Taufeeq stars in Indian drubbing

Pakistan A 336 for 4 (Taufeeq 104, Nazir 65, Faisal 50*) beat Indians 335 for 6 (Dravid 92*, Tendulkar 76, Sehwag 75) by six wickets with four overs to spare
Scorecard

The feel-good factor of India's start to their tour evaporated quickly as Pakistan A's young batsmen launched a murderous assault on the hapless Indian bowlers, achieving a stiff target of 336 with ridiculous ease. Taufeeq Umar, who boasts a Test average of 46 over 19 matches, hammered 104 (89 balls, 13 fours, 2 sixes), and along with Imran Nazir (65, 32 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes) gave Pakistan A the kind of start that made it possible for them to achieve victory with six wickets and four overs to spare.

Just after the 20-over mark of their innings Pakistan's run rate dropped sharply to 10 an over. That people even noticed this was a reflection on Pakistan's domination. Zaheer Khan's return to international cricket began in the worst possible manner - his first over went for 17 runs. But, that figure was left in the shade later in the innings, when Irfan Pathan and Murali Kartik were left dazed and confused. Pathan went for 24 while Kartik's first over read: 4, 4 byes, 4, 4, 1, 6. It was just that sort of a day. The Pakistan A batsmen came out with a clear plan: they would not let the bowlers settle. The introduction of each new bowler into the attack was greeted with great relish.

Sourav Ganguly rotated the bowling as well as he could and tinkered with the odd field setting but there was simply no stemming the onslaught. At the end of 10 overs Pakistan A were 136 for no loss and by 20 overs they had reached 199 for 1, as Umar settled in for the long haul while Imran went hell-for-leather.

The opening stand was worth 127 from just 8.3 overs and virtually settled the matter in favour of Pakistan A. Imran was fooled by a clever slower ball from Zaheer, and lost his stumps attempting a big shot (127 for 1). At this stage the Indians were pumped up and had a whiff of a chance of getting back into the game.

Naumanullah, tall and strong, walked confidently out to the middle and made sure that the fall of one wicket did not herald another. He contented himself with working the ball into the gaps and picked off the easy runs on offer. The bowlers had wilted and the fielding was anything but sharp. His 35 from 45 balls pushed the score on to 220 before the next wicket fell. By this stage, the Indians had been shut out of the match. Faisal Iqbal applied the finishing touches. He simply toyed with the bowling for his unbeaten 50. He batted with total freedom and rubbed salt into India's wounds with two sixes and a four.

The bowling analyses did not make for happy reading - Zaheer went for 78 from nine overs, Lakshmipathy Balaji for 60 from 6, while Pathan conceded 49 for five. They all lacked the discipline needed to succeed on a good batting pitch, and strayed too often onto the pads. They were full when they needed to be just short of a length and provided the batsmen with the chance to hit through the line.

But, it was not all bad for the Indians. It was merely a familiar story. The bowlers struggled while the batsmen succeeded gloriously - every top-order batsman save Ganguly made runs. Virender Sehwag was his usual carefree self. He smote the bowling to all parts, including a trademark uppercut six over third man, making 75 off 68 balls. Sachin Tendulkar was excessively watchful to start with, and he appeared more keen to get a feel of the ball in the middle of the bat than to dominate the bowling. Eventually he played a few gems, but in all it was an innings that lacked fluency. He too, however, ended with a substantial score - 76 from 82 balls.

The real gem of the Indian innings, however, came from Rahul Dravid. He came to the wicket with the team scoring at a hectic pace, and settled down to a quiet half-century. After that, though, he opened his shoulders to play some fine flicks, pulls and cuts in a 69-ball 92. India managed 335, but it turned out to be woefully inadequate.