Last time around

Who said Indo-Pak series are always closely-fought? Not the last time Pakistan came to India. Inzy & Co. walked away with the trophy 4-2, bouncing back from 0-2 deficit. Take a peek at the 2005 ODI series

Match 1
Sehwag starts with a bang
In temperatures that topped 40° Celsius, Tendulkar and Ganguly couldn’t stand the heat, both, and their early exits left the score on 4-2.

Dravid and Sehwag did the repairs however in a 201-run partnership that left both exhausted but happy with their centuries, and their team happy with 281 runs on the board.

While Ganguly was set to not have much luck all series, Tendulkar made up for his lapse with the bat by taking five wickets when Pakistan came out to bat.

Pakistan ended up all out for 194, and for India, the party began.

India 1 - Pakistan 0
2nd April 2005 (Day game)
India won by 87 runs
India 8/281 (50 ov) V Sehwag 108, RS Dravid 104, Yuvraj Singh 16; Arshad Khan 4/33, Naved-ul-Hasan 2/38, Abdur Razzaq 1/50
Pakistan 194 (45.2 ov) Mohammad Hafeez 42, Inzamam-ul-Haq 37, Salman Butt 26; SR Tendulkar 5/50, Zaheer Khan 2/25,
L Balaji 2/32
Toss: India, Man of the match: V Sehwag (Ind)

Match 2
Mahi’s way
In match two, it became apparent that the crowds could get used to the idea of big scores and Ganguly failures.

The captain fell for nine, but this was only after Dhoni had come in at three instead of him.

The wicketkeeper put even Sehwag’s blistering 74 in the shade with 148 runs off 123 balls, that cemented his place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans.

Even after he left India on 289, the tail smashed their way to 359 in the 50. In the end, a typically disastrous Inzamam run out illustrated that the chase was just a bit too much for the tourists, and India ran out comfortable winners.

India 2 - Pakistan 0
5th April 2005 (Day game)
India won by 58 runs
India 9/356 (50 ov) MS Dhoni 148, V Sehwag 74, RS Dravid 52
Naved 3/54, Arshad Khan 2/43
Pakistan 298 (44.1 ov) Abdur Razzaq 88, Youhana 71, Kamran Akmal 41
Toss: India, Man of the match: MS Dhoni (Ind)

Match 3
Butt for Naved
The tide turns, as Inzamam wins his first toss, and with it his first match.

Salman Butt produced an almost perfect example of the anchor role, opening the innings and finally being dismissed for 101 with the score at 239-4 and still ten overs to bat.

If India had any hope of chasing 314, it swiftly evaporated in the heat, as Sehwag, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dhoni all failed to make it past the 10th over.

Naved-ul-Hasan took six wickets as Pakistan recorded their first win, and played a vital role in his team finally showing what they were made of.

India 2 - Pakistan 1

9th April 2005 (Day game)
Pakistan won by 106 runs
Pakistan 9/319 (50 ov) Salman Butt 101, Shoaib Malik 75, Yousuf Youhana 43
A Nehra 3/57, Yuvraj Singh 1/10, Zaheer Khan 1/48
India 213 (41.4 ov) IK Pathan 64, M Kaif 32, MS Dhoni 28
Naved-ul-Hasan 6/27, Md Sami 2/41, Shoaib Malik 1/42
Toss: Pakistan, Man of the match: Naved-ul-Hasan

Match 4
Pak hit back
After India racked up 315 after the allotted overs had been reduced to 48, Pakistan failed to read the script.

Another poor effort from Ganguly (18 in 33 balls) was rescued by Tendulkar’s 123, and 35 extras did not go amiss either.

Shahid Afridi spoiled the party by scoring 40 runs from 23 balls opening, and the impetus allowed Inzamam to calmly stroke a single off the last ball for victory.

The joke ended here.

India 2 - Pakistan 2

12th April 2005 (Day game); Pakistan won by 3 wickets; India 6/315 (48 ov) SR Tendulkar 123, MS Dhoni 47, Yuvraj Singh 35*; Shoaib Malik 3/67, Md Sami 1/54; Pak 7/319 (48 ov) Shoaib Malik 65, Inzamam-ul-Haq 60*, Salman Butt 48; M Kartik 2/54, SR Tendulkar 1/36, L Balaji 1/51
Toss: India, Man of the match: Inzamam

Match 5
Afridi goes ballistic
India suffer again after batting first, as the Dhoni and Sehwag inspired big scoring truck comes fully off its wheels.

Afridi’s innings in the last match proved to be just a taster, and he served his main course to the Indian attack in Kanpur, scoring the joint fastest ODI century on record.

Naved-ul-Hasan had earlier dealt for the key aggressors in India’s batting, and only a typically rock-like effort from Dravid saw them to 249.

Afridi apparently laughs in the face of such totals, and in 46 balls, his 102 did indeed mean that his team could stroll home, with eight overs to spare.

India 2 - Pakistan 3

15th April 2005 (Day game)
Pakistan won by 5 wickets
India 6/249 (50 ov) RS Dravid 86, M Kaif 78, D Mongia 33*
Naved-ul-Hasan 3/35, Abdur Razzaq 2/51
Pakistan 5/252 (42.1 ov) Shahid Afridi 102, Shoaib Malik 41, Yousuf Youhana 24
A Kumble 2/54, V Sehwag 1/4, SR Tendulkar 1/20
Toss: India, Man of the match: Afridi

Match 6
A famous win for Pak
This time Pakistan made no mistakes batting first.

Everyone had a good day for the tourists, with Afridi blazing, Malik and Youhana accumulating and Inzamam doing the indescribable thing he does when he is playing well, which usually means Pakistan wins. 

Dr. Manmohan Singh and Musharraf sat in the stands top take in what was in the end a dominant performance from Pakistan throughout.

After posting the big score, the bowlers also combined to reduce the Indians to a cringe-inducing 94-7.

17th April 2005 (Day game)
Pakistan won by 159 runs
Pakistan 8/303 (50 ov) Shoaib Malik 72, Inzamam-ul-Haq 68, Yousuf Youhana 50; AB Agarkar 3/58, A Nehra 3/72, Zaheer Khan 1/65; India 144 (37 ov) MS Dhoni 24, V Sehwag 21, Harbhajan Singh 20* Arshad Khan 3/33, Shahid Afridi 2/10, Naved-ul-Hasan 1/28
Toss: Pakistan, Man of the match: Shoaib Malik (Pak) Text: Varun Zaiwalla, Statistics: Mohandas Menon