Rahul Dravid fell one run short of a deserved century Saturday as India held on to defend its best ever total of 349 for seven against Pakistan and win the opening one-day international of the first full tour of its rival neighbor 14 years.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq hit a majestic century, but could not stop India claiming a narrow five-run victory in a nerve-wracking match in front of some 33 000 home team supporters at Karachi’s National Stadium.
”It could have been my best innings in one-day internationals had we won the match,” said Inzamam, after scoring his ninth century in limited overs cricket.
Inzamam led Pakistan from the front after India smashed 122 off 104 balls with a dozen boundaries and two sixes.
However, his dismissal in the 43rd over allowed India to sneak through and stop Pakistan at 344 for eight off its 50 overs.
Inzamam, named Man of the Match, was involved in two productive partnerships after India dealt two early blows and reduced the home team to 34 for two in eight overs.
He added 135 runs off 120 balls with Yousuf Youhana (73) and then put on a further 109 with recalled Younis Khan (46) off 88 deliveries. Left-arm spinner Murli Kartik brought India back into the game with the wickets of Inzamam and Khan, while dangerman Abdul Razzaq (27) was bowled by Zaheer Khan.
Mohammad Kaif took an amazing diving catch to end Shoaib Malik’s brief knock of seven when Pakistan required nine runs off the last over.
Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra allowed Moin Khan and Rana
Naveed-ul-Hasan to score just three runs off the first five deliveries before the former hit the last ball — a full toss — straight into the hands of Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
”It’s a good way to start with a win but it’s still an open series,” said Ganguly. ”I just told Nehra ‘please don’t give 10 runs’ (in the last over) and he exactly did that.”
”People were so excited and there was so much noise (around the stadium) that I couldn’t hear my team-mates,” he added.
Earlier, Dravid hit 99 off 104 balls while Virender Sehwag made a blistering 79 against wayward Pakistan bowling.
Dravid added a run-a-ball 118 with Kaif (46) before speedster Shoaib Akhtar dismissed him in the 48th with an inside edge.
India’s previous best total against Pakistan in a limited overs international was 316 for seven at Dhaka in 1998.
Pakistan has never successfully chased a target of more than 300 runs in a one-day international. Sehwag (79) and Sachin Tendulkar (28) combined for 69 runs off
60 balls, thanks largely to erratic bowling and some sloppy fielding by Pakistan.
Akhtar had Tendulkar caught in his third over, only to have the delivery called a no ball. Akhtar finally brought the capacity crowd to its feet when Tendulkar was neatly caught by Naveed-ul-Hasan at point in the
ninth over of the innings.
However, it was a brief joy for Pakistan as Sehwag took charge. Indian captain Ganguly opened his scoring with a six off Hasan. Sehwag scored four boundaries off Hasan’s first over — three off successive no-balls — as the right-arm medium pace bowler conceded 24 runs in his first over.
Hasan soon got his revenge and Sehwag was bowled off a slower delivery but not before the Indian opener had hit 14 fours and a six in his entertaining 79-run knock off 57 balls.
India raised its 200 in the 25th over and Ganguly hit Hasan for a straight six before he got a leading edge and skied a simple return catch to Hasan.
Hasan, who bowled an unchanged spell of 10 overs for 73 runs, got his third dismissal as Yasir Hameed took a low diving catch off Yuvraj’s uppish drive at mid off before Dravid and Kaif shared a century stand.
All-rounder Razzaq was the most expensive bowler and conceded 83 runs off nine overs without taking a wicket.
Akhtar and Sami ended up with two wickets each but Pakistan bowlers conceded 38 extra runs which included 20 no balls and 10 wides which might prove costly for them.
India got a setback before the start of the game when star middle-order batsman V. V. S. Laxman had to sit out due to stiff knee. His place was taken by Hemang Badani. Paceman Irfan Pathan, who played in the warm-up game last Thursday but conceded 49 runs off his five overs, was replaced by Nehra.
Pakistan seamer Shabbir Ahmad also couldn’t recover from the finger injury and made way for Hasan, who has played just two one-day internationals in Sharjah in 2002. – Sapa-AP