By ICF Staff
April 15 2005

India, without captain Sourav Ganguly, was destroyed by an innings of extraordinary power by Pakistani allrounder Shahid Afridi in the 5th ODI at Kanpur. Afridi's 45-ball century was the second fastest in ODIs, as he took apart first Lakshmipathy Balaji, then Anil Kumble, then Zaheer Khan on his way to 102 runs, all but 8 of which came in fours and sixes.

By the time he fell, he had set Pakistan well on the way to victory towards the 250 target, which they reached with a big 8 overs to spare.

The Indian team wore a melancholy look, with Dravid substituting for Ganguly, and some bizarre selections.

India's best bowler in the series so far, Ashish Nehra, was dropped, along with Murali Kartik. Balaji and Kumble came in. Mongia replaced Ganguly.

Dravid's patient and steady 86, along with Kaif's brisk 78, helped India to a respectable total after winning the toss and succumbing to paceman Naved Rana who quickly reduced the home side to 59/4.

Every one of the Indian bowlers went for runs during Afridi's hectic slogging, and the match was as good as lost by the 15th over.

Pakistan's third consecutive victory puts them ahead 3-2 in the 6-match series, guaranteeing that they would not lose, with the final ODI in Delhi on Sunday presenting them with a chance to wrap it up. Earlier, the Test series between the two teams was drawn 1-1.