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India clinches one-day series 3-2
India wrapped up the one-day series against Pakistan with a gruelling 40-run win in the final match in Lahore. With this victory, India also registered their first series win over Pakistan in Pakistan. They had lost five series at a trot in Pakistan before winning this one.
VVS Laxman hit a masterful 107 off 104 balls to lead India to 293-7 after they were invited to bat by Pakistan. Irfan Pathan took 3-32 as Pakistan stumbled to 96-6, but Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan struck half-centuries to put their side back in the game.
India’s win was soured by the news that skipper Sourav Ganguly could miss the first Test after injuring his back. Ganguly was said to be in ‘intense pain’ after he fell attempting a stop at mid-off to Inzamam-ul-Haq, who scored 38 in the unsuccessful run chase. But Ganguly’s discomfort will have been soothed by the efforts of his team, who came from 2-1 down to become the first Indian side to win a one-day series in Pakistan.
First ODI (March 13, 2004)
India 349 for 7 (Dravid 99, Sehwag 79) beat Pakistan 344 for 8 (Inzamam 122, Youhana 73).
A series that the entire cricket world had been waiting for with bated breath started off with an absolutely incredible match at the National Stadium in Karachi. In a game in which the result was in the balance until the very last ball, India finally edged through by five runs after amassing 349.
For much of the match, it appeared that Pakistan would pull off an astounding run-chase, as Inzamam-ul-Haq chose this stage to showcase his genius. His innings of 122 — surely one of the greatest ever played in a one-day international — made light of a steep target, and almost handed India their second defeat in three days after scoring more than 300. Even so Pakistan’s 344 was comfortably the highest total made by the side batting second in any one-day international.
Second ODI (March 16)
Pakistan 329 for 6 (Hameed 86, Afridi 80) beat India 317 all out (Tendulkar 141) by 12 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar emulated Inzamam-ul-Haq’s Karachi heroics with a dazzling 141, but it wasn’t enough to inspire India to an improbable victory after they were set 330 to win by Pakistan at Rawalpindi. Shoaib Akhtar, playing his 100th one-day international in front of his home crowd, winkled out India’s lower order as they fell 12 runs short at the finish.
Third ODI (March 19)
Pakistan 247 for 6 (Hameed 98, Razzaq 53) beat India 244 for 9 (Yuvraj 65, Shabbir 3-33) by 4 wickets.
Peshawar produced yet another thrilling contest — and this time, refreshingly, the bowlers set the agenda. First, Pakistan’s bowlers restricted India to 244 for 9, which was about 30 runs more than they might have made but for some late-order heroics. Then India’s bowlers rose to the occasion, reducing Pakistan to 65 for 4. But a classy 98 from Yasir Hameed, and a composed unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 74 between Abdul Razzaq and Moin Khan, took Pakistan home with 16 balls to spare.
Fourth ODI (March 21)
India 294 for 5 (Dravid 76, Kaif 71, Sami 2-51) beat Pakistan 293 for 9 (Inzamam 123, Hameed 45, Zaheer 2-44) by 5 wickets.
Nevertheless batting by Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif took India to a memorable come-from-behind victory that levelled the five-match series at 2-2. India looked gone at 90 for 4, with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly having fallen prey to wicket-taking balls, but Dravid, first with Yuvraj Singh and then with Kaif, forged two stirring partnerships that took his team to victory with five overs to spare.
Fifth ODI (March 24)
India 293 for 7 (Laxman 107, Ganguly 45) beat Pakistan 253 (Moin 72, Malik 65, Pathan 3-32) by 40 runs
In keeping with the rest of the games, the last match of the series produced another enthralling contest, but in the end India pulled off a comfortable 40-run win at Lahore to wrest the series 3-2. In a curious twist, India were put in and scored 293, exactly as many as Pakistan had in the previous match, at the same venue. Then, India had chased down the target with ease; here, Pakistan lost early wickets, and despite a spirited rear-guard effort, fell short. The Indian victory was set up by two players — VVS Laxman, who caressed a glorious 107 off just 104 balls to ensure a competitive total, and Irfan Pathan, who came up with a superb performance of swing bowling to snare three early wickets.
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