Visakhapatnam: Mahendra Singh Dhoni came from nowhere to outshine a constellation of stars with a breathtaking performance that gave India a 2-0 advantage in the Pepsi Cup one-day International series on Tuesday.

The sellout ACA Stadium audience and the millions watching on television were left wondering how the 23-year-old?s pyrotechnics could be so effortless yet so devastating, so innovative yet so delightful.

Dhoni?s 123-ball 148, with Virender Sehwag?s 40-ball blast (74 with 12 fours and two sixes) and Rahul Dravid?s cleverly crafted 52, propelled India to 356 for nine ? their best ever total against Pakistan, surpassing 349 for seven in Karachi last year ? to set up the 58-run victory. The wicketkeeper also took away from Sourav Ganguly (141) the honour of being credited with the highest individual score against the subcontinental rivals.

As a swarm of bees flew over the park during the Dhoni-Dravid partnership, all the players and umpires ? save the centurion ? took evasive action by quickly lying on the grass. No wonder the braveheart from Jharkhand turned out to be the game?s most outstanding performer.

Pakistan, however, put up a brave fight, despite the fact that Ashish Nehra ? who took four for 72 and Yuvraj Singh three for 55 ? shook Shahid Afridi?s defence in his first over. But the task was too daunting. As Sourav Ganguly later said, ?if you score 356, you?ll probably win 10 out of 10 times.?

A misunderstanding with Abdul Razzaq (88) led to Inzamam-ul Haq?s run out, further denting the visitors? chances. The Pakistan captain was so incensed with his partner?s lack of response that he threw down his bat on entering the dressing room. Yousuf Youhana showed some combativeness with a gutsy 71 (56 balls, 6x4, 4x2). But with wickets falling at regular intervals, Pakistan ran out of steam after 44.1 overs.

Earlier, Sehwag got India off to a scintillating start in his typical style ? with uninhibited and abundant strokeplay. He made his intentions clear in the opening over itself, spanking Sami for a couple of boundaries and slashed the same bowler for an overboundary in the next.

Even the early dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar ? beaten by a Youhana direct throw while going for a quick run ? had no effect on Sehwag?s momentum. He smashed Rana Naved-ul Hasan for a six and a four with devastating power in the same over as Dhoni joined him in what turned out to be a festival of strokeplay.

India?s first 50 came in just 5.1 overs while the next one took two balls more, as Inzamam carried out three bowling changes at the Hill Stand end inside 10 overs. Mohammed Sami, Razzaq and Afridi all went for over 10 an over, while Rana kept on bearing the brunt of the Indian onslaught at the other end. Sehwag blew Afridi away with four consecutive boundaries as India crossed the 100-mark in the 11th over. The irrepressible opener perished on 74, scooping Rana high at mid-wicket for Salman Butt to do the needful.

The under-pressure captain walked in at a time when the hosts were basking in the sun and Pakistan still in the aftershock of Sehwag?s blitz. Sourav made a conservative start, watching and treating each ball on merit. There was a glimpse of the old touch as he cover-drove Razzaq to reach the 5000-run milestone as captain.

But impatience soon blurred his focus as he looked for a non-existent single. Next came a lofted drive out of desperation to put the self-doubts to rest. Two balls later, his 22-ball essay ended on a disappointing note. He tried to play a full-length Sami delivery, with little movement of the feet, and let the ball crash into his middle stump.

Dravid?s arrival and his fourth-wicket partnership with Dhoni (149 off 134 balls) lent the Indian innings a touch of determination. The way Dravid kept allowing Dhoni to take strike through singles not only helped the latter grow in confidence but also drained out the rivals? energy in stupendously hot and humid conditions.

Dravid?s 52 contained only three boundaries, but the vice-captain?s knock ensured that unlike in Kochi, India got past the 300-mark and inspired tailenders like Zaheer Khan (who hit a couple of sixes in a little cameo) to eventually take the tally to 356 for nine.