BIRMINGHAM, June 4: India launched their campaign in the Champions Trophy with a resounding 124-run victory over Pakistan here today, extending their dominance over the arch-rivals in major ICC tournaments.
Put in to bat, defending champions India notched up a competitive 319 for three after two rain interruptions reduced the match to 48 overs a side at the Edgbaston.
Set a revised target of 324 in 48 overs at the start of their innings under the Duckworth/Lewis method, Pakistan were required to chase 289 in 41 overs when play resumed after the day�s third rain interruption.
The task proved too much for Pakistan, who were bowled out for 164 in 33.4 overs.
Following the latest result, the teams are locked at 2-2 in the Champions Trophy, but it is India who have won 10 out of the 11 contests at the World Cup and World T20 tournaments between the two sub-continent rivals.
While India were clinical with both the bat and ball, their fielding left a lot to be desired, and Pakistan were worse than the men in blue, giving Yuvraj Singh three lives, besides being sloppy with ground fielding.
When on 37, Azhar Ali was dropped by Bhuvneshwar Kumar running in from long-on.
Hasan Ali�s dismissal by pacer Umesh Yadav (3/30) signalled the end of what was a much-anticipated match, as Wahab Riaz could not bat due to a twisted ankle.
Earlier, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh stood out in an all-round batting effort, propelling India to 319 for three after rain halted proceedings twice in the marquee clash.
Indian batsmen remained focussed despite the rain breaks with Rohit Sharma (91 off 119), Shikhar Dhawan (68 off 65), Virat Kohli (81 not out off 68) and Yuvraj (53 off 32) rising to the occasion in a game reduced to 48 overs a side.
Thanks to the big hitting by Yuvraj, Kohli and Hardik Pandya, India amassed 72 runs in the last four overs with the 46th and 48th going for 21 and 23 runs.
While Kohli punished pacer Riaz, Pandya smashed three consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Imad Wasim in the final over.
SCORECARD
India: Rohit Sharma run out 91, Shikhar Dhawan c Azhar Ali b Shadab 68, Virat Kohli not out 81, Yuvraj Singh lbw b Hasan Ali 53, Hardik Pandya not out 20. Extras: (LB-2, W-2, NB-2) 6. Total: (For 3 wkts; 48 overs) 319. Fall of wickets: 1-136, 2-192, 3-285. Bowling: Mohammad Amir 8.1-1-32-0, Imad Wasim 9.1-0-66-0, Hasan Ali 10-0-70-1, Wahab Riaz 8.4-0-87-0, Shadab Khan 10-0- 52-1, Shoaib Malik 2-0-10-0.
Pakistan (target: 289 runs from 41 overs): Azhar Ali c Pandya b Jadeja 50, Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Kumar 12, Babar Azam c Jadeja b Yadav 8, Mohammad Hafeez c Kumar b Jadeja 33, Shoaib Malik run out (Jadeja) 15, Sarfraz Ahmed c Dhoni b Pandya 15, Imad Wasim c Jadhav b Pandya 0, Shadab Khan not out 14, Mohammad Amir c Jadhav b Yadav 9, Hasan Ali c Dhawan b Yadav 0, Wahab Riaz absent hurt. Extras: (lb 2, w 6) 8. Total: (all out; 33.4 overs) 164. Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-61, 3-91, 4-114, 5-131, 6-135, 7-151, 8-164, 9-164. Bowling: B Kumar 5-1-23-1, U Yadav 7.4-1-30-3, J Bumrah 5-0-23-0, H Pandya 8-0-43-2, R Jadeja 8-0-43-2. � PTI
