India v Pakistan, Asia Cup, Mirpur

Pakistan openers in century stand

Cricket +

25 overs Pakistan 150 for 0 (Hafeez 76*, Jamshed 69*) India

Pakistan's highest opening partnership against India in ODIs - and the second century stand in three games between Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed - put them in control against their arch-rivals, who were once again let down by the inability of their bowlers to either strike or contain. India's attack had the opportunity to make first use of the Mirpur pitch, which has been harsher for bowlers in the evening, but Hafeez and Jamshed stroked boundaries at will, taking advantage of a listless unit.

India's lack of penetration was evident when MS Dhoni threw the ball to Sachin Tendulkar in the 24th over, after having already tried seven bowlers. Five of them had already gone at more than run-a-ball, and none, barring Ashok Dinda, had come close to troubling the Pakistan openers.

Pakistan were away from the moment Praveen Kumar sprayed his fourth delivery wide outside off to Hafeez, who cashed in with a cut for four past point. Jamshed, who clearly favours the on side, hit Praveen out of the attack, taking him for three fours in four deliveries with well-balanced clips. Dhoni turned to Dinda, whose extra pace and tighter lines limited the pace of scoring. But Irfan Pathan now leaked runs from the other end.

Dhoni turned to his part-time offspin trio of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan. Pakistan easily milked them for singles. There was a leg-before shout by Rohit against Jamshed, though, which was turned down, with replays showing the ball would have hit leg stump.

Dhoni continued to try all the options he had. R Ashwin proved to be too inconsistent with his lines and lengths, bowling too short and too wide too often to make any impression as the side's lead spinner. Despite there being some turn and bounce on offer, Ashwin was unable to utilise them to his advantage. His first over went for 11; Dhoni brought back Irfan, who conceded 13, with Hafeez exploiting width on both sides of the wicket to hit consecutive fours.

In between those two overs from Ashwin and Irfan, Dinda came close to dismissing both batsmen, but ended up going for 12 in the 18th over. Hafeez could have played on but instead got four to fine leg; Jamshed could have mistimed a pull for a catch but instead, the duo got to their fifties in the over.

With Pakistan playing another quick bowler, Wahab Riaz, in place of Sarfraz Ahmed, India's chances could hinge on whether they are able to restrict Pakistan to a manageable total. The odds were against them as Hafeez brought up the 150-run stand with a single to square leg off Ashwin.