Shoaib Akhtar spoke about Pakistan’s plans for India’s tour in 2004.© AFP
The Indian cricket group’s 2004 tour of Pakistan used to be a memorable one. Team India gained the 5-match ODI sequence 3-2 whereas they beat the hosts 2-1 in the three-match Test sequence. After that, India toured Pakistan absolute best once in 2005-06. The excellent time the 2 teams performed a bilateral sequence used to be relieve in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India. Shoaib Akhtar has been phase of many such bilateral sequence and in an interview published Pakistan’s plans towards India for the 2004 tour.
“We wanted to make pacy wickets for Indian batters. Dry nonetheless pacy, where scores admire 350 would not be made. Our thought used to be to dominate the first match, then the second and carry out a pacy one for the third match. ‘Psychologically marte hain inko’. But then you without a doubt caught a supreme salvage and turned the match,” Akhtar urged Mohammad Kaif in a video chat portray on Sportskeeda cricket.
The salvage that Akhtar used to be referring to used to be of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the first ODI.
India had placed on 349 runs in the first innings. Rahul Dravid fell fast of his hundred by one bustle in the match. Kaif made a precious contribution of 46 runs in the center-expose.
Through the plug, Inzamam-ul-Haq’s century saved Pakistan in the hunt. They wanted apt 10 runs off the excellent eight balls when Shoaib Malik skied one in direction of lengthy on off Zaheer Khan and Kaif ran from lengthy off at paunchy bustle, stretched paunchy length and grasped the ball with each hands — practically hitting teammate Hemang Badani in the strategy — to present India hope.
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That proved to be the sport-changer as Pakistan crumbled beneath stress, unable to rating the compulsory 9 runs off the final over.
“We got deal of admire and respect in Pakistan one day of our tour. No longer absolute best me, Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly every person will utter the the same about that tour. We needed to pick out out permission to exit browsing. But when I went browsing, no person used to be ready to pick out out money. All and sundry frail to utter – you private reach from India to play cricket, you have to presumably be our company,” Kaif talked about.
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