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It is understood that Haider was arrested in Beckenham where the Shaheens were playing

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2025Haider Ali has been arrested by the Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of rape and bailed pending further enquiries. The Pakistan batter, who was with the Shaheens squad, the de facto ‘A’ team on a tour against of England, remains in the UK. A Shaheens squad, which includes a number of players on the England tour, has flown to Australia to take part in a multi-team T20 series. Haider was part of the squad due to go to Australia, and has been replaced by allrounder Mohammad Faiq”After receiving a report on Monday 4 August 2025 of a rape, we have arrested a 24-year-old man,” a statement from Greater Manchester Police confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. “It’s alleged that the incident occurred on Wednesday 23 July 2025 at a premises in Manchester. The man has since been bailed pending further enquiries. The victim is being supported by officers.”It is understood that Haider was arrested in Beckenham where the Shaheens were playing the last of their five games of the tour. Haider played each of the five games, including the first two on 22 and 25 July, between which the incident he was arrested for is alleged to have occurred in Manchester on 23 July. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in the UK.Related

• Manchester police drop all charges against Haider Ali

• Haider Ali under criminal investigation in the UK, suspended by the PCB

On Thursday, the PCB issued a statement confirming Haider was under criminal investigation in the UK and suspended him pending the results of that investigation. It affirmed that the board “fully respects the legal procedures and processes of the UK” and were providing the player with legal support.Haider, 24, has played two ODIs and 35 T20Is for Pakistan. Initially feted as a destructive power hitter, his reputation burnished with standout performances in the PSL with Peshawar Zalmi in 2020, when he scored 239 runs at a strike rate of over 157. He was called up to the national side later that year, his international debut coming in a T20I game in Manchester, where he scored a 33-ball 54 as Pakistan won by five runs.Inconsistency has dogged him since, and he has repeatedly found himself in and out of the side. However, his talent and explosiveness have kept him in international contention, and the current Shaheens tour was widely viewed as an opportunity to reintegrate a player whose batting approach aligns with the aggressive style Pakistan’s current T20 set-up has made no secret they want to pursue.The PCB has said that they intend to make no further public comment until legal proceedings are complete.

Statement from the Afghanistan board comes after Cricket Australia postponed a bilateral series for the third time

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2024The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has expressed its “disappointment” over Cricket Australia (CA) postponing yet another scheduled bilateral series between the two sides.”The ACB urges the Australian government not to impose its policies on cricket boards, and instead focus on supporting the development of cricket across regions”, the statement said. “ACB’s top management had previously engaged in negotiations with Cricket Australia, and proposed exploring alternative solutions instead of publicly announcing withdrawals.”The latest development came on Tuesday when, after consultations with the Australian government, CA announced that Australia wouldn’t be taking part in the three-match T20I series at a neutral venue because of “a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls” in Afghanistan.Related

• 'Can cricket solve those issues?' – Rashid to reconsider playing BBL over CA stance on Afghanistan

• CA postpones T20I series over 'human rights' issues

• CA withdraws from scheduled ODIs against Afghanistan

• Cricket Australia confirms postponement of Afghanistan Test

This is the third time Australia have pulled out of bilateral engagements with Afghanistan, even though the series were inked into the ICC’s future tours programme.Australia’s reasons, like on previous occasions, had to do with human rights issues in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover of the country’s government: they had earlier postponed the first Test between the teams in 2021 and an ODI series in 2023.The ACB statement mentioned that the now-postponed T20I series “was approved by the ICC in the presence of the CA delegation, who had agreed to the fixtures at the time”. In the strongly worded statement, the ACB urged “Cricket Australia to respect and understand its position as a Full Member nation, and look for alternative solutions rather than succumbing to external pressures and/or political influences”.The board reiterated its stance “on neutral and politics-free cricket across the globe”, and said it was even open to negotiations to ensure cricket remained “free from political influence”.

Southern Brave roar back to life in their chase to secure six-wicket win

Cameron Ponsonby25-Aug-2022Alex Davies and Ross Whiteley orchestrated a remarkable turnaround as Southern Brave secured a six-wicket win to keep their slim qualification hopes alive heading into the closing rounds of the group stage.Brave won the toss and elected to bowl on what turned out to be an extremely difficult wicket to bat on. For long stretches of the chase, Dawid Malan’s innings 59 off 41 for Trent Rockets seeming likely to be the difference between the sides.At the halfway point, Rockets’ total of 138 for 6 was believed to be slightly under par, with allrounder Samit Patel wary in his optimism that it was defendable, even if he did speak with the knowing look of a player who had seen these types of pitches before and knew that a good start could see the game could turn quickly.And a good start is exactly what Rockets got, as their seamers combined to restrict Brave to just 15 for 2 off the powerplay – both Paul Stirling and James Vince bowled for ducks.As Brave’s chase went on, Malan’s earlier effort grew in stature, as only Quinton de Kock was able to find the boundary in the first 65 balls of the chase.With 66 off 30 required, Rockets looked to be heading for a victory that would have secured them a slot in the top three and a place in the eliminator at the very least.But three consecutive sets of five then went for double figures, as Rockets’ afterburners ran out, Brave aided by a series of wides and no-balls as the bowlers struggled with a wet ball. The result was 66 off 30 became 23 off 15 as Brave stole victory in the blink of an eye.Malan furthers his caseMalan became the first person in the competition to reach 300 runs as he scored his third half-century. The left-hander is the leading run-scorer in the Hundred this season, and a bonus for England ahead of the T20 World Cup – particularly with Jason Roy so out of form.Malan hit the ground running in his innings and appeared to be the only Rockets batter to gain a grasp of the pace of the pitch. After 50 balls of the innings, Malan was on 38 off 26 whilst his team-mates were 21 off 24.The innings wasn’t chanceless with Malan gaining a life on 37 when he skied a Sonny Baker delivery to point where Michael Hogan put down a relatively simple catch. Despite Baker being 22 years junior to Hogan, he still managed to master the disappointed fatherly stare.Seaming and swingingThat Rockets were in a position to let victory slip from their hands was the result of their own fantastic seam bowling at the start of Brave’s innings.Spin was expected to lead proceedings with the wicket sticking and pace-off proving hard to time. But Luke Wood, Daniel Sams and Sam Cook were able to exploit the conditions superbly as Brave managed just 15 runs from the first 25 balls.Wood’s impressive tournament continued as he bowled Vince via an inside edge for a golden duck, whilst Cook used his slower ball expertly to remove Stirling.Such was the dominance of seam that allrounder and captain Lewis Gregory, who is yet to bowl his full allocation in a match this season, brought himself on as a fourth seamer before turning to either of his experienced spinners in Tabraiz Shamsi and Samit Patel. Gregory’s 15 balls would go for just 14 runs as Rockets’ eased themselves seemingly into an unassailable position.Davies and Whiteley graft, David ices chaseBrave struggled to 52 for 2 at halfway and looked dead and buried when 71 were needed off the final 35 balls. Davies had just struck his first boundary, from his 30th ball faced, and Whiteley was new to the crease with six off seven.Rockets’ position seemed only to be getting stronger, but the turning point came when, with 55 required off 25 balls, Sams bowled an eight-ball set that went for 19 runs and included a wide and two no-balls (one of which was for a fielding infringement). Shamsi’s following set went for 13 as a game that had been all but over for Brave became theirs to lose.Whiteley departed for a vital 30 off 21 balls with 16 needed off 11, but any doubts over the result of the match were put to bed when Tim David struck consecutive sixes to send a raucous Southern Brave crowd home happy.

Fakhar Zaman jumps 17 slots, Mohammad Rizwan reaches 15th position

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2021Pakistan captain Babar Azam has moved up by a place to second spot in the ICC men’s rankings for T20I batters. Azam’s record-breaking 122 off 59 balls against South Africa in the third T20I saw him gain 47 points to displace Australia’s Aaron Finch from the second position.Azam was the highest run-scorer in the four-match series, having accumulated a total of 210 runs, including a half-century and a maiden hundred. Azam, who is still 48 points adrift of top-ranked Dawid Malan, has the opportunity to overtake him with the three-match series against Zimbabwe that got underway in Harare on Wednesday.Earlier last week, Azam became the No. 1 ODI batter, ending India captain Virat Kohli’s long reign at the top of the charts. Azam is just the fourth Pakistan batter to attain the top ranking.Fakhar Zaman gained 17 spots to reach 33rd rank after scoring an unbeaten 8 and 60 in the last two games, and Mohammad Rizwan jumped eight places to reach a career-best 15th position. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi also made a jump to reach his career best-equaling 11th spot in the bowlers’ list after picking up two wickets in two matches.For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen moved up from ninth to sixth spot, just one shy of his career-best, after scores of 34 not out and 52. Aiden Markram gained 31 places to reach 34th position.

Wes Agar picked eight wickets while Henry Nielsen put on a century stand with William Bosisto as George Bailey’s final Shield game ended in a loss for Tasmania

The Report by Daniel Brettig10-Dec-2019An unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 136 between Harry Nielsen and William Bosisto delivered South Australia their first Sheffield Shield victory after a drought of 18 matches over 659 days, in what was also the 161st – and last – first-class game for the Australian selector-in-waiting George Bailey.The Redbacks, as may have been expected given their run of defeats, made life hard for themselves by slipping to 4 for 34 in pursuit of 170 to beat Tasmania by six wickets at Bellerive Oval, as Gabe Bell and Riley Meredith found swing and bounce respectively with the new ball.However Nielsen – with only one half century from his previous 15 innings for SA – and the former West Australian Bosisto fought their way through the difficult period and did not offer a chance as they glided home, doing so on the stroke of tea in Hobart.Resuming at 6 for 241 on the final morning, the Tigers could add only 20 runs to their overnight total, as Chadd Sayers and Wes Agar combined potently for the visitors. Agar’s eight wickets for the game were to earn him Player-of-the-Match honours, while SA also had reason to thank Jake Weatherald, the captain Alex Carey, Joe Mennie and Nick Winter for their first innings batting contributions.Nevertheless, victory looked a long way off when Bell swerved the newish ball into Henry Hunt’s back pad and then Callum Ferguson’s off stump, while at the other end Meredith drew edges from Weatherald and Carey. An older ball meant that conditions eased for Nielsen and Bosisto, but they showed a remarkable level of composure in knocking off the runs with minimal fuss.Bailey was left to bowl the final over of the match, clad in his state cap, before accepting congratulations from both sides for a long and fruitful red-ball career that featured five Test match appearances in the 2013-14 Ashes and a leading hand in all three of Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield-winning seasons.

Chief selector MSK Prasad made it a point to say “it is not the end of Dhoni in T20Is” and added that they are looking to firm up back-up options behind the stumps

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-20180:57

Dasgupta: Dhoni’s omission a sign of the coming future

MS Dhoni has been dropped for the first time since he established himself as a heavyweight in Indian cricket. The 37-year old wicketkeeper-batsman will not be part of the T20I series against West Indies and Australia in November.However, chief selector MSK Prasad made it a point to say “it is not the end of Dhoni in T20Is” and added that they are looking to firm up back-up options behind the stumps. To that end, both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been picked for these six matches.Dhoni not part of T20I squad to face West Indies and Australia•Getty Images

Dhoni has been part of 93 of the 104 T20Is that India have played since his debut in December 2006. In that time, he’s made 1487 runs at a strke-rate of 127, alongside 54 catches and 33 stumpings. He has also been one of the most recognisable figures in IPL cricket, having played each of the 11 seasons. Having gone through a slump with Rising Pune Supergiant, he scored 455 runs at a strike-rate of 150 for Chennai Super Kings in their title-winning run earlier this year. Since then, he travelled to England as part of the T20I squads, although he got a chance to bat in only one of the three matches.”The T20Is here and in Australia, he [Dhoni] is not going to play, because we are also looking at a second wicketkeeper,” Prasad said at a press conference on Friday. “That will be between Rishabh and Dinesh Karthik. So they will be getting a chance to keep and bat.”

Squad changes

In: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Khaleel Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shahbaz Nadeem [Only for WI]
Out: Deepak Chahar, MS Dhoni, Siddarth Kaul, Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli [only for WI]

Hardik Pandya was also missing from both squads. The allrounder has not recovered from a back injury that he suffered during the Asia Cup in September. “As of now, he won’t be ready till November 15. After that, we will take a call,” Prasad said.Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was named captain of India for the three-match series against West Indies, which begins on November 4. Virat Kohli will return to take the reins when the team begins its tour of Australia three weeks later.India have also called up Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer into their squads for both series. The 23-year old last played a T20I in December 2017 but has since then become an important figure in the A team and also took over captaincy of the Delhi Daredevils. His IPL team-mate Shahbaz Nadeem earned an India call-up as well, soon after a world record performance, albeit in 50-over cricket. The left-arm spinner picked up 8 for 10 in September and is part of five spin options that India have chosen to play West Indies, alongside the incumbents Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and allrounders Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar. The seam attack will be led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, which now includes additional variation in the form of left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed. Fast bowlers Deepak Chahar and Siddharth Kaul, who were part of India’s previous T20I squad on the tour of England, were left out.In ODI news, Kedar Jadhav, who was ignored for the third game against West Indies despite his saying he was fully fit, has been recalled to play the final two matches of the series. “He is coming back from an injury which is why we asked him to play in the Duleep Trophy,” Prasad said. “We expected their team to go on to play the final which is why he’s not a part of the third ODI but is part of the fourth and fifth ODIs.”

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane also climb ICC’s Test batting charts

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2017Ravindra Jadeja has overtaken Shakib Al Hasan to become the No. 1 Test allrounder, to go with his No. 1 ranking in the Test bowling charts. Jadeja, who has been suspended for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 13 wickets at an average of 28.76. He has also contributed 85 runs, with a highest score of 70*, which came in the SSC Test.Two centuries in the first two Tests against Sri Lanka also helped Cheteshwar Pujara move to No. 3 in the Test batting rankings, climbing up one place, while Ajinkya Rahane broke into the top 10, moving up five spots to No. 6. Rahane has scored 212 runs in two Tests so far, with one fifty and one century.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A fine all-round display from Moeen Ali in England’s 3-1 series win over South Africa helped him retain his No. 4 spot in the allrounder rankings, while moving up three positions to a career-best 21st slot in the batting rankings. Moeen struck 252 runs and finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets at an average of 15.64, becoming the first player to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series. His wicket tally in the series included a ten-wicket haul in the first Test at Lord’s.James Anderson’s 20 wickets against South Africa pushed him up to No. 2 in the Test bowling rankings, displacing R Ashwin, while Jonny Bairstow moved to No. 7 in the batting charts, after finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the Tests against South Africa.

The appointment of Anil Kumble as India coach has received a lot of positive feedback

Arun Venugopal23-Jun-20165:27

Chopra: Kumble won’t accept mediocrity

The appointment of Anil Kumble as India coach has received a lot of positive feedback. Legendary India batsman GR Viswanath likes him for his “engineering brain” and polished approach. Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad hailed his “integrity and tactical shrewdness.””I have watched Anil from his under-19 days, from the beginning, to playing for Karnakata and then playing for India and captaining,” Viswanath told ESPNcricinfo. “He has done everything in a meticulous way. Typical engineering brain.”Despite being “very, very aggressive” on the field, Viswanath felt Kumble has always conducted himself with dignity. “In a very polished, cool and composed way, he can handle any situation. He is, of course, very well-mannered. [An example is] the way he handled the situation [Monkeygate] in Australia as captain. Everything is going well for him, and with him having been a mentor already for a couple of teams in the IPL, it’s a very good choice.”Srinath felt Kumble’s biggest asset is his ability to spot and nurture raw talent. “I think he is a man with tremendous integrity. It’s about getting stuck. Basically, the never-say-die attitude is quite strong in Anil. He has the mind for all formats of the game, which is very crucial to be consistent with the boys. Apart from that, the technical inputs, the strategy and analysis comes naturally to Anil.”I think it’s a good decision by the panel to pick his name and a good process was adopted. The one good thing is he is quite close to this generation of cricketers.”Srinath, who served as secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association when Kumble was elected president in 2010, said Kumble was a consummate professional. “He will never be a media-savvy person in the sense he will never communicate too many things [to the media],” he said. “He gets on with the job. He will make sure he is at it all the time. He is somebody who will be on the field and with the boys all the time.”Prasad, who was also part of Kumble’s administration at KSCA, said Kumble’s tactical sharpness would help take India to the next level. “It’s amazing for the simple reason that he has not only proven himself as a cricketer, he has also proven himself as a leader,” he said. “If I had known that he had also applied or he was going to apply I would have withdrawn my application.”As a bowling coach, I have worked with him when he was a player and captain. He is tactically outstanding. That’s what made him a huge success as a player and that’s exactly brings to the table. These are exciting times for Indian cricket.”India’s Test captain Virat Kohli was among the well-wishers too. He tweeted, “heartiest welcome, Anil Kumble sir. Look forward to your tenure with us. Great things in store for Indian Cricket with you.”

Rain continued to frustrate India as only 47.3 overs were bowled in two stop-start sessions, slowing down India’s push for a declaration

The Report by Sidharth Monga12-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:46

Muthu: India got confidence from six-batsmen strategy

Rain continued to frustrate India as only 47.3 overs were bowled in a stop-start day, slowing down India’s push for a declaration. A whole day’s play and 36 overs had already been lost by the time Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay came out to resume their giant partnership on day three. That India got into one-day mode gave Bangladesh chances for wickets, and Shakib Al Hasan took four of them. Not before M Vijay had brought up his third Test 150, and Ajinkya Rahane had struck a punishing 98 off just 103 balls.The wickets fell in two clusters: Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the first, and Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha and Rahane in the second. Except for Saha, every batsman fell playing an attacking shot, and between the two clusters Vijay and Rahane added 114 for the fourth wicket in 22.4 overs.The Bangladesh bowlers were more at home with batsmen looking for quick runs, as if in limited-overs cricket, in the process giving them opportunities. On day one, Dhawan and Vijay played more orthodox Test cricket, asking the bowlers to get them out, which Bangladesh failed miserably at. On the third day, too, it took another delayed introduction of Shakib for Bangladesh to be effective. Opening exchanges had been friendly, and you couldn’t rule out broken opening-partnership records. Shakib immediately brought about mis-hits from Dhawan.One fell short of deep midwicket, another in the gap around the same area, but the third one – a leading edge from way outside leg, an indication of India’s desperation for quick runs – settled with Shakib. Rohit might draw some criticism for his dismissal soon after, but he was trying to do right by the team, looking for quick runs through a drive through cover, and missing its line to be bowled. Kohli looked for big drives similarly until he didn’t watch a Jubair Hossain wrong’un and had a thick inside edge trickle onto the stumps.Bangladesh would have hoped to see India rebuild a little, but the spinners provided Rahane with loose deliveries. The way Rahane got off the mark reiterated what was wrong with Bangladesh. Jubair first beat him with a wrong’un, which produced a close but unsuccessful lbw appeal. The one immediately after was a legbreak that beat Rahane, who was still driving hard, betraying the team instructions. When the fielding side would have loved to capitalise on those accumulating errors, the next ball was a long hop, and Rahane was away.Vijay at the other end batted as serenely as he usually does, inconspicuously bringing up his sixth Test hundred and then refusing to play a complacent stroke. Not that that meant a drop in his strike-rate. He was 89 off 178 at the resumption of play, and by lunch he had reached 144 off 264. That was when rain first arrived, and India came out with more intent after the forced break. Soon after reaching 150 and having waited through another rain break, Vijay went for an uncharacteristic big sweep, missed the ball and was given out lbw even though he was struck outside the line.Then came the only wicket where the batsman was well and truly outdone. Jubair, the legspinner, is quite an inaccurate bowler, but has a highly deceptive googly in his armoury. The same ball that got Kohli in a circuitous manner. This one, though, was more emphatic, dipping, pitching just outside off, and beating Saha’s inside edge by quite a distance to hit the stumps.At the other end, the free-flowing Rahane summed up the selfless attitude of India’s batsmen. With the clouds gathering, and his score on 90, Rahane began to hit every delivery. A slog sweep and a sweep off the first two balls of the 102nd over took him to 98, yet there was no circumspection or anxiety to reach 100 visible. The next ball was only just short of a length, and Rahane went for the pull, and was bowled. Another shower arrived soon to force an early tea break and eventually an end to the day’s play.

Two of Pakistan’s experienced hands guided them to victory in their first game in almost three months, and their first bilateral tour of India in five years

The Report by Siddhartha Talya25-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Mohammad Hafeez led Pakistan’s recovery•BCCI

Two of Pakistan’s experienced hands guided them to victory in their first game in almost three months, and their first bilateral tour of India in five years. An early burst from debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who began his international career with a fabulous display of swing bowling, rattled the Pakistan top order but the calm presence of Mohammad Hafeez and some enterprising batting from Shoaib Malik put a chase of 134 back on track.Pakistan had another scare at the death, losing two in quick time when victory appeared secure, but Malik ultimately saw them through in the final over, sealing the game with a six. The hosts were a specialist bowler short, as the Pakistan pair targeted the non-regulars, but a more significant factor in India’s loss was their implosion with the bat, when they lost nine wickets for 47 runs in 46 balls.A 36,000-strong crowd had been silenced during an impressive display of bowling backed up by some excellent ground fielding that had helped Pakistan fight back after India’s openers had laid a strong foundation in an attractive stand of 77 in under 11 overs. The decibel levels at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, hit their peak when Bhuvneshwar swung it this way and that, setting up two of this three victims with outswingers before nipping one back in to dismantle the stumps. At 12 for 3, Pakistan were reeling; their rebuilding was steady, and resulted in 24 boundary-less deliveries, but Hafeez and Malik pounced in at the right time.Virat Kohli was one of the part-timers used by India, and Hafeez slogged him for two boundaries in the 11th over, at the start of which the required-rate had hit almost nine an over. Yuvraj Singh dragged the ball too short on occasion and was heaved for two sixes by the pair and they each stepped out to Ravindra Jadeja to dispatch him for maximums over his head.The return of India’s seamers didn’t immediately check Pakistan, as the equation was brought down to 16 off the last three overs, but Ishant Sharma dismissed Hafeez and conceded just two in an over in which he had Malik caught off a no-ball for height. Ashok Dinda was given the penultimate over and he left Pakistan needing 10 off the last, which Malik helped achieve with a straight six off a Jadeja length delivery to win with two balls to spare.

Smart stats

• Pakistan’s five-wicket win is their first in Twenty20 internationals against India. In three previous matches they’d tied one and lost two.

• The 106-run stand between Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik is the highest for the fourth wicket in Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan, and the third-highest by any team.

• The partnership is also the first time a fourth-wicket pair have added more than 100 after coming together with the score reading less than 15.

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 3 for 9 in 4 overs equals the record for the most economical debut performance in Twenty20 internationals (among bowlers who’ve bowled four overs).

• Hafeez’s 61 is his third half-century in T20 internationals, but his first against a team other than Zimbabwe.

• Malik’s unbeaten 57 is his highest score in T20 internationals, and his first half-century in his last 39 innings in this format.

Ajinkya Rahane’s supreme timing was the feature of India’s opening partnership, as he lofted Pakistan’s bowlers over extra cover effortlessly, though they hit back after he fell upper-cutting to third man. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were the architects of that comeback, after being struck for sixes in their respective opening overs. Gul was smashed over midwicket by Gambhir, but had Yuvraj Singh caught in the deep off a slower ball in his new spell before removing two in two towards the death. Ajmal was carted over extra cover by Rahane, but returned to dismiss MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina with quicker deliveries at a time when India would have backed themselves to reach a score of around or above 150.Gambhir had started picking up the pace but was caught short of the crease when attempting a second run in the 13th over. Sohail Tanvir returned a throw on the half-volley to Kamran Akmal, who collected well and dislodged the stumps. Kohli and Yuvraj began well but fell trying to heave the seamers over square leg – left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan got rid of Kohli to bag his first international wicket.Ajmal’s tricks against Dhoni and Raina, and the early run-out of Rohit Sharma, sent back by a direct hit from the deep, transformed India’s game from one aimed at an aggressive charge to mere survival. India scored just one boundary in the last six overs, their early advantage was squandered and not even a dream debut that produced a spell of 4-0-9-3 could restore it completely.