Sehwag and Raina flay Pakistan

Jun 26, 2008

Shoaib Malik won the toss and opted to bat•AFP

Malik and Salman Butt picked up the odd runs. Pakistan were 15 for 0 after eight overs•AFP

Butt fell for 35, but Malik worked his way to a fifty•AFP

Malik raises his bat after scoring his first hundred as Pakistan captain •AFP

Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq scored 30s as Pakistan finished on 299 for 4•AFP

The two had plundered runs against Hong Kong on Wednesday, and the flow of runs didn't abate against Pakistan•AFP

Sehwag launches one of the 12 sixes in India's innings•AFP

Raina, however, was dismissed on 84. The second-wicket stand between Sehwag and him was 198, scored at more than eight an over•AFP

The initial going was tough, as both Praveen Kumar and RP Singh kept the runs under check •AFP

The crowds were absent for the previous two games in Karachi, but they flocked to the National Stadium for the India-Pakistan clash•AFP

He was joined by Younis Khan and the two slowly began to pick up the momentum•AFP

Younis made a run-a-ball 59, and his 129-run stand with Malik put Pakistan in charge•AFP

A rib injury forced Umar Gul to leave the field after bowling 1.2 overs, but Iftikhar Anjum snared Gautam Gambhir the very next ball, with Misbah plucking a stunner•AFP

Raina had scored his maiden ton against Hong Kong, and didn't leave any opportunity on another flat deck in Karachi•AFP

Raina got to his fifty first ... •AFP

Sehwag went on to make a 95-ball 119, and victory was a foregone conclusion when he departed with 69 more runs needed •AFP

Butt and Malik built a steady platform for Pakistan with a 90-run opening stand•AFP

They began to find the gaps and boundaries, and India found themselves in a similar situation as in the recent Kitply Cup final •AFP

However, both batsmen failed to seize the advantage in the final overs. Shoaib Malik couldn't continue because of cramps, and Younis Khan fell soon after•AFP

From then on, it was India all the way, as Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina got stuck into the opposition•AFP

With Gul gone and Malik struggling, Pakistan had only two specialist bowlers left - Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir and Shahid Afridi. Sehwag cashed in, plundering sixes against Afridi and the part-time bowlers•AFP

... but Sehwag reached the hundred faster•AFP