KARACHI, 14 March 2004 — India pulled off a heartstopper, plucking a sensational five-run victory over Pakistan in the first One-Day International at the National Stadium here yesterday. After India had racked up a near impregnable 349 for seven, Pakistan ran their rivals close in a match which had more thrills than a Mickey Spillane novel.

Pakistan wrote and rewrote the script with their brand of cautious and cavalier approach that had the capacity crowd of 33,000 on the edge of their seats. India had set the tone for the high drama with a blistering start that rocked the vaunted Pakistan attack, but a smashing cameo by Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq iced a dramatic run feast that marked the resumption of cricketing ties between the two South Asian rivals.

With Pakistan needing nine to win, Ashish Nehra, sending down the final over, bowled spot-on to concede just three runs and give his team a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rival captains Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam were unanimous in declaring cricket the winner yesterday. “It is difficult to remember a better one-dayer,” Ganguly said. “It is good to start the series with a win but it was too close for comfort.

“Frankly, keeping the runs down in the last three overs and the brilliant catch by Mohammad Kaif to remove Shoaib Malik did the trick for us,” Ganguly said.

Asked if he feared a repeat of the Sharjah final in 1986 when Javed Miandad, the current Pakistani coach, hit the winning six off the final delivery from Chetan Sharma, the Indian captain said he did not believe in history. “I don’t believe in history and there was no Miandad at the crease,” he said.

Ganguly praised left-arm seamer Nehra who kept his cool while bowling the last over. “He (Nehra) was asked not to give 10 runs and he did the job despite the pressure of an India-Pakistan match,” he said.

Pakistan’s Inzamam said he was not disappointed at losing the match. “You can’t be disappointed at a game like this,” he said.

“As Saurav said, cricket was the ultimate winner. We fought till the end and the crowd had a lot to cheer the whole day,” he said.

Inzamam defended his decision to ask India to bat first, but conceded his bowlers did not live up to expectaions. “Our bowlers were off the mark and if Shoaib Akhtar had got those early breakthroughs it might have been a different story,” he said, referring to Virender Sehwag’s dropped catch and Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal off a no ball.

Inzamam said he would have termed his innings of 122 as the best if his side had won the match. “We have four matches to go and I am confident we will win,” he said.

Rahul Dravid made 99 and Virender Sehwag hit a quickfire 79 off 57 balls as India, given first strike in perfect batting conditions, recorded their highest One-Day total against Pakistan. But Pakistan responded magnificently and almost set a world record, falling just short of the most successful second innings total in one-day history. No team had scored more to win than Australia’s 330 for 7 against South Africa two years ago.

Inzamam led the way with a superb 122 off 104 balls, Yousuf Youhana made 73, Younis Khan 44 and Abdul Razzaq 27 off just 16 balls. Inzamam put on 135 for the third wicket with Youhana and 109 off 88 deliveries for the fourth with Younis to lift Pakistan to 278-3 in 42 overs.

Spinner Murali Kartik hit back for India with the wickets of Inzamam and Younis, and Muhammad Kaif took a stunning catch in the deep, but Pakistan kept the spirited run chase on till Nehra stopped them in the final over. Inzamam was named man of the match.

Millions of television viewers could hardly have expected the drama to follow after India ran up a seemingly impregnable target. Dravid, who was bowled by the fiery Shoaib Akhtar one run short of his ninth limited-overs century, helped India surpass their previous best against Pakistan of 316 for 7 at Dhaka in 1998.

Sehwag greeted Inzamam’s decision to field first by giving his team a flying start. The free-stroking Delhi batsman, who smashed 14 boundaries and a six, put on 69 for the first wicket with Sachin Tendulkar and 73 for the second with skipper Ganguly.

Dravid and Kaif (46) built on Sehwag’s blitzkreig by adding 118 for the fifth wicket to lift India past the 300-mark. The match began dramatically when Akhtar conceded 10 runs in the opening over, including two wides and as many no-balls. Akhtar was not the only player affected by nerves. Off the last ball of the over, Shoaib Malik spilled a simple catch in the covers off Sehwag.

In his second over, Akhtar forced Tendulkar to give a catch at square-leg — only to see Australian umpire Simon Taufel declare a no-ball. Tendulkar rubbed salt in the bowler’s wounds by top-edging the last ball of that over to fine-leg for six, but he fell to Akhtar soon after for 28 when he edged a catch to gully. Pakistan added to their woes by sending down 20 no-balls and 10 wides, giving India five extra overs to bat.

Cricket fans spilled over into India’s streets and danced to drumbeats yesterday to celebrate their team’s win. Roads which had been deserted throughout the day as people were glued to their television sets came alive in spontaneous rejoicing as soon as the last ball was bowled in Karachi.

Firecracker bursts mingled with shouts of “Long live India” and “Hip Hip Hurray” as traffic had to stop on many Indian city roads to give way to the joyful crowds.

“It was a tight game and luckily we scraped through to a victory. We cannot forget the memory of (Pakistani batsman) Javed Miandad’s last ball six win in 1986 in Sharjah over India,” said Dilip Goyal, a cricket fan in New Delhi.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee congratulated Indian cricket captain Gnaguly and his team by phone after their thrilling victory.

“The prime minister called on my mobile and asked to speak to Saurav,” said Indian team manager Ratnakar Shetty. “He told Saurav that the entire country was proud of the team and hoped it would continue the good work for the rest of the tour.”

Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani also congratulated the team. “I congratulate the Indian team for its victory in a match which till the last moment could have gone either way,” he said.

Large television screens were set up in restaurants and there was a carnival atmosphere because of the match, the Indian team’s first full Test tour of Pakistan since 1989. People rushed out of the pubs and restaurants, yelling in joy as the thrilling match ended in victory for India. (Additional input from Agencies)