India v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Chennai

Jamshed, Junaid set up Pakistan win

Pakistan 228 for 4 (Younis 58, Jamshed 101*) beat India 227 for 6 (Raina 53, Dhoni 113*, Junaid 4-43) by six wickets

Fortunes swung in an absorbing opening one-dayer, but it was Pakistan who held their nerve to record a six-wicket win and go one-up in Chennai. Junaid Khan had India reeling with a remarkable spell of swing bowling, MS Dhoni bailed India out with a tenacious, unbeaten century but the target of 228 wasn't enough to test Pakistan. Nasir Jamshed played a composed, yet chancy century, but nevertheless took the responsibility of finishing the job he had started.

The difference was in the way the teams batted against the new ball. India were put in and ended up losing 5 for 29 by the tenth over. Dhoni toiled masterfully, fighting off cramps to take India to a respectable total, but not quite a winning one. Pakistan too looked shaky when they came out against the moving ball, but ensured they didn't lose wickets in a clump early, unlike India.

Full report to follow

25 overs Pakistan 99 for 2 (Younis 42*, Jamshed 43*) need a further 129 runs to beat India 227 for 6 (Raina 53, Dhoni 113*, Junaid 4-43)

There was no procession of wickets, unlike the first innings, as Pakistan made slow and steady progress towards the target of 228 in Chennai. After losing a wicket off the first ball in spectacular fashion and that of a struggling Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Nasir Jamshed put their heads down with a half-century stand to put Pakistan on course.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck with his first ball in one-day internationals when Mohammad Hafeez completely misread the viscious inswing and shouldered arms, only to see his off stump land a few yards back. Bhuvneshwar showed what he was capable of during his dream spell of 3 for 9 in the T20 in Bangalore, and today his spell was just as probing. He beat the bat on several occasions, especially the left-hander Jamshed, and worked up good pace as well.

Azhar Ali struggled to push the scoring and even tried stepping out of his crease to disturb the bowler's rhythm, which never worked. He dropped the ball to the on side off an inside edge to the pads and Jamshed at the other end set off and had to scamper back. The bowler Bhuvneshwar ran across and gathered but failed to knock down the stumps. The following ball, Azhar miscued a pull and was caught at fine leg, giving Bhuvneshwar his second wicket.

It took Pakistan nearly 12 overs to score their first boundary, proving the control the bowlers had over them in the early part of the innings. Jamshed, who kept finding the fielders initially, broke free with a pull off Bhuvneshwar, before driving Ishant past the covers. The spinners failed to trouble them, as Younis took on Yuvraj Singh with boundaries through the leg side. Jamshed was lucky when on 24 he was let off by the umpire who did not spot an inside edge to the pads before the ball lobbed to first slip. While India couldn't blame themselves for that, they could regret the missed run-out against Jamshed.

50 overs India 227 for 6 (Raina 53, Dhoni 113*, Junaid 4-43) v Pakistan

	MS Dhoni battled cramps to score a century that re-built the Indian innings © BCCI

It was an innings of two unequal parts. The first was over in a flash when a wobbly India lost half their side by the tenth over in the face of some incredible swing bowling by Junaid Khan. The second lasted the remainder of the innings, an exhibition of tenacious batting by MS Dhoni who battled the humidity to score an unbeaten 113, helped along the way by Suresh Raina and R Ashwin. It was a tremendous recovery from 29 for 5 when India had lost their last recognised pair at the crease.

Dhoni's innings too was of two contrasting parts. He nudged and poked his way to fifty off 86 balls, hitting just two boundaries and a six. His next 61 came off just 39 balls. As the innings closed, Dhoni could barely stand. In a bid to conserve energy, Dhoni focused on hitting out and it was a blessing in disguise for India as he regularly found the gaps, helping India ransack an unlikely 81 off the last ten overs.

The morning had ingredients you wouldn't normally associate with one-day cricket in India - morning start, overcast conditions, a green pitch, moisture. The left-arm seam duo of Junaid and Mohammad Irfan hit the timber with such regularity that they might well have come out wielding axes rather than cricket balls. It reignited the familiar criticism of Indian batsmen struggling to cope with movement, irrespective of where they play.

Play was delayed by an hour due to overnight rain and the lack of sunshine had further spiced up a damp pitch, which meant that the Indian batsmen had to adopt a wait-and-watch approach against the seamers. Reputations counted for nothing as India's top order was exposed for their lack of technique against the moving ball against two seamers with a combined experience of 15 ODIs.

Virender Sehwag drove away from the body and lost his off stump. Irfan beat Gautam Gambhir's drive; Virat Kohli played down the wrong line to Junaid who pitched it up and swung the ball in to knock the off stump; Yuvraj Singh was beaten for pace. Junaid picked up a fourth wicket in his spell when he had Rohit Sharma pushing at one that moved away, with Mohammad Hafeez taking a sharp reflex catch at third slip.

Dhoni and Raina came together at 29 for 5 and focused on picking up singles rather than counterattacking their way to a recovery. There was a loud cheer when Raina sliced Saeed Ajmal past cover to bring up the fifty stand, breaking a boundary drought that lasted nearly 14 overs.

The innings could have finished earlier had Misbah not put down Dhoni at midwicket on 16. The drop was to cost Pakistan a massive 97 runs. Dhoni was watchful against the spinners after that let-off, pushing the ball down the ground for singles. India hadn't scored a boundary for close to 15 overs following that Raina boundary. Pakistan had an opening when Raina played back to Hafeez and lost his leg stump, but what they weren't prepared for was the resistance shown by Ashwin and Dhoni.

The batting Powerplay, taken in the 34th over, produced 23 runs but the most productive phase of the innings was to follow. When Ashwin edged Ajmal past slip in the 37th over, it broke a boundary drought that lasted another 15 overs. India went on to smash 11 more boundaries, including three sixes. Junaid, returning for a new spell, overstepped the crease and Dhoni bashed the free hit over wide long-on for the first six of the innings.

Dhoni launched Ajmal out of the ground over long-on and brought up his century with a six over extra cover. His stand of 125 with Ashwin was India's highest for the seventh wicket. Dhoni's march towards his century featured an array of shots on both sides of the wicket, including the helicopter shot, the pull and the squirt past gully.

The average first-innings score in this ground in the last five matches is 204. India bettered that by 23 runs, giving Pakistan something to chase in testing conditions.