TNI Bureau: India beat Pakistan by 10 runs in a thrilling encounter in the third ODI in Delhi to deny Pakistan a clean sweep in the series and salvage some lost pride. Pakistan were in control till the 35th over, but lost the way then after to give in to the spirited Indians. Pakistan won the series 2-1.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat first. The batsmen failed yet again and could post just 167 in 43.4 overs. Yuvraj (23), Raina (31), Dhoni (36) and Jadeja (27) were the top scorers. Saeed Ajmal took five wickets, while Mohammad Irfan took two wickets.
Support Independent Journalism? Keep us live.
Chasing a victory target of 168, Pakistan lost two wickets for just 14 runs on board. They tried to build up the innings, but the Indian bowlers kept them under control with their best efforts. Pakistan finally bowled out for 157 in 48.5 overs. Jamshed (34), Misbah (39), Umar Akmal (25) and Mohammad Hafeez (21) were the top scorers.
For India, Ishant Sharma took three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and R Ashwin took two wickets each. Debutant Shami Ahmed took one wicket, but conceded just 23 runs in 9 overs. He bowled four maiden overs. Ravindra Jadeja impressed a lot with a bowling figure of 10-2-19-1.
The Indians were brilliant on the field today. They failed with the bat and bounced back with the ball and fielding and defended a meagre total of 167. MS Dhoni was declared ‘Man of the Match’ for his batting, wicket-keeping and captaincy in today’s game. Nasir Jamshed was declared ‘Man of the Series’.