India-conquering Pakistani cricketers return home to hero's welcome by AFP

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Player:	Inzamam-ul-Haq, Naved-ul-Hasan
Event:	Pakistan in India 2004/05

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DateLine: 18th April 2005

 

The victorious Pakistan cricket team returned home from their memorable tour of India to a heroe's welcome from hundreds of fans.

 

Pakistan, described as the weakest team ever to tour India by critics, drew the three-match Test series 1-1 and then outplayed the hosts 4-2 in the six-match one-day series on their first tour of India in six years.

 

The fans waved Pakistan flags and threw flower petals at the players on their arrival at Lahore international airport.

 

Some also lifted Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and paceman Naved-ul-Hasan -- man of the series in the one-day matches -- onto their shoulders.

 

Pakistan won the sixth and final one-day match in New Delhi by a convincing margin of 159 runs to clinch the one-day series on Sunday.

 

The match in the Indian capital also formed the basis of another round of peace talks between the two countries as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf attended the match on Indian Prime Minister's Manmohan Singh's invitation.

 

Pakistan reciprocated India's first tour across the border for 15 years last spring following the lifting of a three-year ban on bilateral sporting relations.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)