India 260 for 4 (Tendulkar 97, Yuvraj 53*, Dhoni 45*) beat Pakistan 255 for 6 (Yousuf 99*, Younis 68, Zaheer 2-40) by six wickets
India's wait for a one-day series triumph over Pakistan on home soil ended on Thursday night after 24 years when they thrashed their arch-rivals by six wickets to take an invincible 3-1 lead in the five-match series. On a day that marked his Test debut 18 years ago against Pakistan, Sachin Tendulkar guided India to a convincing six-wicket victory over the arch-rivals in the fourth ODI of the Indian Oil Cup here on Thursday.
Chasing a competitive 256 for victory, the Indians overhauled the target comfortably with 21 balls to spare in a floodlit encounter which saw Sachin Tendulkar (97) missing a century for the sixth time this year. The jinx of the 42nd century continued to haunt the master batsman who laid the foundation for the run chase but again fell agonisingly short of the three-figure mark.
Yousuf's splendid innings earlier in the afternoon was almost as eye-catching, with some glorious drives through the covers and a lofted six over midwicket off Harbhajan Singh. As ever, he was immensely strong off the pads, and with Misbah-ul-Haq ticking along at a run a ball, the run-rate crept towards five in the final stages of the innings.
India didn't let things drift though. The bowlers, both pace and spin, were fairly accurate, and the fielding a marked improvement on the previous games. Even Ganguly played his part, with his 100th ODI wicket being Afridi, unfortunate to be given leg-before after being struck just outside the line of off stump.
The fifth and final match at Jaipur on Sunday is now rendered inconsequential, but the hosts, who have retained the squad for the game, will be looking to win the series with a crushing 4-1 verdict.
Full Highlights coming soon...
Presentation Ceremony
Sachin's 97
India Innings
Pakistan Innings
Njoi...
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