CRUCIAL WICKET: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates the dismissal of Inzamam ul Haq with Dravid, Raina, Yuvraj and Dhoni in Multan on Thursday. After restricting Pakistan to 161, India went on to win the fourth ODI by five wickets to clinch the series.  1; Photo: S. Subramanium

Multan : Rudra Pratap Singh's rise reflects cricket's growing spread in the country. Here is a small-town lad who chased his dream in the bright lights of the city and has walked right into the illuminated big stage.

R.P. Singh was not in the arena when the lights were switched on and India, chasing 162, secured a winning 3-1 lead in the Hutch ODI series with a five-wicket victory in only 32.3 overs.

But then, he duly entered the ground to collect the Man of the Match award. The left-arm paceman's contribution was immense. The Rae Bareilly lad's four-wicket haul set up the Indian win that concluded amid jubilant scenes of joy from the Men in Blue.

Commitment

R.P. Singh has backed his ambition and ability with an essential ingredient — commitment. The left-armer can be quicker by a yard of pace, but he hits the seam consistently; there is a measure of movement in the air for him too.

His versatility was evident when he dismissed the right-handed Younis Khan with a delivery that came back, and consumed Abdul Razzaq with the one angling away. Earlier, he surprised Shoaib Malik, due for a failure, with a ball of unexpected bounce. Crucial strikes at different stages of the innings.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Rahul Dravid and other members of Team India celebrate the moment when the Hutch Cup series was wrapped up by Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday. - PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

A healthy, appreciative crowd, making it to the stadium despite the `bandh' in the city, cheered good cricket from both sides.

Dravid, expectedly, chose to field. The hardness in the pitch meant that there was some encouragement for the pacemen. In both Rawalpindi and Lahore, the Indians had dented the Pakistani batting early and, despite a notable recovery from the hosts, displayed enough flair, solidity and depth on the chase. It was no different here.

Paying the price

Mohammed Sami might have struck two early blows, removing Sachin Tendulkar with an away going delivery that bounced and getting Gautam Gambhir on the pull, but the target was never likely to threaten India. Pakistan, eventually, paid the price for injudicious stroke selection by its batsmen and the home innings lasted only 41.5 overs.

Dravid (59, 72b, 9x4) and Yuvraj Singh (37) strung together an 85-run partnership with positive batting. The Indian captain was fluent in his cover-drives and used the pull; importantly, Mohammad Asif was not allowed to settle into a groove.

Yuvraj's improved footwork was decisive. There were typically expansive cover-drives and scorching pulls in his effort, but the best stroke was a beautifully balanced straight-drive off Asif, the left-hander's initial movement forward very much evident.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan finally snared Yuvraj outside the off-stump, Mohammed Kaif flashed at Razzaq to perish at slip, and Mohammed Sami won a leg-before shout against Dravid with a swinging full toss to provide some hope to the host.

The young Suresh Raina proved a roadblock for Pakistan, though. The left-hander appeared unruffled by the situation, was technically sound, and unleashed some tremendous cover-drives off either foot. The boy has a future.

There may have been a touch of anxiety about Ajit Agarkar's back but the Indians displayed good judgment by including the Mumbaiker and having Zaheer Khan as cover as the super-substitute. The Indians have used the super substitute rule not only as an attacking option, but also to guard against injury or loss of form.

Agarkar's presence in the eleven enabled the side have the balance of right and left-armers in the attack. In the event, Agarkar secured the fatal nick from Mohammad Yousuf with a mean outswinger and a diving Mahendra Singh Dhoni grabbed a flamboyant catch on second attempt. The wicket also ended a looming fifth-wicket 68-run partnership between Inzamam and Yousuf after Pakistan was left tottering at 29 for four.

Not decisive in thinking

The Pakistanis were not decisive in thinking. Imran Farhat should have opened with Salman Butt, with Kamran Akmal coming down the order. A stroke-maker like Akmal needs the pitch to ease out a little; on Thursday he cut Pathan into Raina's hands at point.

Farhat, a natural opener, substituted paceman Yasir Arafat, and appeared out of his depths in the middle-order.

The standard of the Indian fielding, particularly in the in-field, created the pressure too. Yuvraj, Raina and Kaif swooped on the ball like a pack of wolves. And fine catching made things happen for India.

S. Sreesanth, who operated with verve, moved a delivery away from Butt and Dravid brought off a sensational diving effort at slip. Malik chose to pull a ball that climbed on him from R.P. Singh to balloon the ball to square-leg where Pathan pouched a tremendous catch on the run. With the ball, Pathan was tidy, swinging the white sphere.

On his home ground, Inzamam (49, 63b, 7x4) batted with touch and assurance, cutting, pulling and driving, even as wickets fell at the other end. The Pakistan skipper was probably unlucky to be adjudged leg-before to Sachin Tendulkar — the ball could have missed off-stump. Tendulkar, maintaining the pressure, sent down a valuable spell of assorted spin. It was forgettable day in the office for the `Sultan of Multan'.

The Indians were cock-a-hoop. And R.P. Singh proved that in the field of dreams, anything was possible.

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