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

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!