Tendulkar powers India to 321

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Sachin Tendulkar missed his hundred by a run for the third time in the last five months, but his electrifying 91-ball 99 set the platform for India to score 321 for 9 in the second ODI in Mohali. With Gautam Gambhir (57) Tendulkar added 173 in just 25 overs for the second wicket, but Pakistan fought back with quick wickets thereafter. Shoaib Akhtar, bowled seven wides, but also struck a couple of crucial blows, removing Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan. India were in danger of falling short of 300, but Harbhajan Singh blitsed 38 off 20 balls to lift India to 321, according to website cricinfo.
Sachin Tendulkar, combining with Gautam Gambhir, guided India to 172 for 1 at the half-way stage after they lost Sourav Ganguly early on winning the toss and choosing to bat. Tendulkar stood firm against a powerful display of fast bowling from Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul. Both got ample bounce off the pitch and bowled with pace and he opted to start off in a watchful manner. Anything wide and full, however, was deposited to the cover boundary.
Akhtar occasionally beat him with pace but Tendulkar was particularly harsh on Gul, hitting him for fifteen runs in his fifth over as he glanced fine, edged past Younis Khan at first slip and then creamed a good-length delivery through extra cover off consecutive deliveries. A double bowling change - Sohail Tanvir and Iftikhar Anjum replacing the opening bowlers - failed to slow the scoring rate as the batsmen shifted gears with Tendulkar guiding the erratic Tanvir down to fine leg on various occasions.
While Tendulkar hogged the limelight, and brought up the 100-partnership with a flick to midwicket, Gambhir mixed aggression with defence. Playing cautiously against deliveries outside the off stump - the only blemish being an outside edge off Anjum that Kamran Akmal failed to hold on to - he was particularly severe on Tanvir and, later on, the spinners. Gambhir welcomed Shoaib Malik with a boundary, piercing a packed off-side field, by lofted him over mid-off.
SCOREBOARD
India innings:
Ganguly b S Akhtar 6
Tendulkar c Akmal b Gul 99
Gambhir c Afridi b Gul 57
Sehwag b S Afridi 25
Yuvraj c Gul b Tanvir 34
Dhoni c Akmal b S Akhtar 4
Uthappa lbw b Tanvir 0
Pathan c M Yousuf b S Akhtar 7
Harbhajan not out 38
Z Khan run out 9
RP Singh not out 1
Extras: (lb 7, w 31, nb 3) 41
Total: (9 wickets; 50 overs) 321
Last score: Pakisan 182 for 4 wkts at 9:45pm