India vs Pakistan 2003/04 (Part Four)

Mar 02, 2022

India vs Pakistan 2003/04 (Part Four) Image

With Pakistan leading the five-match series 2-1, the two sides headed to Lahore for the fourth ODI.

Yet again Pakistan won the toss, choosing to bat this time. Yasir Hameed again played well for his 45, but India enjoyed early success with ball, dismissing both Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf cheaply. Then captain Inzamam-ul-Haq came to the middle. He would go on to make 123 off 121 balls, including 4 sixes and 9 fours. However, he lacked for somebody to play a major supporting role. Hameed got only 45, and only three other men made into double figures.

The Indian bowlers had taken some punishment at the start, but they recovered well to restrict Pakistan to 293/9. Irfan Pathan, L. Balaji, Zaheer Khan, and Murali Kartik all took two wickets each.

Once again India suffered the disappointment of losing Sachin Tendulkar early in their run chase, but Virender Sehwag and V.V.S. Laxman kept the scoreboard moving along, as did Sourav Ganguly with a brief cameo.

However, the heroes of the hour proved to be Rahul Dravid, who put on 68 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammad Kaif. 

When Yuvraj was out for 36, there were fears that the tail could collapse, but Kaif allayed those concerns by making an unbeaten 77-ball 71, including eight fours. His unbeaten stand with Dravid was worth 132. It meant that India won comfortably in the end, with five overs and five wickets still in hand. 

Dravid finished undefeated on 76, scored off 92 balls and featuring eight fours. None of the Pakistan bowlers enjoyed much success, chief among them Shoaib Akhtar, whose seven overs went for the cost of 62 runs.

It meant that the scores were level heading into the final ODI in Lahore.

For the third time in the series, the Player of the Match award went to a man who ended up on the losing side, in this case Inzamam.