India had never won a series in Pakistan in multiple attempts. Hence, when the team landed in 2003, there were a lot of expectations from the team that had done pretty well in the previous World Cup. Srinath had retired (again) and hence replaced by Balaji. Murali Kartik was part of the team that was missing Kumble and Harbhajan. The batting remained almost same except for the addition of VVS Laxman.
In the first ODI, Sehwag and Tendulkar started off in a blistering fashion, scoring at will. By the time Sehwag fell, score was 142 in the 15th over! Dravid continued in the same vein and just missed his century (by a run). Ganguly and Kaif provided him adequate support to post a massive total of 349. If India thought this was a winning total, they had to think twice. Inzamam with an equally aggressive fashion, scored a century that made a mockery of the target. Just when he was on the path to take his team to victory, Kartik dismissed him. Wickets started to tumble and the last recognized batsman Shoaib Malik was dismissed by a superlative catch by Mohd. Kaif. Even though Moin Khan tried to make a match out of it, he was caught of the last ball to win the match for India.
India lost the next two matches at Rawalpindi and Peshawar to trail the hosts 1-2. Another campaign looked to go down the drain. But this team was different. Chasing a large target of 293, Dravid and Kaif took them to victory with 5 overs to win. With the match tied at 2-2, it was VVS Laxman's turn to score a century and take India to competitive total of 293. Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan tried to make a fight out of it but thanks to Irfan Pathan and Balaji's efforts, they were able to win the first over ODI series in Pakistan.
In the first ODI, Sehwag and Tendulkar started off in a blistering fashion, scoring at will. By the time Sehwag fell, score was 142 in the 15th over! Dravid continued in the same vein and just missed his century (by a run). Ganguly and Kaif provided him adequate support to post a massive total of 349. If India thought this was a winning total, they had to think twice. Inzamam with an equally aggressive fashion, scored a century that made a mockery of the target. Just when he was on the path to take his team to victory, Kartik dismissed him. Wickets started to tumble and the last recognized batsman Shoaib Malik was dismissed by a superlative catch by Mohd. Kaif. Even though Moin Khan tried to make a match out of it, he was caught of the last ball to win the match for India.
India lost the next two matches at Rawalpindi and Peshawar to trail the hosts 1-2. Another campaign looked to go down the drain. But this team was different. Chasing a large target of 293, Dravid and Kaif took them to victory with 5 overs to win. With the match tied at 2-2, it was VVS Laxman's turn to score a century and take India to competitive total of 293. Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan tried to make a fight out of it but thanks to Irfan Pathan and Balaji's efforts, they were able to win the first over ODI series in Pakistan.
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