Inzamam and his team were immediately congratulated by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who awarded the captain 17,000 dollars for his "crucial role" in Tuesday's victory.

Despite the presidential praise, Inzamam felt his fellow batsmen were more deserving.

"This wasn't my best knock, my contribution was very small," he told reporters after his side had made 319 for seven in reply to India's 315 for six.

"The real work was done by the top order, by Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik. It was a total team effort to chase a big target."

The Pakistan captain only began to worry when they tumbled from 253 for three to 295 for seven.

"After Shoaib Malik's dismissal and two run outs, I thought our chances had slipped. But the required run-rate, thanks to our top order, was always manageable."

It came down to three to get from the last over but occasional bowler Sachin Tendulkar kept it tight, leaving the scores level with one delivery to go.

With the field up, he sliced the ball through the offside for a boundary.

"I wasn't thinking anything on the last ball. I was just praying to God to help me," Inzamam added.

India captain Sourav Ganguly said the defeat hurt.

"The defeat is hard to swallow," he said. "We had enough runs on the board but Pakistan batted very well. Inzamam took it away from us.

"There are still two matches to go, so all is not lost yet. We will come back."