Salman Butt scored his maiden One-day International century to guide Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over India in the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Platinum Jubilee match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
The 20-year-old was well-supported by skipper Inzamam-ul Haq (75) as Pakistan won with six balls to spare.
Earlier, Yuvraj Singh scored a brilliant 78 as India posted a handsome 292 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs
India innings:
Both teams went into the match with three seamers. Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra were India's seamers, with Harbhajan Singh the lone spinner. The dew late in the evening will help the seamers; in recent times it has been very difficult to chase anything more than 235.
India also continued with their policy of playing seven specialist batsmen, even though they had earlier indicated that Dinesh Karthik might take over the keeping responsibilities. Pakistan chose to drop Imran Farhat; Younis Khan will open the batting with Salman Butt.
This is the first match between the sides on Indian soil in over five years. India won the one-day series in Pakistan, but since Bob Woolmer took over as coach, the Pakistanis have had three wins out of three against India.
India skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and chose to bat.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag opened the batting for India and it was the former who took on the Pakistan attack early on. But before the master batsman could really get into top gear he was dismissed.
Just three balls before his dismissal, a full-blooded pull off Shoaib Akhtar was hit straight to Abdur Razzaq at short-mid wicket. But Razzaq made a hash of the chance and floored the simple offering. Tendulkar was on a run-a-ball 16 at this point. India were 29-0 in the last ball of the fifth over.
However, the miss did not prove very costly, as Tendulkar was run-out three balls later. Sehwag dropped the ball at his feet and Tendulkar called for a quick single. But Younis Khan swooped on the ball and hit the stumps on the full. (29 for 1)
Pakistan followed up that wicket with two successive maidens and it looked like the visitors had rediscovered their rhythm. But it proved to be a false alarm.
V V S Laxman, coming off a superb 79 in the final Test against Australia in Mumbai, was into his stride quickly.
From 29 for 1 in the seventh over to 100 for 1 in the 17th, India assumed complete command. The Pakistan bowlers were unable to maintain a good line and length and erred big time by bowling on Laxman's pads.
The right-hander was particularly harsh on Naved-ul Hasan. The medium-pacer was pulled over mid-on and then flicked through mid-wicket thrice in a couple of overs even though Inzamam had posted fielders in the area. Laxman was in sublime touch and though Sehwag, at the other end, was struggling with his timing it hardly mattered.
Their 82-run stand for the second wicket came off a mere 83 balls, but then Shahid Afridi got Laxman's wicket, caught behind. (111 for 2)
Laxman had scored 43 off just 44 balls and just as India looked like taking charge, Pakistan got the important breakthrough. Two overs later, Sehwag was back in the pavilion as well.
Sehwag had slowly come into his own before he fell attempting a hopeless swipe off Afridi. After hitting Afridi for a six off the first ball of the over, a wild swipe across the line of the ball, three dot balls later, and the right-hander was gone after scoring 53 off 65 balls.
Pakistan were back in the game.
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid though held the innings together for the hosts. Both concentrated on milking the singles, and at the 25-over mark India were 133 for 3.
The duo put on 39-runs in this manner before Dravid (16 off 34 balls) attempted an ill-advised shot and holed out to Razzaq in the deep. (163 for 4)
That brought Yuvraj Singh to the wicket and few could have predicted what would follow.
Yuvraj, who had looked abysmally out of form in the Test series against Australia, showed his true colours. After taking time to get set, he launched a ferocious assault on the Pakistan attack.
From 179 at the end of the 38th over, Yuvraj almost single-handedly took the Indian total to a formidable 292.
It was Yuvraj back at his stroke-making best; shots flowed to both sides off the wicket as the left-hander took full toll of a good batting track.
He put on 74 runs with Ganguly, who scored 48 of 70 balls, with a four and two sixes. Ganguly was dismissed in the 45th over by Akhtar. He went after a short delivery but ended up with a top edge over the keeper's head. Kamran Akmal made good ground and took a very good catch to end an important partnership. (237 for 5)
Mohammad Kaif took Ganguly's place at the wicket but Yuvraj continued on his merry way. He was eventually caught by Younis Khan off the penultimate ball of the match. By then, the damage had been done. Yuvraj had scored a brilliant 78 and helped India reach a formidable 292.
Mohammad Kaif was not out on 12. Afridi was the best Pakistan bowler on view and mixed his leg-spinners with the odd off-spinner. He finished with 2 for 29 in his ten overs.
Pakistan innings:
Pakistan had the enviable task of scoring at almost six an over throughout the fifty overs. The conditions at the Eden Gardens in day-night matches are such that batting becomes very difficult as the match goes on.
The visitors did not get off to a very good start, as Younis Khan, who opened the innings with young Salman Butt, was dismissed for a duck by a superb delivery from Zaheer Khan. The ball pitched on middle, continued with the left-armer's natural angle and Younis edged the attempted drive straight to Sehwag at first slip.
That got Shoaib Malik to the wicket; the all-rounder has had a superb run against the Indians in recent times. In his last four innings against India, he scored two fifties and one century. So coming into the match Ganguly would have surely had plans for the right-hander. But none seemed to work as Malik and Butt quickly launched a counter-offensive after getting set.
Pathan, back in the side after recovering from the side strain he suffered during the series against Australia, got exaggerated movement to begin with, but as the dew factor came into play the Pakistani batsmen assumed command.
Butt, playing in only his sixth ODI, was brilliant from the start. The 20-year-old paced his innings and rotated the strike, giving the more aggressive Malik more of it.
Malik attacked the bowlers with relish. He hammered Pathan for three successive fours through the off-side in the ninth over and when the spinners -- Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag -- were introduced, he used his feet well to smash the latter over long-on for six.
Butt's fifty came off 75 balls, while Malik's came off just 51 balls.
Pakistan were in no trouble whatsoever and even though India had posted a huge total, it was the visitors who looked more likely to come out victorious unless India got a breakthrough early.
The ball, which by this point had been hammered out of shape, was changed. Sehwag, bowling with the dry ball, got one to grip, turn and stay low. Malik made an awkward poke at the delivery and spooned a catch to Mohammad Kaif at midwicket. (128 for 2)
The duo put together 113, and got Pakistan in the driver's seat after all the loss of an early wicket.
Inzamam-ul Haq, without doubt Pakistan's best batsman, walked in to join Butt. Things continued without much ado, but, then, the humidity and the heat got to Butt. Cramps forced the left-hander to retire on 68.
Inzamam had been going through a tough phase in the middle; he was hit on the helmet, in the torso and could hardly lay bat on ball. The Pakistan skipper was joined by Yousuf Youhana at the wicket with the score on 155 for the loss of two wickets. It was India who were suddenly looking more confident, with Inzamam struggling and Youhana new to the wicket.
The duo carried the score to 186 before Youhana (18 off 25 balls), whose concentration was hampered after he got into a scuffle of sorts with Pathan, edged the ball to wicketkeeper Dravid, who took the catch at second attempt. (186 for 3)
Butt walked back to the wicket and, despite being in obvious pain, resumed his innings in great style with a boundary. Watching Butt at the other end Inzamam grew in confidence.
The Pakistani skipper started playing his shots. The strategy of the visitors was simple: attack the fifth bowler. India's fifth bowler comprised Tendulkar (one over for 15 runs), Ganguly (one over for 9 runs), Sehwag (6 overs for 43 runs) and Yuvraj (one over for 10 runs). Seventy-seven runs were yielded from nine overs between them.
Inzamam was finally dismissed for 75, caught brilliantly by a diving Sehwag at the mid-wicket boundary off Nehra. Along with Butt, he put on 98 for the fourth wicket and did enough to ensure victory for Pakistan. (284 for 4)
Just before Inzamam was dismissed, Butt reached his first ODI century. But so great was the pain from the cramps that he could barely muster a smile. Younis Khan came on as runner for the lad.
The end came swiftly and Pakistan's record of never losing an ODI at the Eden Gardens stayed intact. Butt scored a brilliant 108 not out and Abdul Razzaq (1) was unbeaten as well as Pakistan won by six wickets and six balls to spare.
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