MULTAN, Feb 16: Left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh snared four wickets on Thursday and helped India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the fourth One-day International to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Singh took four for 40 as Pakistan were bundled out for 161 in 41.5 overs after Indian captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to field.
Dravid (59 off 72 balls) and Yuvraj Singh (37) later combined in an 85-run third wicket partnership off 106 balls to accomplish the victory in 32.3 overs for the loss of five wickets after star batsman Sachin Tendulkar fell without scoring and Gautam Gambhir departed for 21.
“I am very proud of the way we have played in the one-day series after losing the test series,” Dravid said.
“It’s not easy to play against Pakistan in Pakistan but the boys have played some great cricket over the last 10 days since we lost the close first match at Peshawar.
“We will surely gain a lot from the series like this,” he added.
Recalled Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami (3-42), who got the two early breakthroughs, also trapped Dravid leg before wicket off a full toss in the 28th over but by that time India needed just 29 more runs for victory.
Suresh Raina pulled part-time leg-spinner Imran Farhat for a boundary to clinch victory and stayed unbeaten on 35 off 34 balls while Mahendra Dhoni was not out on 2 as India achieved the target with more than 17 overs to spare.
Earlier, Singh’s effort was well supplemented by some breathtaking Indian catching at Multan Cricket Stadium — the home town of Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq, who top scored with 49 off 63 balls.
“We couldn’t put enough runs on the board and of course it’s disappointing to lose such a big series at home,” Inzamam said.
“India deserved to win because they outclassed us in all the three departments of the game and we couldn’t click as a team when it mattered.
“The boys are trying very hard but I think that luck is not favouring us at the moment,” he added.
The 20-year-old Singh’s figures could have been more impressive had he not bowled 10 wide balls.
Singh removed Shoaib Malik (9) and Younis Khan off successive deliveries in his first over and then in his return spell dismissed super sub Farhat (14) and Abdul Razzaq in the space of five deliveries.
India had Pakistan on the ropes by the 13th over when Dravid and Irfan Pathan plucked brilliant diving catches inches off the ground to dismiss Salman Butt and dangerman Malik, who had scored heavily in the previous three games with the scores of 90, 95 and 108.
Singh’s burst then reduced the home team to 29-4 before Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam tried to consolidate the innings with a 68-run stand off 77 balls.
Ajit Agarkar ended the partnership when he had Yousuf caught behind by Dhoni and Tendulkar got the prized wicket of Inzamam by trapping him leg before wicket off his gentle off-spin bowling.
Pathan ended Pakistan’s innings with the last two wickets of Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Asif to finish with three for 26 that left a capacity crowd of around 35,000 home team supporters disappointed.
India, which lost the Test series 1-0, successfully chased big totals in the previous two matches after recording seven-wicket and five-wicket victories at Rawalpindi and Lahore while Pakistan won the high-scoring first match at Peshawar by seven runs on Duckworth/Lewis Method under fading light.
The fifth and last game of the series will be played in Karachi on Sunday.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN:
Kamran Akmal c Raina b Pathan 3
Salman Butt c Dravid b Sreesanth 13
Shoaib Malik c Pathan b R.P. Singh 9
Inzamamul Haq lbw b Tendulkar 49
Younis Khan lbw b R.P. Singh 0
Mohammad Yousuf c Dhoni b Agarkar 25
Imran Farhat c Raina b R.P. Singh 14
Abdul Razzaq c Dhoni b R.P. Singh 1
Rana Navedul Hasan not out 13
Mohammad Sami c Agarkar b Pathan 11
Mohammad Asif c Dhoni b Pathan 6
EXTRAS (W-17) 17
TOTAL (all out, 41.5 overs) 161
FALL OF WKTS: 1-15, 2-27, 3-29, 4-29, 5-97, 6-124, 7-126, 8-131, 9-147.
BOWLING: Irfan Pathan 7.5-2-26-3 (1w); Sreesanth 8-1-30-1 (4w); R.P. Singh 10-0-40-4 (10w); Agarkar 7-0-38-1 (1w); Tendulkar
9-0-27-1 (1w).
INDIA:
G. Gambhir c and b Sami 21
S.R. Tendulkar c Kamran b Sami 0
R. Dravid lbw b Sami 59
Yuvraj Singh c Kamran b Naved 37
Mohammad Kaif c Inzamam b Razzaq 0
S.K. Raina not out 35
M.S. Dhoni not out 2
EXTRAS (LB-1, W-4, NB-3) 8
TOTAL (for five wkts, 32.3 overs) 162
FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-29, 3-114, 4-115,
5-133.
DID NOT BAT: Irfan Pathan, A.B. Agarkar, R.P. Singh, S. Sreesanth.
BOWLING: Mohammad Asif 8-1-35-0 (2w); Mohammad Sami 9-0-42-3 (1nb, 1w); Rana Navedul Hasan 6-1-33-1 (1nb); Abdul Razzaq 9-0-47-1 (1w); Imran Farhat
0.3-0-4–0.
RESULT: India won by five wickets.
UMPIRES: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and S.A. Bucknor (West Indies).
TV UMPIRE: Zameer Haider (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: R.P. Singh.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Pakistan –- Imran Farhat for Yasir Arafat; India –- Zaheer Khan.
FINAL MATCH: Karachi on Sunday.
—Agencies
