Nostalgia, Friendship and Cricket: Recalling India's Tour of Pakistan, 2004

Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sourav Ganguly’s leadership skills were tested throughout the series

Traditionally, whenever subcontinent powerhouses and arch-rivals India and Pakistan have squared off on the cricket field, the excitement generated among fans and spectators alike is enough energy to light up a few thousand villages back home in the two countries. As former wicket-keeper & captain Rashid Latif once pointed out, both sides give 120-150% of their effort into this contest, way more than when they play other teams.

For people of both nations, it is much more than on-field rivalry. It’s also about one-upmanship, setting the record straight, and a host of other factors that come into play when blue and green collide. In 2004, however, most of that was replaced by a spirit of friendship and camaraderie long missing in the political relations between both countries.

The game was played hard but in a fair manner. Neither side was willing to give an inch, nor was it smooth sailing for either. It was only through the superlative efforts of the young lineup that the Indian tricolour triumphed over their neighbours.

Eleven years since Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq led their respective troops out in Lahore to begin what turned out to be one of the greatest series of all-time, we look back on some of the magical moments that remain a cricket connoisseur’s delight.

The promotions, emotional build-ups, inspirational messages and financial windfalls

Indian PM Vajpayee’s message for the Indian team – “Don’t Just Win Matches, But Also Win Their Hearts”

Pepsi, the title sponsors for the ODI leg of the series (aptly titled Friendship Series), went about promoting and building up viewership with a set of innovative adverts featuring members of the Indian squad. While the focus was always going to remain on the contest between bat and ball, catchy commercials with the 2003 World Cup finalists still warm the hearts of those die-hard devotees of the gentleman’s game. I still laugh at the sight of some of them!

Another aspect of the tour was that before the Indian squad jetted off to Lahore, then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had an inspirational message for Ganguly & co. It was simple – “ Sirf match hi nahi, dil bhi jeet kar aana (Don’t Just Win Matches, But Also Win Their Hearts).”

While he may have chosen to mean this as a motivational effort of sorts, it also underlined the cricket diplomacy between the two warring nations. India was still looking for a peaceful settlement with Pakistan, and the other nation was, on the face of it, responding in kind. Good omens, if only for a brief while, as it turned out.

The series also provided the Pakistan Cricket Board with an opportunity to get back on its feet financially. The backdrop of terror, skirmishes across the Afghan border, and general smaller acts of violence, had threatened to send the embattled cricket establishment in the country to bankruptcy. Nevertheless, the stage was set for a remarkable showdown and plenty of financial recovery.

A keenly fought ODI series

India edged out Pakistan 3-2 in the closely fought ODI series

Scores in excess of 300 are more the norm than the exception these days. But the first ODI at the National Stadium in Karachi witnessed the foundation of the oft-repeated adage – No score is safe in limited-overs these days. India came perilously close to losing a game they should have finished easily, while the hosts came tantalizingly close to victory, only to be thwarted at the finish line.

India found their heroes in Rahul Dravid, who fell agonizingly short of a century, and Virender Sehwag, whose typical fearless approach got himself a half century in no time. It took an Inzamam-ul-Haq special to bring Pakistan back into the contest, along with sizeable contributions from Mohammad Yousuf (then Yousuf Youhana) & Younis Khan.

However, what stands out in everyone’s memory is the fantastic catch pulled off by Mohammad Kaif, nearly colliding with a sliding Hemang Badani, to send back Shoaib Malik. And Ashish Nehra avoided the fate that had befallen Chetan Sharma against the same opposition in 1986, as he successfully denied Moin Khan a match-winning six (despite coach Javed Miandad’s frantic gestures from the pavilion), securing a five-run win and a 1-0 series lead.

Pakistan pulled things back in the next two games, despite a hurricane hundred from the peerless Sachin Tendulkar in the second match, and had Yasir Hameed’s brilliant half centuries to thank on both occasions. The Pakistan skipper’s leadership abilities were praised by one and all, and he should be rightly credited with turning things around after a heartbreaking loss in the opener. The shoe was now on the other foot, and the Indians had their backs to the wall, with two more matches to go in the series.

It took a calculated innings from the Wall (Dravid) & his partner in crime Kaif to bring the series into the decider, overcoming yet another three-figure masterpiece from Inzamam. Irfan Pathan & Lakshmipathy Balaji were cheered from the stands as they put on a brilliant bowling display right throughout the series, with the latter even having the lyrics of a Bollywood number reworded to his name, via his exploits.

The final match witnessed Eden Gardens hero VVS Laxman record a classic century, Inzamam falling to a splendid catch by Tendulkar inches inside the boundary line, and Balaji castling Moin after the latter had threatened to run away with the game. A keenly fought tournament that went right down to the wire!

The Sultan of Multan, an Untimely Declaration, and the sweet taste of victory

Sehwag’s 309 set up India's win at Multan

In the subcontinent, Test cricket doesn’t pull in as much a crowd as the limited-overs version. It was clearly evident from the reduction in the viewership at the Multan Cricket Stadium. However, the cricketing prowess displayed by the Indians was of a very high standard, and in the end, Pakistan faltered to go 0-1 down.

The chief architect of this victory was the Delhi dasher and bane of many a bowling attack around the world – Virender Sehwag. He was just in his zone from the word go, and forged a useful alliance with the maestro Tendulkar as they went about destroying the hapless host bowling in their own different ways. It’s not every day that you see an Indian record a double century in Test matches, but what the opener did in that match was go beyond that figure to write himself into record books as the first Indian to score a Test triple hundred.

His 309 formed the backdrop of India’s mammoth 675/5 declared, with useful contributions from Yuvraj Singh, Aakash Chopra & VVS Laxman. Yet Indian fans fondly speak of the Sultan of Multan because of his sheer dominance of the Pakistani bowlers, despite occasionally losing concentration and trying to smash every ball out of the park.

There was also a bit of a controversy towards the end of the Indian innings, with stand-in skipper Dravid declaring when Sachin was six short of yet another double hundred in Test cricket. As the former captain put it in his autobiography, he was livid at the decision, contending that he’d just lost a chance to reach a coveted landmark despite the ample amount of time left in the day’s play. While the matter was discussed internally and then put to rest, it might just have left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths.

Pathan & Balaji, however, made short work of the rival lineup, despite Inzamam & Hameed’s superb performances. India were not to be denied, though, and having enforced the follow-on, it took another web of mystique from veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble to finish off the game in grand style, and take the lead in the three-match series.

Clinical, I suppose, is the best way to sum up the visitors’ approach in this match.

Crashing back on earth and learning from defeat

Yuvraj’s maiden Test century vent in vain as Pakistan equalled the series 1-1

The Gaddafi Stadium proved to be lucky for the home side, as everything fell into place for them in the second Test. With young pacer Umar Gul firing on all cylinders, the Indian batsmen found themselves in all sorts of trouble.

Fellow speedsters Shoaib Akhtar & Mohammad Sami gave Gul ample support, with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria also joining the party by bagging a couple of prized wickets. Only a resolute Yuvraj stood in the way, compiling a magnificent maiden Test century, and Irfan Pathan falling short of a first Test fifty.

In response, Pakistan mounted a mighty batting effort, with almost everyone contributing with the willow. Imran Farhat scored a century opening the innings, but it was once again the portly Pakistan skipper who held the innings together with another splendid knock. Valuable contributions also came from Yousuf & Asim Kamal, but Inzamam towered over the rest of his teammates with his complete mastery of the bowling, despite the duo of Pathan & Balaji sharing six wickets between them.

Faced with a huge deficit, India collapsed against Akhtar’s searing pace and Kaneria’s bag of tricks. Young wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel scored a defiant half century, handling both pace and spin adeptly, and an uncharacteristically sedate knock from Sehwag summed up the dilemma the side was caught in. Eventually, they were shut out for 241, and Pakistan knocked off the required 40 runs without a sweat, squaring the series and again sending both teams into another fight to the finish.

Quite a few players did get hot under the collar, but Dravid acknowledged that Pakistan simply played better cricket. Regular skipper Ganguly, out with a back injury sustained during the final ODI, was sorely missed, at least in terms of strategy and aggression. It was time to reflect upon the flaws and work on them if India were to achieve a long-cherished dream of winning a Test series in a different nation.

Scripting history after playing hot potato

Dravid’s knock of 270 helped India win the Third Test

Nothing comes easy for the Indians. They still ended up making a mess of the final game, before turning in an inspired performance to finish the tour on a resounding high note. Ganguly, back in the side as skipper, put the hosts into bat upon winning the toss. Large scale changes were made to both sides, with Fazl-e-Akbar coming in for Umar Gul for Pakistan, and Ashish Nehra returning to the Indian side in place of a listless Ajit Agarkar.

Yet again, it was Balaji, the Chennai seamer, who decimated the rival lineup with his swing and accuracy. With Nehra and Pathan proving reliable backup, the ever-smiling Balaji kept pricing out the batsmen and even enthralling the home crowd despite their obvious disappointment. Soon, they were tottering at 137/8 and India were well and truly on top.

You never know what to expect when the Indian side is on top in a Test match. The bowlers, it seemed, began to relax a little. Mohammad Sami took advantage of that and calmly struck a composed 49, with Akbar doing his bit of blade swinging and connecting well for his 25 runs.

They finally ended on 224, and with the pitch doing a lot to assist pace, seam and bounce, India were in for a rough ride. Those fears doubled when Akhtar, bowling on his home ground, took out triple centurion Sehwag first ball, resulting in Dravid finding himself in the middle a little too early for his liking.

He did what he normally does – he stayed put and began rebuilding the innings brick by brick. With makeshift opener Parthiv Patel (a move that surprised many) for company, the Bangalorean added 129 for the second wicket, weathered the loss of his partner & Tendulkar in succession, before forging key stands with Laxman and then Ganguly.

Pakistan just couldn’t get him out for a very long period of time, until part-timer Farhat dismissed him after he’d piled up 270 – an innings characterized by solid concentration, impeccable timing and immaculate defence. India were all out for 600, a huge lead, and Dravid, like so many times in his distinguished career, had bailed them out of trouble yet again, confirming his standing as a quintessential team man.

And Pakistan crumbled. Wilted would have been more appropriate, but there was one man who tried his best to salvage something – Asim Kamal, whose second-innings half-century enabled his side to at least post a respectable total. Helped by the Indian fielders who dropped as many as six catches in a twisted version of Hot Potato, the southpaw managed to keep his team’s spirits up for a brief while.

Balaji, much like Simon Jones of England a year later, did most of the damage, and old warhorse Kumble took four wickets, polishing off both the tail and removing Yousuf who scripted a well-made 48. Akhtar, who had fallen on his follow-through in India’s first innings, bashed a couple of sixes and four boundaries in a little cameo, but the rivals were just too good, and the game ended with a day and a half to spare; India won by an innings and 131 runs, taking the series 2-1, and fulfilling Vajpayee’s expectations.

India celebrate after clinching the Test series 2-1

Summary

In all those 38 days, India truly looked the better side. Pakistan had their moments too, with their captain leading from the front and rejuvenating a side that had looked dispirited and forlorn in the run up to the series. They exacted vengeance a year later on Indian soil, yet 2004 completely belonged to Ganguly and his boys.

Coach John Wright must have been a proud man that time. His bunch of young men shrugged off the disappointment of finishing second best at the World Cup final to secure victory in a country they hadn’t won in a long time. It was a coming of age for Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji, both of whom would represent India for quite some more time.

Triumph over adversity, against arch rivals, in their own backyard, is something to be savoured. Hopefully, Virat Kohli & Co. can take some lessons from this band of cricketers who played their hearts out.