Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq narrated his
experience of playing the 2004-05 BCCI Platinum Jubilee match, where Pakistan
turned the tide in their favour by defeating India by six wickets and with an
over to spare. The interesting part of the match was that the organising
committee had written Pakistan off and already etched India’s name on the
trophy.

Speaking on his YouTube channel “the matchwinner”, Inzamam
recalled how during the course of the match former Pakistan captain and the
current Prime Minister of the country, Imran Khan, who was present in the
stands, called the shots, helping Pakistan register a famous victory.

“Butt was batting with me. He suffered cramps. So a teammate
came running in with a message. I thought I was the Captain and was surprised
about someone sending me messages during the match. He told me that Imran bhai
(Khan) has said Salman Butt is having troubles with his hamstring. Tell him to
retire hurt, take treatment and then go back onto the field. I sent Salman
back. He came back and scored a hundred,” Inzamam recalled.

As things unfolded, Butt, after coming back in the match,
scored a brilliant century (108 off 130 balls) to hand Pakistan a solid victory
against India.

Batting first, India had posted a daunting total of 292 and
this kind of total was never successfully chased at the Eden Garden, Kolkata.
At lunchtime, Team India’s celebration had begun and was confident of the outcome of the match.

 “India won the toss
and decided to bat first and then scored a total of 292 in the first innings,”
Inzamam said. He added that since no one had chased 293 at the Eden Garden
prior to this match, everyone assumed that the fate of the match was sealed.

Playing at Eden Gardens is always special and Inzamam,
without fail, hailed the crowd present there that day.

“In Calcutta 1 lakh people watch the match. They make a lot
of noise for their home side. 15-20 thousand had come to watch us practice a
couple of days before the match,” he said.