History Was Made In Lahore As India Clinched Their First-Ever Series Win On Pakistani Soil

📍 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | March 24, 2004 History was made under the lights in Lahore as India clinched their first-ever series win on Pakistani soil, Test or ODI. After four high-octane thrillers, the fourth ODI finally gave India some breathing room — a 40-run victory to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. Winning the toss for the fifth straight time, Inzamam-ul-Haq once again invited India to bat. The top order misfired — Sehwag, Tendulkar, and Ganguly all fell trying to steer the ball to third man. But V. V. S. Laxman, known more for his Test artistry, played a calm and classy ODI knock — a 100-ball century, anchoring the innings for 40 overs. India posted 293, the same total they had chased down just three days earlier in the Karachi thriller. This time, though, it was Irfan Pathan who turned the tide — swinging the new ball prodigiously to finish with 3 for 20 in a fiery opening spell. The match’s turning point came when Inzamam, in red-hot form, was spectacularly caught by Tendulkar on the boundary, marking his 100th catch in ODIs. Though Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan stitched a resilient 99-run partnership, India held their nerve with disciplined bowling and sharp fielding. Despite being stretchered off earlier with a back spasm, Sourav Ganguly returned to lift the trophy, capping off a momentous evening in Indian cricket history. 🏏 Man of the Match: V. V. S. Laxman (107) 🏅 Man of the Series: Inzamam-ul-Haq (309 runs in 4 matches) 🇮🇳 India lead the 5-match series 3-1 📌 Match Summary: India: 293/7 in 50 overs (Laxman 107, Dravid 47) Pakistan: 253 all out (Malik 65, Moin 72; Pathan 3/32) #IndiaVsPakistan #CricketMax #Highlights