Cricket: India wallop Pakistan by 76 runs

Members of India's cricket team celebrate after an electronic review confirmed the dismissal of...
Members of India's cricket team celebrate after an electronic review confirmed the dismissal of Pakistan's batsman Umar Akmal. Photo by Reuters.
The World Cup formula now seems pretty obvious: bat first, score loads, strangle the chasing team, bag the points.

Oh, and chuck another umpiring controversy in there for good measure.

India walloped Pakistan by 76 runs in last night in Adelaide leaving a World Cup still seeking its first successful chase. They deserved to as Pakistan stumbled badly chasing a Virat Kohli-inspired target of 301. Only skipper Misbah-ul-Haq showed the necessary skill, scoring a rearguard 76 among the carnage.

That makes it six wins out of six for India against Pakistan at World Cups, a remarkable stat when you consider that before this match the record stood at Pakistan 72 India 50 in ODIs between the two.

The pivotal moment in the chase, if it can be called that, was the loss of three wickets for one run from 102 to 103. The third of those wickets will rankle. Umar Akmal may or may not have feathered an edge off Ravi Jadeja through to MS Dhoni.

Umpire Richard Kettleborough thought not but was overturned by third umpire Steve Davis on the basis of a sound on Snicko that was so imperceptible it could have been made by a moth flapping its wings in Ceduna. The DRS is meant to take the guesswork out of umpiring, not add to it.

The game was beamed to a record audience of 1.5 billion and enjoyed by they were treated to an atmospheric, though sadly one-sided match between the game's most passionate rivals.

For the fourth time in as many games, the team batting first posted at least 300, although India needed every ball available to them after losing their way in the final five overs. When 273-2 after 45 overs becomes 300-7, you'd call that slightly underwhelming.

There was, however, nothing disappointing about the efforts of Shikhar Dhawan (73), Suresh Raina (74) and the brightest star in the Indian galaxy, Kohli.

His 107 was the 22nd time he has notched up three figures in his one-day international career, the same total as Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum have managed combined.

Kohli, 26, plays half his ODIs in batsmen-friendly conditions at home, but he has such a beautifully balanced game he could score runs on corrugated iron. The only blot was yet another silly and unnecessary confrontation he could have avoided, this time with Sohail Khan

"I could wrap this ground up and take it home with me," he said of the Adelaide Oval, where he has passed 100 four times in seven innings across the formats.

So would India's fanatical fans, though they may have trouble getting it through Customs. Five-thousand fans turned up to Adelaide without accommodation, happy to stay overnight at the airport for the chance to see their heroes.

It would have been an uncomfortable, yet blissful, sleep.

by Dylan Cleaver in Adelaide

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