NEW DELHI, April 1: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday led the nation in hailing the cricket team on their maiden Test triumph in Pakistan.

India beat Pakistan by an innings and 52 runs at Multan to complete their historic victory for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. They had already clinched the one-day series 3-2.

Vajpayee had sent a congratulatory message to the winning team, his office said. On previous tours of Pakistan, India had lost five Tests and drawn the remaining 15 in what is regarded as the ultimate rivalry in world cricket.

Sports Minister Vikram Verma lauded stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid for leading the team to a memorable victory. "I congratulate Rahul Dravid, who led the Indian team, and all players for their fabulous show and all-round performance," he said in a message.

Dravid led the side in the absence of injured Saurav Ganguly. Indian cricket board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said he was confident the team would now win the three-Test series as they were playing like champions.

"It is a historic win. The boys displayed a superb temperament to win the first Test in Pakistan," he said, adding he had urged them to maintain their performance and return with a series win.

"In a span of 10 days, the team has created history twice in Pakistan," a delighted chief selector Syed Kirmani said. "This should be one of the best victories India has ever scored. An innings win is the most ideal India can have over Pakistan."

Former India batsman Chandu Borde said the "perfect combination" of youth and experience was the key to the team's success. "The way our boys played the game was marvellous," he said.

"Our team was inflicted with injuries, but still the manner in which our boys batted, bowled and fielded was very laudable." Meanwhile, celebrations began in the Indian city of Baroda when local boy Irfan Pathan dismissed the last Pakistani batsman to complete the victory.

Irfan's father said they offered special prayers in the morning after his son had called up Wednesday night. "We are very happy that India won and more so because our son played an important role by taking six wickets," he said.

Indian TV channels broke into regular programmes to announce the victory, showing fans hailing opening batsman Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. -Agencies