Pakistan set 289 in 41 overs to beat India

However, India skipper Virat Kohli again showed he remains a constant when it comes to subduing Pakistan, with another masterly batting display leading the defending champions to victory. And we came back in, and so as a player who likes to play the long innings, till the end and usually plays like that for the team, it becomes very hard to find momentum every time you come back. It enabled Rohit to settle down and he played a gem, with the elegant lazy off-drives pleasing to the eye.

An impatient Yuvraj Singh struck eight fours and one six in a 32-ball 53 to hurry the innings along when needed, and was named player of the match for doing so.

Kohli and Hardik Pandya continued to take the attack to Pakistan and as a result, India ended up finishing on 319/3 off their 48 overs.

The stylish southpaw hit eight crisp boundaries and a six in his entertaining knock, while Kohli made up for a sluggish start with a late flourish, ending with six fours and three sixes.

Rohit Sharma hit leg-spinner Shadab Khan for a six over mid-wicket to bring up his half century in 71 deliveries in the 19th over.

Pakistan looked well set to chase down the revised DLS score of 324 off 48 overs before another rain break reduced their asking rate further. In that time, Pakistan’s target was changed to 289 runs from 41 overs. Sharma was fortunate when, on 21, he edged Amir just beyond a diving Azhar Ali at slip for four.

In bat, Pakistan was unable to cope with Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling (2-43, claiming Azhar Ali and Hafeez) and his brilliant fielding, including the important wicket of Shoaib Malik, run out for 15.

His speed of scoring gave Kohli, who initially struggled for fluency, time to find his touch during a third-wicket partnership of 93 in 59 balls that took a game of several rain interruptions away from Pakistan.

Wahab Riaz followed him into the pavilion soon after, nursing a sore ankle and figures of 8.4-0-87-0. Captain Virat Kohli, who is now batting, has included 5 bowlers in the team – Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar also chipped in with a wicket. “In the field we were still a 6 today”, Kohli said. Very strong performance, we’ve taken the confidence from the practice games. Rohit took some time going, but he’s coming back from an injury, and global cricket is different to IPL.

Meanwhile an admiring Kohli, one of the world s leading batsmen, said of Yuvraj: “I felt like a club batter next to him”. The stylish batsman was playing in his first global game since October past year, having undergone a thigh surgery in November.

These two sides have not played a bi-lateral ODI series since 2012/13 but they seem to always be “randomly” drawn to play each other in ICC events.

“Credit to India’s batsmen”. If India’s bowlers make early inroads into Pakistan’s line-up, that won’t be the last of it.

“From a team point of view this was a massive win for us at the start of a big tournament”. “We expect them to return once the play resumes”, Singh said. Both the openers started cautiously and went on to add 100 runs for the opening wicket.