Tendulkar's 99 lifts India to 242

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Sachin Tendulkar overcame a two-paced pitch, blustery conditions and a threatening pace attack to produce a valuable 99, steering India to a respectable 242 for 8 in the first match of the Future Cup at Belfast. India , missing three main players to illness, were inserted in tricky conditions but a 158-run stand between Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid bolstered their chances, reports cricinfo.com.
Dravid proved the ideal partner, unhurried and confident. Full deliveries on middle and leg were easily clipped to the fine-leg fence and Dravid, angling the bat cannily, kept the scoreboard ticking along. At the 40th over he decided to up the rate, swishing at everything in sight and missing on most occasions. He was dropped by Makhaya Ntini off his own bowling, after he scooped a chance back, but couldn't come down in time on Nel's yorker and fell at a crucial juncture.
At 194 for 3 in the 44th over, India appeared on course for a 250-plus score. Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik injected some hope with a few cracking drives but Kallis picked up a couple of quick wickets and kept the score to within the 250-mark. Nel, who'd lured both Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir into airy drives earlier in the day, was the most effective bowler and India's bowlers will try to emulate a bit of that pit-bull spirit when they take the field and try to defend a reasonable total.
50 overs India 242 for 8 (Tendulkar 99, Dravid 74; Nel 3-47) South Africa: 169 for 5 (at 10:20)