Tendulkar 50 in vain

Sachin Tendulkar struck a half century for an International XI against Pakistan at The Oval, but Pakistan still claimed victory.

The match was a charity Twenty20 to raise money for survivors of last year’s devastating earthquake in Pakistan which killed over 70,000 people. Unfortunately, rain reduced the match to 10 overs a side, but the evening was still a resounding success, with a quarter of a million pounds raised for the cause.

Tendulkar’s half century came off just 26 balls as the International XI batted first. The Indian batsman looked to have recovered from shoulder surgery, as he took on the Pakistan attack with ease. Contributions also came from Brian Lara, who shared a partnership of 72 with Tendulkar, and a typically explosive 35 from 13 balls from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Pakistan’s fast bowling continues to be a worry, even though this was only a charity match. Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami and Shahid Nazir were all poor, and Pakistan are already without Naved Ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar. Mohammad Asif is also a major doubt for the first Test against England.

But their batting made up for their bowling in emphatic style. Chasing 125, Shahid Afridi outdid all hitting from Dhoni and Tendulkar as he smashed 41 off 12 balls. 22 of these came from his first four deliveries as Zaheer Khan was carted for three boundaries and a six.

There was also 36 from Inzamam Ul-Haq, which saw Pakistan win one ball to spare, having needed 18 from the last over.

International XI 123-1
Sachin Tendulkar 50*, MS Dhoni 35*
Abdul Razzaq 1-29

Pakistan won by 6 wickets

Pakistan 127-4
Shahid Afridi 41, Inzamam-ul-Haq 36*, Shoaib Malik 30
Mohammad Akram 1-15, Azhar Mahmood 1-25, Zaheer Khan 1-27, Scott Styris 1-43