SPORTS

India score comfortable win over Scotland

Source:PTI
August 16, 2007

- Scorecard

Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa scored half centuries as India beat Scotland by seven wickets in a rain-curtailed Royal Stag One-Day International in Glasgow on Thursday.

Chasing a revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 209, Gambhir was unbeaten on 85 while Uthappa scored 55, as India attained victory in 39.5 overs and warmed up for the bigger challenge of facing England in a seven-match ODI series later this month.

Yuvraj Singh exhibited an array of strikes while playing a cameo of 38 runs in 28 balls.

Put in to bat, Scotland scored 203 runs, losing nine wickets, in the 46 overs-a-side match.

Gavin Hamilton and Neil McCallum putting up a solid 82-run fifth wicket stand to rescue the team after it was reduced to 49 for four.

Munaf Patel, who missed the Ireland one-dayers and England Tests due to an injury, bowled with a changed action and shortened run-up to pick two wickets for 37 runs.

Rudra Pratap Singh continued with his good form of the Test series and claimed two wickets for 26 runs, while Ajit Agarkar and Piyush Chawla also grabbed two wickets each.

Uthappa (55, 62b, 8x4, 1x6) was his usual self as he hit eight boundaries and a six in his 62-ball stay. He and Gambhir (85, 115b, 8x4, 1x6) put on 104 runs in just 20.2 overs. They were careful at the start of the innings as they struggled to settle down, but once they had a feel of the conditions they had a blast and matched each other stroke for stroke.

Uthappa repeatedly drove through the line to send the ball crashing to the billboards. He wasn't afraid to take the aerial route either against opening bowlers Blain and Hoffman. The only six he hit came off Dewald Nel.

After Uthappa's stumps were rattled by Craig Wright, Gambhir anchored the innings well. He played the cut and pull with relish.

Dinesh Karthik was an early casualty, falling to off-spinner, Majid Haq before Yuvraj Singh lit up a murky day with dazzling strokes.

Yuvraj did well to get rid of the rust that may have set in as he warmed the benches during the Test series. Five fours and a towering six from the left-hander in a free-flowing innings was enough evidence of his form.

Rahul Dravid, who remained 10 not out, hit the winning boundary in the 40th over.

The rain stayed away, just making a brief appearance twice during the Scotland innings, giving the Indians a chance to flex their muscles.                                                                                                       

Play began under overcast conditions, and after Dravid won the toss and opted to field, the Indians exploited it to their advantage.

With Fraser Watts (6), Navdeep Poonia (1) and Majid Haq (11) falling cheaply, the hosts were in trouble early.

Agarkar started with three wides but then struck the first blow in the fifth over by dismissing Poonia leg before wicket.

R P Singh had the other opener, Watts, caught at the wicket in the eighth over of the innings.

Scotland skipper Ryan Watson, who batted at number three, then played a breezy little knock, scoring 24 off 32 balls, inclusive of two fours, before he nicked Munaf Patel to the wicketkeeper.

It was then left to Hamilton and McCallum to do the repair job. McCallum batted with controlled aggression to score 41 off 65 balls, inclusive of three fours and a huge six off Ramesh Powar, before falling to leg spinner Piyush Chawla in the 33rd over of the innings.

Source: PTI
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