By IANS,
London : Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq helped Pakistan put on 158 for six against India in a sold-out warmup tie at the Oval that resembled the final of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament.
Tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani supporters packed the Oval cricket ground, and cheered every boundary and wicket in a match that swung wildly at the start before skipper and veteran batsman Younis Khan helped to stabilize his side.
Electing to bat before a nearly exclusive South Asian crowd, Pakistan began disastrously, losing opener Shahzaid Hasan for a duck to Praveen Kumar in the first over.
Spinner Harbhajan Singh dropped teenage batting sensation Ahmed Shehzad in the very next over off R.P. Singh before Shehzad (25 off 19 balls, 5 fours) and Kamran Akmal (19 off nine, 4 fours) wreaked a brief carnage on the Indian bowlers, hammering Kumar and Singh for a flurry of boundaries.
The men in blue then bounced back, to the delight of their delirious suppoters, and grabbed four quick wickets to leave Pakistan tottering on 63 for five before Younis Khan (32 off 32 balls) came up with a captain’s innings in the company of Misbah (37 off 30 balls).
R.P. Singh, Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and P.P. Ojha took one wicket each for India, while Suresh Raina athletically ran out Akmal.
India left out Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, and Pakistan were without Salman Butt and Ifthikar Anjum in a 13-a-side game, where only 11 could field at any given time.
Brief scores:
Pakistan: 158 for six (Misbah-ul-Haq 37, Y. Khan 32, S. Ahmed 25, Y. Arafat 25, I. Sharma one for 11)