The Hindu : Sport : Uthappa comes good

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Saturday, Sep 15, 2007
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Sport

Uthappa comes good

Nandita Sridhar

Pakistan 29 for one
Pakistan was 29 for one in four overs with Salman Butt (7) and Kamran Akmal (11) at the crease

Durban: There was little time for reflection or worry. For teams in trouble, Twenty20’s breakneck speed can prove to be both a curse and a blessing.

The Indian batsmen faced some of the most devious fast bowling from Mohammed Asif who was unplayable through the course of his four overs. Robin Uthappa, aware that India required to maintain a healthy scoring rate, played some excellent and attacking shots to take India near the 150 mark.

Brilliant catch

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik sent India in to bat in the decisive Group D match for India. Gautam Gambhir seeking atonement after two dot balls thumped one straight only for Asif to take a brilliant one-handed catch off his own bowling. India had lost its first wicket in the third ball of the innings.

Virender Sehwag pulled off his exasperating double act, casually despatching Umar Gul to the square-leg boundary, only to misjudge Asif’s swing and leave behind a dishevelled set of stumps.

India had lost its openers, and needed Yuvraj Singh to bring about some order. But the left-hander found Malik at mid-off while attempting to loft one over mid-on. India 19 for three.

Robin Uthappa showcased the virtues of a clear head and clean hitting in his 50 off 39 balls.

He dazzled in the tenth over with his two sixes off Arafat, specially the one over mid-off.

Irfan Pathan, with a smooth arc of the bat struck two sixes off Afridi over mid-on, but failed to read a quick one just after, which clipped his leg-stump. Afridi’s disturbing spin claimed Harbhajan Singh, who failed to replicate Pathan’s scoring results.

M.S. Dhoni was forced into shadow hitting after a pressure relieving square-leg boundary upfront.

The Indian skipper ran hard but waited till Uthappa and Pathan were dismissed to play the swivel six over fine-leg off Arafat that one had come to expect from him.

He occasionally cut loose, like his superb bundary at backward point, but fell to Arafat while trying to clear the ropes.

Younis Khan did the catching at long-off.

The brilliant bowling by the Pakistanis was only made to look better by their sharp fielding.

India: G. Gambhir c & b Asif 0, V. Sehwag b Asif 5, R. Uthappa c Akmal b Tanvir 50, Yuvraj c Malik b Asif 1, D. Karthik b Asif 11, M.S. Dhoni c Younis b Arafat 33, I. Pathan b Afridi 20, Harbhajan b Afridi 1, A. Agarkar (run out) 14, S. Sreesanth (not out) 1, Extras (lb-2, w-3) 5, Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs) 141.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-9 (Sehwag), 3-19 (Yuvraj), 4-36 (Karthik), 5-82 (Uthappa), 6-111 (Pathan), 7-123 (Harbhajan), 8-138 (Dhoni), 9-141 (Agarkar).

Pakistan bowling: Asif 4-0-18-4, Gul 4-0-27-0, Arafat 4-0-39-1, Tanvir 4-0-18-1, Afridi 4-0-37-2.

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