With the outcome of the ODI series already decided in favour of India, Pakistan were playing just for pride in the fifth ODI in Karachi.
For the third successive match, India won the toss and chose to field. Again, it proved to be the correct decision. Pakistan got off to a reasonable start before losing both openers, Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal. Both wickets fell to S. Sreesanth, who also accounted for Shoaib Malik.
Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq then added 38 for the fourth wicket. After Inzamam was out for 21, Yousuf was joined by Younis Khan, who brought some momentum to the innings. The pair added 95 for the fifth wicket until Yousuf’s innings came to an end. He had faced 85 balls for his 67, and hit five fours.
Younis added 29 more with Abdul Razzaq, who scored 24 of them in a brief cameo that included a six, and 22 more with Yasir Arafat. Younis was unbeaten in the end, having scored 74 out of a total of 286/8. His innings featured two sixes and five fours. Sreesanth took 4-58.
India, though, were always in control of the run chase once Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid had shared an opening stand of 69.
Gambhir was dismissed for 38, but Yuvraj Singh joined Dravid in the middle, and the scoreboard kept ticking, with India always in touch with the asking rate.
Dravid fell having just reached his fifty, but M.S. Dhoni joined Yuvraj at the crease, and the result was never in doubt after that. The pair shared an unbeaten partnership of 146 as India cruised to victory with 19 balls still to be bowled.
Dhoni, playing with considerable freedom, smashed 77 off just 56 balls, including four sixes and six fours, but Player of the Match honours went to Singh. He finished on 107 not out, scored off 93 balls, and finished having struck 14 fours.
India had won by eight wickets and it meant that they had taken the series by four matches to one, after losing the Test series.