As it happened: Brilliant Virat takes India to victory

(Please refresh for the latest. Updates every few overs) 2131 IST: India 330-4 after 47.5 overs S Raina 12, M Dhoni 4 God, India made that look so easy. This is how a chase is supposed to be conducted. Kohli officially has nerves of ice. Huge total, tough chase against the best bowling attack in the tournament and Kohli helps India win it in a canter. Of course, we can’t forget the good knocks by Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma either. India lost a wicket off the second ball of the innings but then just played superbly. This is Kohli’s time, he is establishing himself as India’s… no maybe even the world’s finest batsman. 2125 IST: India 318-4 after 47.1 overs V Kohli c Mohd Hafeez b Umar Gul 183 (148b, 22x4, 1x6) What a knock. Great innings by Kohli. He gets a huge cheer as he walks off, this was worth sitting in the heat for. This was classic, easily the highest score by an India in a chase and he is just starting off. India jeetega chants in the ground. 2115 IST: India 305-3 after 45.5 overs RG Sharma c Afridi b Gul 68 (83b, 5x4, 1x6) Vital knock by Rohit comes to an end. Perhaps it is also the realisation that Raina isn’t a batsman in the same class. A bigger hitter yes but these two are just superb. 2107 IST: India 300-2 after 45 overs V Kohli 171, R Sharma 68 Virat. Virat. Virat. Virat. Virat. It’s all about Virat, he’s already 20 fours in his innings and the ease with which he is finding the gaps shows that he has arrived and in what style. If India, chase this down, then this will be the highest successful chase in ODIs. Incredible stuff. 2047 IST: India 247-2 after 40 overs V Kohli 131, R Sharma 55 India require another 83 runs with 8 wickets and 60 balls remaining. Indians are keeping it real and with just two wickets down are sure to be slight favourites at this stage. But once again, the key is Virat. He has been super. [caption id=“attachment_248488” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Kohli has batted superbly. Reuters”]  [/caption] 2025 IST: India 215-2 after 35 overs V Kohli 110, R Sharma 45 India require another 115 runs with 8 wickets and 15 overs remaining. Superb batting by the Indians, they have kept their heads and not given the wickets away. In a chase that is the most important thing and under Dhoni, India have realised that more often than not. 1951 IST: India 170-2 after 27 overs V Kohli 96, R Sharma 14 This is all down to India’s youngsters now. Kohli has clearly established himself as the leader of the young pack but he will need to stay there and finish this. He has looked like the best Indian batsman by a mile and the way he has switched gears is remarkable. Rohit needs to stay there in the middle and give Kohli support. If he continues to fail, he may find that he has run out of chances. 1926 IST: India 131-1 after 20 overs S Tendulkar c Younis b Ajmal 52 (48b 5x4 1x6) Big, big wicket. Tendulkar was the perfect foil for Kohli, who was hitting the big shots. But he just couldn’t read the doosra from Ajmal, the leading edge was taken easily in the slips. This pair was just starting to take the game away from Pakistan – they put on 133 runs in 19.1 overs. Sharma in next. Kohli is on 73 off 68 balls. 1903 IST: India 98-1 after 15 overs S Tendulkar 47, V Kohli 45 India have found their pace. Superb batting by both the batsmen and Pakistan are on the back foot a bit. Remember there are two new balls being used and in the subcontinent it means that the spinners are not quite the same. Big runs can be scored and 329 isn’t impossible if India can keep wickets in hand and Sachin can keep batting the way he is. Tendulkar’s got 47 off just 39 balls. Kohli has 45 off 49 balls. [caption id=“attachment_248481” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sachin is looking very good. AP”]  [/caption] 1844 IST: India 58-1 after 10 overs S Tendulkar 28, V Kohli 24 India started off very briskly but have now been pulled back by the Pakistani’s. Good bowling but this is a good, tough battle. India’s bowlers need to learn a thing or two from their Pakistani counterparts. This is good stuff. But both the batsmen are looking good, they need to build a platform here. 1815 IST: India 38-1 after 5 overs S Tendulkar 16, V Kohli 16 Tendulkar hit a six off the last ball of the fifth over to make sure that India are well ahead of the required run-rate. It was a typical shot – an upper cut and Pakistan will need the wickets of Tendulkar and Kohli early to ensure that they will this easy. The match, as it stands, is still in the balance even though Pakistan have the edge. 1754 IST: India 0-1 after 0.2 overs G Gambhir lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 0 (2b) Pakistan begin with spin and Hafeez strikes immediately. Gambhir is walking back after two balls and India will need to figure out a way to do something special. Given the form Kohli is in, he is best placed to do that. And of course, Sachin is still there. Remains to be see how much that injury will slow him down. Off twitter, @mohanstatsman: India is the first team in ODIs to lose a wicket without a run on the board after the opponent openers put on over 200+ runs! Indian Innings Sachin Tendulkar walking out to bat with Gautam Gambhir. So that’s some good news. It doesn’t need to be said: India need a brilliant start if they want to get close to the Pakistan total. Pakistan beginning with spin – Mohd Hafeez. Pakistan Innings 1724 IST: Pakistan 329-6 after 50 overs Misbah-ul-Haq 4, U Gul 0 Flat track and even flatter bowling by India has seen Pakistan make their way to a formidable today. But given the start Pakistan had to their innings – a 224-run opening partnership in 35.5 overs – they would have wanted more. As things stand, Dhoni will know that this is not an impossible target to chase down. Pakistan have a very good bowling attack and Tendulkar, who injured his finger while trying to catch Jamshed, didn’t take the field after that. India’s highest successful chase is 326/8 vs England in NatWest Series final in 2002 at Lord’s. 1715 IST: Pakistan 323-5 after 48.5 overs Younis Khan c Raina b Kumar 52 (34b, 6x4) Superb catch by Raina to send Younus back but can India do anything now? The bowlers have failed and it is down to the batsmen to come out and do something spectacular is India want to win this match and keep their Asia Cup hopes alive. 1708 IST: Pakistan 313-4 after 47.4 overs Shahid Afridi c Kohli b I Pathan 9 (15b) Afridi never really got going. But at the other end, Younis Khan has done a great job for his side 46 off 31 balls and this from a batsman who isn’t supposed to be a one-day player. Great stuff. India have managed to pull it back a bit. At one point, 350 looked possible. 1640 IST: Pakistan 273-3 after 42.5 overs Umar Akmal c Gambhir b Kumar 28 (24b, 2x4) Caught at short fine leg but no one even seems to notice. The roar for Afridi was crazy. There are few cricketers who have the ability to excite the crowd as Afridi can. 1629 IST: Pakistan 256-2 after 40 overs U Akmal 20, Younus Khan 11 There is no respite for the Indians. The new batsmen have already hit up 31 runs in 3.4 overs and there is no stopping them. India are struggling to get the bowling right and Pakistan are up and running again. At this stage, any total below 320 will be a triumph for India. 1615 IST: Pakistan 225-2 after 36.2 overs Mohd Hafeez lbw b Dinda 105 (113b, 9x4, 1x6) Slower ball fooled Hafeez completely. And that means Pakistan have two new batsmen on the crease. For the first time, India will have a chance to arrest the momentum and they will need to do that to have any chance of winning this match. 1609 IST: Pakistan 224-1 after 35.5 overs N Jamshed c I Pathan b Ashwin 112 (104b, 10x4, 1x6) Finally. A wicket for India but Irfan almost put it down. However, this may just mean that things get worse for India. Pakistan have wickets in hand and they just might decide to go for broke. Superb innings by Jamshed, he played with ease and still managed to score at faster than a run-a-ball. 1605 IST: Pakistan 218-0 after 35 overs M Hafeez 104, N Jamshed 107 Hundred for both Hafeez and Jamshed. Superb stuff from the openers and India just have no answers. During the drinks break, Dhoni had a long chat with the team but it seems to have had no effect at all. Tendulkar injured his fingers when he dropped Jamshed on 69 and he has still not come back on the field for India. 1540 IST: Pakistan 184-0 after 30 overs M Hafeez 93, N Jamshed 85 Wow. Just 30 overs into the innings and Pakistan are already past 180 and with batsmen like Umar Akaml and Shahid Afridi in mix, they can really take it out of India’s reach. Already India will know that they will need a special knock from at least one of their batsmen to even get close to the Pakistan total. This is a scary situation. 1522 IST: Pakistan 150-0 after 25 overs M Hafeez 73, N Jamshed 69 This is now Pakistan’s best opening partnership in all Asia Cup matches and they are doing it with ease. The ball is turning and there is a bit of bounce as well. India will have a tough time with this chase. A 300-plus total is a certainty and Pakistan, who have the best bowling attack in this tournament at least, will fancy their chances. 1503 IST: Pakistan 121-0 after 20 overs M Hafeez 62, N Jamshed 55 Pakistan have scored 40 runs in the bowling powerplay – the most in the tournament so far and India are in a big spot of trouble. Pakistan have already hit 15 fours in the innings and that shows that India’s bowlers haven’t had too much control. Looks like the game against Bangladesh has robbed the Indian bowlers of their confidence too. [caption id=“attachment_248435” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mohd Hafeez has been superb for Pakistan. AP”]  [/caption] 1437 IST: Pakistan 81-0 after 15 overs M Hafeez 42, N Jamshed 37 A good 30 runs have come in the last 5 overs. Pakistan are settling down now and India’s attack looks incapable of getting a wicket here i.r. getting a wicket on their own strength. This is probably India’s worst bowling attack. A good crowd has turned up for the match despite this being a neutral venue. 1415 IST: Pakistan 51-0 after 10 overs M Hafeez 27, N Jamshed 21 Steady start by Pakistan but nothing that will worry Dhoni too much. This looks like a 300-plus pitch and if India can’t get a wicket then perhaps the Indian skipper will start getting desperate. Pakistan have some big hitters down the order and you wouldn’t want them to get a good platform. 1404 IST: Pakistan 31-0 after 7 overs M Hafeez 12, N Jamshed 17 Pakistan have slowed down to a crawl and that has a lot to do with the introduction of Dinda into the attack – he has bowled two overs for three runs. It’s almost as it the batsmen as expecting the ball to arrive pretty quickly because of his run-up but are fooled by the lack of pace. On the positive side, Dinda has got his line right. 1346 IST: Pakistan 25-0 after 4 overs M Hafeez 10, N Jamshed 14 Praveen Kumar hasn’t had the best start and has conceded 17 runs in his 2 overs – 16 of those runs have come off boundaries. Irafan Pathan is getting some swing but both will struggle – they are only medium pace and unless the conditions are really helpful, they will never have it easy. Pakistan’s openers, Hafeez, in particular, seems to be striking the ball quite well. Off twitter, @rgcricket: Praveen Kumar has now conceded 16 boundaries in the tournament - most by any bowler. Pre-match Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat without a second thought. Given how their bowling is their strength, they probably believe that if they can put up a decent total then they will win. But Indian skipper Mahendra Singh says that India wanted to bat second anyway, so they won’t be too worried. [caption id=“attachment_248371” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Yusuf Pathan gets a game. Reuters”]  [/caption] The one thing that will worry them, however, is that this is a must-win match for India. If they lose, their season comes to an end. And perhaps that is why they have opted for more firepower in the form of Yusuf Pathan, who replaces Ravindra Jadeja in the line-up. Sarfraz Ahmed has been ‘rested.’ Wahab Riaz is playing and Umar Akmal will take over wicket-keeping duties. Riaz took five wickets in the World Cup semi-final against India and can bowl some searing yorkers. But India won the match and they will hope to do the same today as well. Pakistan (Playing XI): Misbah-ul-Haq(C), M Hafeez, N Jamshed, Y Khan, U Akmal, S Afridi, H Azam, U Gul, S Ajmal, W Riaz, A Cheema. India (Playing XI):MS Dhoni(C), G Gambhir, S Tendulkar, V Kohli, S Raina, R Sharma, Y Pathan, I Pathan, R Ashwin, P Kumar, A Dinda.