Pakistan recovered from an early batting collapse to register a comfortable seven-wicket victory over India in their IMC Over-40s Cricket World Cup encounter at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, on Sunday, with Adnan Akmal and Sheharyar Ghani striking unbeaten half-centuries to guide their team home.
Both batsmen finished unbeaten on 63, sharing an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 125 runs as Pakistan reached 144-3 in 26.2 overs, comfortably overhauling India’s 143 all out in 34.3 overs.
The victory came after Pakistan found themselves in difficulty at 19-3 in the seventh over, with India’s bowlers threatening to make a modest target difficult.
However, Akmal and Ghani showed patience during the testing period before taking control of the innings.
Earlier, India had won the toss and elected to bat, but their innings got off to a disastrous start after early morning showers left some moisture in the pitch. The conditions offered assistance to Pakistan’s Muhammad Khalil, who immediately made his presence felt.
Khalil produced the perfect start for Pakistan, bowling Amit Paul with the first delivery of the match to leave India at 0-1.
He continued to trouble the Indian top order, removing Sudheesh Thulaseedharan for a 12-ball duck before bowling Shalabh Shrivastava for seven. Miam Muhammed Irfan also made important breakthroughs, trapping Jatin Saxena leg before wicket for three and having Anup N Fulper caught by Jawad Mansoor for seven.
India were reduced to 21-4 inside seven overs before their problems deepened. Somesh Nair was run out for eight, while Sunny Bhatnagar departed without scoring as the innings collapsed to 38-7 after 10.2 overs.
With India facing the possibility of being dismissed for a very low total, Murtaza Ali stood firm and worked to rebuild the innings.
Ali initially found support from Pankaj Dhuldhoye, who contributed 12 from 35 deliveries in a 35-run eighth-wicket partnership. However, Dhuldhoye’s dismissal at 73-8 in the 20th over left India with considerable work still to do.
Amit Mishra then joined Ali, and the pair produced India’s most productive partnership of the innings, adding 70 runs for the ninth wicket.
Ali anchored the recovery with an unbeaten 48 from 66 balls, which included five fours, while Mishra played a valuable supporting role with 38 from 49 deliveries, striking four boundaries.
Their partnership carried India to 143 before Fahad Jabbar dismissed Mishra and captain Anand Nair in the final over of the innings.
Khalil finished as Pakistan’s leading bowler with 3-23 from 7.1 overs, including two maidens. Irfan claimed 2-25 from six overs, while Jabbar returned 2-12 from 3.3 overs. Waseem Ali and Syed Fariduddin picked up one wicket each, while a run out accounted for the other dismissal.
Pakistan’s reply was far from convincing in the early stages as India’s bowlers quickly brought their team back into the contest.
Imran Khan was caught behind off Amit Mishra for a 14-ball duck with the score on two, while Tofeeq Umer made five before being bowled by Anup N Fulper.
Captain Junaid Nainitalwala was then caught by Murtaza Ali off Mishra for six, leaving Pakistan in trouble at 19-3 after 6.5 overs.
However, that would be India’s final success.
Ghani and wicketkeeper Akmal weathered the difficult period, initially concentrating on preserving their wickets before growing increasingly comfortable at the crease.
Ghani struck five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 63 from 68 balls, while Akmal was the more aggressive of the pair, collecting eight boundaries in his unbeaten 63 from 56 deliveries.
As the innings progressed, the pair began finding the boundary more regularly, taking advantage of India’s inability to make further breakthroughs.
Their unbeaten 125-run partnership eventually took Pakistan to victory with 18.4 overs remaining.
Despite the defeat, Mishra produced an impressive spell of 2-15 from six overs, including a maiden, while Fulper claimed 1-18 from seven economical overs.
The result completed a remarkable recovery for Pakistan, who had earlier restricted India through disciplined bowling before overcoming their own top-order problems to secure the win.
The World Cup continues today with two matches. Colombia will face Namibia at the Lusignan Community Centre Ground, while Rest of the World will take on Scotland at the Everest Cricket Club Ground.
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