India vs Pakistan, 1st ODI at Chennai, Dec 30 2012 - Match Result

So that is the end of our coverage from the first ODI. K-man's match report is being updated as I write. We will be back in 2013 for the second match of this series. Till then, enjoy the party season. Happy New Year from all at ESPNcricinfo. This is Devashish Fuloria signing off. Thanks for all your comments. Ciao ciao

MS Dhoni is the Man of the Match for his hundred. He says,"Bad toss to lose, but I am happy with my batting. There was something for the fast bowlers, but they also pitched it in the right areas. Once we lost five wickets, it was difficult to come back. We delayed the slog to get to a respectable score. 227 was a good score from where we were, but not enough in the end. The wicket got better later and our part-timers struggled."

Misbah-ul-Haq: "It was really good toss to win and the spell by Junaid Khan was very good. He has done it before in a Test match in Sri Lanka. Good to see that the bowlers pitched in the right areas in helping conditions. There was a change in the nature of the pitch. It was more difficult to play in the first half, very well played by Dhoni. But Nasir played an extremely good knock and showed the way by finishing the game. Humidity was a factor as both teams found it hard. Credit must be given to both teams' fast bowlers for bowling in such conditions."

Rahul: "Indian batting has to follow the rotation policy to inject deserving new players like Pujara, Rahane and more. Players have to be pushed for higher consistency rates. Gambhir and Rohit have played too many games at the expense of great talent sitting out."

Masood: "Misbah Wicket was the turning point. It cost India match"

Mark: "India are seeing just how far they have to go re-building. Lost the Test series to England after taking the lead. Only shared the two T20 series and now behind in the ODIs v Pakistan. This could be a tough year." The tough year has just got over. It could be the start of another tough one though.

Pakistan take a 1-0 lead in the series and what an innings by the young Nasir Jamshed, who stood out a tough period at the start and then opened up during the middle overs along with Younis Khan as the team built up momentum against some insipid bowling by India's part-timers. Although, Pakistan lost a few wickets to give India a hint of a chance, Jamshed made sure that it remained just a hint. They did it comfortably in the end. The match was set-up by an excellent spell of fast bowling in the morning by Junaid Khan who picked up four wickets. India got a brief hope after Dhoni's masterclass, but in the end, it wasn't enough. India's part-time bowlers proved to be the weak link, going for 77 off their 10 overs.

Nasir Jamshed: "It was a tough start when we lost Hafeez off the first ball, but we played out the tough period and now we are confident in this series."

Murli: "Hats off to Nasir. He batted superbly and place his innings perfectly on this not so easy wicket "

Pauly Mac has this assessment for the India side: "Watching India is like watching a car crash, that is a car in neutral slowly rolling down a hill and coming to a pathetic stop!"