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KARACHI, Feb 1: Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Asif shared seven wickets on Wednesday and were responsible for India’s second heaviest ever defeat, on the fourth day of the third and decisive Test.
Pakistan’s 341-run victory, clinching the seris 1-0, fell just one short of India’s previous biggest ever defeat when Australia won a Test in Nagpur by 342 runs in 2004-05 season.
India was dismissed for 265 in 58.4 overs after Pakistan set an almost impossible target of 607 runs. Pakistan had got a slender seven-run first innings lead when it scored 245 and then restricted India to 238.
“It was a tremendous victory especially after we were six down for 39 in the first innings,” said Pakistan captain Younis Khan, who led the side in absence of injured Inzamamul Haq.
The victory was Pakistan’s best ever win in test matches, bettering the 301-run win against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1994.
“We were outclassed,” said Indian skipper Rahul Dravid.
Apart from Pakistan’s overwhelming victory, the Test once for all should eliminate the stigma of Karachi being unsafe for international events.
Karachiites who turned in large numbers for the four days showed exemplary conduct and won praise from Dravid who not only described the National Stadium as a great venue but said that he and his team-mates enjoyed their stay in the city.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz congratulated the team and said it was the result of team effort.
“The victory speaks volumes for the fighting qualities and team spirit,” they said in their messages of felicitation.
The president and the prime minister wished the team more successes in coming years.
