NEW DELHI, 22 March 2004 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the fourth one-dayer at Lahore to draw level 2-2 in the five match series. “You have not only won the match, you have also won the hearts of the people,” Vajpayee said on the telephone to Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also congratulated the Indian team on its victory. Gandhi, in a message to the team, hoped the victory would inspire it to achieve greater heights in the fifth one-dayer at Lahore on Wednesday and in the three Test series that follows.
Younis 23rd Pakistani to Play 100 One-Dayers
• In Lahore, middle-order batsman Younis Khan became the 23rd Pakistani to play 100 One-Day Internationals when he took the field for the fourth match against India at the Gaddafi Stadium. Younis, who made his international debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi on Feb. 13, 2000, took four years and 37 days to reach the landmark, according to statistician S. Pervez Qaiser. The batsman, who scored 36 off 48 balls in Pakistan’s total of 293 for nine wickets yesterday, has now played 20 matches at home and 80 outside. The 26-year-old has played 19 one-dayers against Sri Lanka, 18 against South Africa, 10 each against Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, eight against Bangladesh, seven each against England and West Indies, two against Kenya and one each against minnows Holland and Namibia.
Indian Pacers Lack Aggression: Aaqib Javed
• Former Pakistan pacer Aquib Javed yesterday said Indian pace bowlers lacked aggression and that was why they were unsuccessful in the international arena. “The main thing that the Indian bowlers lack is aggression — they are not very aggressive,” said Aquib, who recently coached the Pakistan team to the Under-19 World Cup title in Bangladesh. Aquib, who bagged 54 wickets in Tests and 182 in one-dayers, said that to be a successful pace bowler, a cricketer had to have a role model. “A pace bowler needs an idol, and the Indians had no role model except Kapil Dev,” he said.
VIPs Galore at Cricket Clash
• Several VIPs from India and Pakistan witnessed the fourth One-Day International that has already drawn many thousands from across the border. Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra were among those seen at the Gaddafi Stadium for the day-night encounter. Joining them were Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri and Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, as also retired judge Naseem Hasan Shah, who headed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka jointly staged the World Cup in 1996. Officials of the PCB greeted Prasad and Mishra when they arrived well before the start of the match. From the corporate world, Pawan Munjal of the Hero Honda group is here for what has been dubbed the “friendship series.” PCB sources said several Indian film personalities had been invited, but it was not clear how many were planning to make it to Lahore for the final One-Day clash. The names in circulation are Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Dev Anand, who studied here.
