The series was finely poised with each side having won two games going into the fifth and final ODI in Lahore.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl, but India got off to a brisk start until Virender Sehwag was dismissed for 20. V.V.S. Laxman then came to the crease and added 45 before Sachin Tendulkar was out for 37, an innings containing seven fours.
It was left to Laxman and his captain Sourav Ganguly to provide the platform, which they did with a stand of 92 for the third wicket. Ganguly made 45, and was the next to go. When Rahul Dravid was out cheaply after that, it looked like the innings might falter.
However, Yuvraj Singh and Laxman put on 42 for the fifth wicket. After Yuvraj departed for 18, Laxman continued with Mohammad Kaif. Laxman finally fell for 107 in 104 balls, including 11 fours. India scored 40 off the last four overs. Kaif made 16 of these, while Irfan Pathan and L. Balaji shared an unbeaten stand of 17. India made 293/7.
The batters had largely been on top during the ODI series, but India turned that on its head when it was Pakistan’s turn to bat. Pakistan were 25/3 and then 96/6 before Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan led a partial recovery with a stand of 99 for the seventh wicket.
Their partnership ended when Malik fell for 65, having struck a six and three fours. Although Moin added 53 more with Mohammad Sami, they were well behind the required asking rate by then.
The end came quickly, with the last three wickets falling for just five runs. Moin was the last out, for 72, featuring a six and five fours. India won by 40 runs to clinch the series, Irfan taking 3-32 and Balaji with 3-62.
Laxman was Player of the Match, but the series award went to Inzamam.