistan Umar Akmal’s timely ton saved them from what could have been an embarrassing loss to Afghanistan. Read the full preview here