This was one of the more eventful ODI's of recent time with a lot to discuss and point out but I will try to keep it short. First and foremost, it saw the return to form of Sachin who hit a hard working century. Pakistan won the toss and put India in. We went into the match with five specialist bowlers (Irfan, Zaheer, Sreesanth, Kartik and Agarkar) which was good.

India scored 328 in 49.4 overs. This was a good 20 runs short and that is why we lost the game. Sehwag failed in ODIs yet again, falling for 5 ( 5/1). In an inspired move, Irfan was sent in at number 3. He struggled initially, scoring only one from the first 13 balls. There was appreciable initial movement which Mohd. Asif exploited beautifully, making the batsmen play and miss repeatedly. Once Irfan found his groove, he played some fantastic shots in a run a ball 65 ( 99/2).

To everyone's surprise, Dhoni emerged at number 4 and hit a pulsating 53 ball 68 before Shoaib Malik took a blinder at point to dismiss him off Asif (225/3). All this while, Sachin was ticking along, playing second fiddle to Irfan and then Dhoni but kept the board moving. He did play and miss a few times but was a lot more fluent after crossing fifty. A lofted six off Arshad Khan and some sublime drives were mixed with delectable nudges and placements for quick singles. His 100 came off just 113 balls. He was unlucky to be given out lbw, reverse sweeping one that had kissed his gloves. I am not a fan of the reverse sweep, particularly to balls on the stumps! He had played one earlier and nearly got bowled.

As on multiple previous occasions, we struggled in the slog overs. From 305/5 (44.6 overs) the team was all out for 328 with 2 balls to spare. The last 5 overs produced only 23 runs. Kaif fell to a great catch by Butt on the boundary to be last out for 8. True, the Pakistani bowlers bowled very well at the death, but the batsmen should have scored at least 20 more runs. Yuvraj, who made a 28 ball 39 should have done better than chip a ball straight to Arshad Khan at deep square leg.

Pakistan started very well and looked assured of victory at 264/4 but a mini collapse saw them end the day at 311/7, off 47 overs, when play was stopped for bad light. The game could have gone either way at that stage as India had stormed back into the match, but Pakistan were declared victors by the D/L method.

A couple of points need to be made.

First, all the critics crying "Endulker" should go and stand in front of the mirror and give themselves a long hard look. They will see a person who knows little about cricket but talks too much about it. They will see a small, mean and jealous man who can do little except writing words of venom against a man who is light years ahead of them in class and achievement. I have been accused by some readers of being partial to Tendulker. I rest my case. Moin Khan - we forgive you, because we do have some class and understand the compulsions you must have felt. After all, a desperate and forgotten man needs to shout profanities for anyone to notice him! 

A word about Inzamam. He is a great batsman, no doubt, but will never give you the illusion of being the brightest spark in the park. A captain and player of his experience should have a better understanding of the rules. I can understand his desperation when stopping the ball, but to argue with the umpires when palpably out will not enhance his reputation with any body. To make matters worse, Inzamam and Bob Woolmer had an argument with the match officials at the end of the match and Inzy is likely to lose some weight around his pocket in the next couple of days. I understand that Sachin may be disciplined too for pointing at his glove when given out.

Both teams batted very well I thought, and as in the tests, it was the Pakistani bowling that won them the match. The Indian bowlers tried very hard and Rahul was exceptional with his field placement but we lacked just that extra bit of penetration. The baby faced Sreesanth looks promising and bowled with speed but is work in progress and far from the finished article.

I personally believe that it is going to be very difficult for the Indians to win this series and I expect a loss. This Pakistani team has a small but definite edge over us - courtesy their bowlers. Our batting is top notch and is going to have to carry the burden throughout.