Kochi, April 2, 2005
India Pakistan Cricket Series 2005 - 1st One Day International Result: India 281-8 bt Pakistan 194 by 87 runs
START:
Players arrive in Kochi, Holiday declared
March 31, 2005
The 80,000 capacity Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi is bustling with action, all set to raise the curtain on the first of the six- match One Day International Series for the Pepsi Cup between a subdued India and a confident Pakistan on April 2.
''The wicket will be a purely batting track as is the practice in any one day match around the world," observed the curator of the pitch, veteran G. Kasturi Rangan.
Meanwhile, the government has announced a holiday for Kochi on the game day. The port city is brimming with activity and law and order machinery is working overtime. Five Team India players
Rahul Dravid , Irfan Pathan, Mohammed Kaif, Harbhajan Singh and Lakshmipathy Balaji arrived in the city on Wednesday.
Team India vice-captain
Rahul Dravid said India will come back strongly in the ensuing ODI series and also backed skipper Sourav Ganguly as a man who will be back in form quickly. It is a little disappointing to lose the last Test, but that is over. One-day (game) is totally different. We have to look ahead and be positive. We can put up a good performance in the one-day series, he told reporters on the sidelines of a painting exhibition by his mother Pushpa Dravid in Kochi.
BCCI lays down the menu; Players to enjoy the backwaters
April 1, 2005
Taj Malabar hotel is leaving no stone unturned as it is hosting the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams in Kochi. Of the 96 rooms, 60 were booked for the teams and officials. Specific room allotments were done on the directive of the Indian cricket board. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also laid down the menu. Along with the 'official' menu, the players will have different varieties of fish, especially Kerala preparations.
Both the teams are expected to go boating in the backwaters. An additional treat for first timers will be the beautiful Chinese fishing nets that are in plenty around the hotel, which is located on Wellington Island. A visit to Fort Kochi and its antique shops is also on the cards.
MATCH: Sachin wins it for India after Sehwag and Dravid's rescue mission
April 2, 2005
Sachin Tendulkar showed his bowling prowess yet again at Kochi, taking his second five-for here to lead India to a convincing 87-run win the first one-day international of the six-match series. Requiring 282 to win, Pakistan were bundled out for 194, with Tendulkar taking 5 for 50.
Chasing 282, Pakistan got off to a terrible start, losing four early wickets with 64 on the board, before Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez began a recovery, taking the score to 104 for 4 at the end of the 25th over. Inzamam, on 36 not out, looked in command of the situation, but the heat was oppressive and the required run-rate was already 7.12.
Earlier,
Rahul Dravid and
Virender Sehwag made fine centuries as India recovered from the loss of two early wickets to finish on 281. In conditions of extreme heat and humidity, both teams made mistakes and played sloppily as the game went on, but Pakistan kept their heads better. India failed to capitalise on the platform Sehwag and Dravid made, making just 40 runs in the last 9 overs, as the Pakistanis bowled accurately to keep the score to an achievable target. The supposedly famous middle order proved much weaker than it seems on paper, with Yuvraj Singh (16), Md. Kaif (7) and MS Dhoni (3) increasing the pressure on the tail enders. With Sehwag (108) and Dravid (104) compiling 112 runs between themselves, the rest of the Indian batting just managed 46 runs with 23 runs coming in extras.
Virender Sehwag was adjudged Man of the Match.
In Picture: Dravid gets a single off Arshad Khan to notch his 10th ODI century; Sehwag completes a typically quickfire century