Inzamam-ul-Haq taunts BCCI's overconfidence at half-time of 2004 Platinum Jubilee Cup game

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq recently recalled his experience of playing an ODI against India at the Eden Gardens in 2004. At the time, the Pakistani team toured India for a solitary ODI match on November 13. The affair, titled the Platinum Jubilee Match, was organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Inzamam-ul-Haq talks about win over Sourav Ganguly and co. in 2004

Inzamam-ul-Haq recently took to his YouTube channel where he talked about BCCI’s preparations for the Platinum Jubilee Match in 2004. He said the match was organised in a grand style by the Indian board where several politicians and former Pakistani cricketers were invited. Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning captain and current Prime Minister Imran Khan was also present at the venue along with several former Indian captains. Inzamam-ul-Haq said that during half-time, the guests were made to take rounds of the ground in small batches for the spectators.

India, led by Sourav Ganguly, won the toss and opted to bat. On the back of Yuvraj Singh’s 78, the ‘Men in Blue’ scored 292-6 in their 50 overs. Inzamam-ul-Haq said that the target posed by the Indians had never been chased at the Eden Gardens before. He later claimed that BCCI was so confident of an Indian win during half-time that they had already put India’s name on the winner’s trophy.

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However, Pakistan ended up winning the match comfortably by six wickets. Their then opener Salman Butt top-scored with an unbeaten 108 while Shoaib Malik scored 61 runs from 55 balls. Inzamam-ul-Haq himself scored a run-a-ball 75 as collective contributions from the trio helped Pakistan overhaul Sourav Ganguly-led India’s target with an over to spare.

Inzamam-ul-Haq said that since it was a one-off contest, the pressure was more in the match. He admitted that Younis Khan’s early dismissal had set them aback a bit but Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik brought them back into the game with a solid partnership. Speaking about his own 75-run knock, Inzamam said he started cautiously and was not able to score freely in his first 30-40 deliveries but managed to gradually up the scoring rate after a while.

Inzamam-ul-Haq taunts BCCI, 16 years after Platinum Jubilee Cup win, watch video

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Image credits: Inzamam-ul-Haq YouTube