The first Test match had been dominated by batters. In a bid to freshen things up, India went into the second Test match, in Faisalabad, with three left-arm fast bowlers, the first time a side had fielded such an array in Test history.
They also made the harsh decision of dropping former captain Sourav Ganguly in favour of Zaheer Khan, but these changes made little difference to the outcome of the match.
Pakistan again won the toss and batted, and Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt gave them a reasonable start. Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, as they had in the first Test match, then built on that with a stand of 142 for the third wicket.
They fell in quick succession, Younis for 83 and Yousuf for 65, but Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi then came together in a partnership worth 163. Having struck six sixes and 20 fours, Afridi’s innings came to an end on 156, but Inzamam bated with the tail, including Shoaib Akhtar, who hit a brisk 47, until he was out for 119.
Pakistan were eventually all out for 588. R.P. Singh was the best of the Indian bowlers with 4-89.
Virender Sehwag could only make 31 for India this time, but captain Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman solidified the Indian innings with a stand of 197 or the second wicket.
Laxman fell for 90. Three overs later, Dravid, who had made 103 including 16 fours, also departed. Then both Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar were out cheaply.
M.S. Dhoni and Irfan Pathan then ensured there was no batting collapse, sharing a partnership of 210 for the sixth wicket until Dhoni, who had hit four sixes and 19 fours, was out for 148. Irfan went on to make 90 and, with the rest of the tail, helped India to 603.
Pakistan batted for a second time. Once again Younis played a major innings, making 194, while Yousuf scored 126 before being run out. With Kamran Akmal also scoring 78, Pakistan were able to declare their second innings on 490/8.
India were set a notional 476 to win. With no time left in the game, they made 21 unbeaten before the umpires removed the bails for the final time.