Asia Cup: Pakistan survive Bangladesh scare

Mirpur: Pakistan survived a scare before pulling off a nervy 21-run victory over a spirited Bangladesh in the thrilling opening match of Asia Cup, here on Sunday.

Chasing 263 to win, Bangladesh were reeling at 135 for five at one stage but Shakib Al Hasan (64) and Nasir Hossain (47) raised the hopes of a stunning win with their 89-run stand for the sixth wicket.

However, the hosts lacked the batting firepower in the end to be all out for 241 in 48.1 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Nevertheless, the hosts gave a good account of themselves and served a warning to other teams that they cannot be taken lightly in the tournament.

Shakib and Nasir were going great guns as the team needed 68 off the last 10 overs but Pakistan paceman Umar Gul (3/58) broke the partnership by bowling Nasir in the 44th over after conceding two consecutive boundaries.

Shakib was still fighting from one end but ran short of partners. Shakib was the last man out, bowled by Gul in the first ball of the 49th over.

Pakistan scored 262 for eight after Mohammed Hafeez top-scored with a patient 89 and shared a 135-run stand with fellow opener Nasir Jamshed (54).

Apart from Hafeez and Jamshed's brilliant batting it was Gul's strokeful unbeaten 39 towards the end that lifted Pakistan to a respectable total.

Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) shared five wickets between them to help Bangladesh restrict Pakistani players, who were scoring briskly till the 30 overs.

Pakistan rode on spin trio of Hafeez (2/40), Saeed Ajmal (2/45) and Shahid Afridi's (2/49) brilliant bowling to open their campaign with a win.

Bangladesh's chase was guided by opener Tamim Iqbal's crafty 64 but the hosts could not make the best use of his innings. Iqbal along with opener Nazimuddin (30) and Jahurul Islam (23) shared two 45-run stands each for the first and second wickets.

Hafeez struck twice in two balls in the 29th over as he bowled Iqbal in the third ball and trapped Mahmudullah in the next to reduce Bangaldesh to 135 for five.

Shakib then joined hands with Nasir to take the fight to Pakistan. They made good use of third powerplay to set the tone for a close finish.

Earlier, Hafeez and Jamshed had laid the foundation by putting on 135 runs for the first wicket in just 28 overs but Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) struck at crucial moments to help the hosts fight back into the match.

But Gul, somewhat, spoilt Bangladesh's plans with a brisk 39 off 25 balls.

Hoping that the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium would offer some assistance to his seamers early on, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim elected to field after the coin landed in his favour.

Jamshed was the more aggressive of the two as he found the fence five times, besides hitting a six. Hafeez was content to rotate the strike while hitting the occasional boundaries.

Bangladesh then made a spirited fightback and the breakthrough they needed, came in the form of Jamshed's wicket in the 28th over, when Mushfiqur ran the batsman out after receiving a throw from Shakib.

Living up to the tag of being an unpredictable side, Pakistan suffered a collapse and, from 160 for two in the 33rd over, they were struggling at 198 for seven.

Even as the middle-order, which has the experienced Younis Khan and the talented Umar Akmal, failed miserably, Gul provided the much-needed thrust down the order to help Pakistan post a challenging total.

Gul, who struck five fours and a six, found an ally in Sarfraz Ahmed (19 off 28), and the two added 53 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.

Asia Cup squad: Sachin in, Sehwag, Zaheer, Umesh rested

Mumbai: In a decision that is likely to polarize opinions, India's selectors have included Sachin Tendulkar for the Asia Cup that kicks off on March 12 in Dhaka. An out-of-form Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested from a 14-man team that does not look significantly different to the one that is struggling to qualify for the CB Series finals in Australia.

In one of the longest selection meetings in recent memory – it spanned nearly three hours – the selectors, who met at the BCCI headquarters today, also decided to recall Ashok Dinda, the Bengal fast bowler, and allrounder Yusuf Pathan. MS Dhoni has played non-stop cricket since the 2011 World Cup and looked jaded during the ongoing CB Series, but will captain the team which includes the struggling Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 133 helped delivered India an improbable bonus-point win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday, has been named vice-captain.

Tendulkar – who did not play a single ODI from the World Cup final to the start of the CB Series this month – has been included despite managing just 143 runs in seven ODIs in Australia with a best of 48. He has been stuck on 99 international centuries since March 12, 2011 and it appears the selectors have given him the chance to reach the unprecedented landmark. Following the end of the Asia Cup on March 22, India are not scheduled to play international cricket until the end of the year.

Sehwag, 33, has been rested after scoring 65 runs from five innings at an average of 13 in the CB Series. Most worrying was his inability to provide starts; the longest Sehwag batted was the first ball of the tenth over, and each of his dismissals owed to Sehwag's poor judgment rather than good deliveries.

Zaheer has been rested after a long tour of Australia, in which he played all four Test matches but missed four ODIs. His place has been taken by Dinda, the second highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season and leading bowler in the Duleep Trophy. Dinda has played five ODIs and three Twenty20s for India, but last appeared in June 2010.

Yusuf's only game for India since a disappointing one-day series in the West Indies was a one-off Twenty20 international against England last October, but he marked his return to competitive cricket with a 78-ball 114 to power Baroda to a 52-run win over Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has been rewarded with a recall.

Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Irfan Pathan have kept their places, while Jadeja has retained his allrounder's slot despite returns of 101 runs at 16.83 and three wickets at 109 apiece in the CB Series. Raina too has held onto his spot despite a tally of 182 runs from eight matches in the CB Series. Rohit (79 runs in five matches) was also persisted with.

India's first match of the Asia Cup is on March 13 against Sri Lanka. The other participating teams are Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh. The Asia Cup runs from March 12 to 22, with the final to be played in Dhaka.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan. Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda.