Durban: Mohammed Asif’s four-wicket burst rocked India before Robin Uthappa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni propped up the side to 141 for nine in their crucial group D match of the ICC World Twenty20 match here on Friday.
India beat Pakistan in a bowl out after the teams tied their ICC World Twenty20 match on Friday night. Misbah-ul Haq was run out for 53 off the last ball of the match to leave Pakistan on 141 for seven. Both teams qualified for the Super Eight stage.
In a rain-plagued match at Kignsmead, Indian top-order succumbed to Asif’s deadly spell and the side stuttered to 36 for four before Uthappa (50, 39b, 4x4, 2x6), and later Dhoni (33, 31b, 3x4, 1x6), helped bring some respectability to the score.
Pakistan are already through to Super Eight with two points, thanks to their comprehensive win against Scotland in the first match. India and Scotland have one point apiece after their match was washed out on Thursday.
The Indian side had a disastrous start as a cagey Gautam Gambhir (0) left the first ball from Asif, missed the second and perished in the third. The pressure of two dot balls got the better of Gambhir who came dancing down the track to hit Asif only to see the pacer caught him off his own bowling in second attempt.
Virender Sehwag opened account with a crisp flick off Umar Gul but then attempted a drive and dragged an Asif delivery onto the stumps to end his three-ball stay that yielded five runs. With the team score one-run shy of double figure, India had both their openers cooling their heels in the pavilion.
Asif ensured that was not the end of trouble for the Indians. His third over again yielded a wicket and this time it was Yuvraj Singh (1) who spooned a simple catch for Shoaib Malik at point and India were gasping for breath at 19 for three in 4.1 overs.
Dinesh Karthik (11) struck Asif for couple of fours in that over to bring some relief, but in the end the pacer had the last laugh when he came back in his final over to castle the batsman when the ball came off a thick inside edge.
Asif thus struck once in each of his four overs and returned an impressive figure of 4-0-18-4. In walked Dhoni to find his team in a mess and he too was at sea against Sohail Tanvir’s difficult angles.
Uthappa was silent at the other end but once Asif was off, he went after Yasir Arafat in the 10th over, hitting the seamer for two towering sixes to score 17 off that over that also took India past the 50-run mark.
India were at 68 for four in 10.3 overs when drizzle interrupted play. Uthappa came back to hit Shahid Afridi for a couple of fours to reach his 50 in the 12th over but his concentration was snapped as he nicked Tanvir to perish caught behind after a scintillating 39-ball knock, studded with four fours and two sixes.
Dhoni and Irfan Pathan (20,15b, 2x6) were happy with the occasional boundaries before Pathan decided to go after Afridi. He smote the bowler for two massive sixes but Afridi foxed him with a faster delivery that upset his woodworks and India were 111 for six.
(PTI)
