India sets Pakistan 301 to win

Kohli hits a century while Dhawan and Raina stroke fluent fifties; Sohail Khan picks five

 

India beat arch rival Pakistan by 76 runs in their World Cup opener at the Adelaide Oval. Chasing 300 set by India, Pakistan was all out for 224.

Earlier, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan in their World Cup opener at the Adelaide Oval. 

Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli had a good second wicket partnership with the southpaw getting back in form with 73 from 76 balls. He and Kohli rotated the strike well without taking any major risks.

This wasn't a very fluent Kohli innings but might turn out to be an important one. The Indian vice captain struggled to find his top gear when the batting power play was taken. He was eventually caught behind on 103 (126 balls) off Sohail Khan.

Suresh Raina didn't face gear issues. He made 74 (56 balls) and was primarily responsible for adding quick runs at the end of the innings.

The 'slog overs' didn't see India accelerate as much as expected with Pakistan curtailing MS Dhoni and company well.  Sohail Khan was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers getting five wickets in the process.

It is a delightful batting wicket at Adelaide but 301 is still a good target. It is set to be a good second innings with Pakistan's inconsistent batting going up against India's mediocre bowling. 

In all their previous World Cup meetings, defending champions India have never lost to Pakistan.

The squads:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Irfan.