India beat Pakistan

India beat Pakistan by six wickets in their exciting Super 10 Group 2 match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata yesterday.

Chasing a target of 119 runs in 18 overs in a rain-curtailed match, India won two overs and a ball to spare as Virat Kohli blasted an unbeaten knock of 37-ball 55 runs.

Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik played crucial cameos to guide Pakistan to 118 for five against India in a World Twenty20 showdown Saturday which was reduced to 18 overs a side by rain.

Put in to bat on a moisture-laden Eden Gardens pitch that saw heavy rains through the day, Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) played cautiously at first and then lost their wickets as they tried to accelerate.

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina looked dangerous in their opening spells on a track that provided turn and bounce, but the Pakistan batsmen did well to show patience.

Fresh from his match-winning exploits against Bangladesh, skipper Shahid Afridi (8) promoted himself to number three but the boom was missing from his shots this time around.

The hard-hitting batsman could only find a single boundary in his scratchy 14-ball stay as he walked back amid loud cheers from the capacity crowd.

Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik then stitched together a crucial 41-run stand that helped Pakistan put up what seems a respectable score on board on a tricky wicket.

Akmal (22), whose 16-ball knock was studded with a boundary and a six, was caught behind off Ravindra Jadeja's left-arm spin.

Top-scorer Malik (26), who hit three boundaries and a six in his 26-run innings, soon joined Akmal in the dug-out after trying to force Ashish Nehra's pace.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez finished off the innings as Pakistan got seven off the last over, but with the pitch playing tricks it still remained anybody's game.

(AFP)