BOMBAY, 14 April 2006 — Pakistan came agonizingly close to creating history here at the Braborne stadium when they almost made hosts India bite the dust before succumbing 2-3 in what was an electric finale of the Davis Cup Group-I tie here on Sunday.
Indian captain Leander Paes showed why he is worshipped in his country when he made a stunning comeback in the final set against Aqeel Khan after having lost the fourth 0-6.
With the tie levelled at 2-2 thanks to Pakistan’s top string Aisamul Haq Qureshi’s 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over his Indian counterpart Prakash earlier in the day, Aqeel had to beat the seasoned Paes to give Pakistan their first ever Davis Cup win over India.
And the under-rated Karachi player almost achieved the task that many thought he was incapable of. Aqeel came back from two sets down to beat Paes 6-3, and 6-0 in the third and fourth sets only to see the legendary Indian stage a dramtic comeback.
Paes, who recovered from cramps, whisked through the final set 6-1 to seal a memorable triumph for India. It took him three hours and 48 minutes to overcome a spirited Aqeel 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 0-6, 6-1.
“It is a very happy win for us,” a beaming Paes later told the media. “There were some tense moments but in the end we managed to pull through.”
Leander, who did not play singles in India’s previous two ties, opted to field himself against Aqeel in the decider rather than going for his team’s singles specialist Rohan Bopanna. The idea was that Leander being more experienced had a better chance to beat the Pakistani second string.
It seemed to click when Paes broke Aqeel in the tenth game to take the opening set 6-4. But Aqeel, playing perhaps the biggest match of his life, raised his game, breaking Paes in the seventh game with a couple of winners. But Paes responded wth a break in the very next game which he sealed with a perfectly placed lob. The set went into a tie-breaker with Paes taking a 4-0 lead thanks to a couple of unforced errors from his opponent.
