When Inzamam-ul-Haq was named captain of young Pakistan's squad in February for the first cricket tour of India in six years, critics said he was merely leading lambs for slaughter.
The team was thin on experience, especially in the bowling department following the withdrawal of paceman Shoaib Akhtar due to a hamstring injury. Their batting was considered unpredictable.
But the victorious team returned home on Monday evening from their memorable tour to a heroes' welcome from hundreds of fans.
Pakistan, described as the weakest team ever to tour India by critics, drew the three-match Test series 1-1 and then outplayed the hosts 4-2 in the six-match one-day series on their first tour of India in six years.
The fans waved Pakistan flags and threw flower petals at the players on their arrival at Lahore international airport.
Some also lifted captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and paceman Rana Naved-ul-Hasan -- man of the series in the one-day matches -- onto their shoulders.
Pakistan performed above their potential as they overcame a 1-0 deficit in the Test series and won four successive one-dayers after losing the first two.
The prophets of doom were forced to swallow a bitter pill, for they had simply missed the chemistry of India-Pakistan clashes which often gives opportunities to little-known players to hitch their wagons to the stars.
Unsung wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal set the ball rolling with a maiden century to help Pakistan salvage a draw from a losing position in the opening Test at Mohali.
His hundred breathed new life into the Test series which kept changing its course with each day to keep millions of fans on tenterhooks before ending in Pakistan's win in the third and final match at Bangalore.
All the Tests lasted a full five days and were attended by a sizeable crowd despite stifling security, oppressive weather and poor facilities at the venues.
It was more than just a contest between bat and ball.
There was also room for cricket diplomacy as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday watched the sixth and final one-dayer in New Delhi along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Pakistani cricketers gained more than their Indian counterparts from the tour, which had run smoothly before crowd trouble in the last match in New Delhi.
Pakistan had a cool-headed captain in Inzamam, who always led from the front and looked in control from the beginning.
His memorable moment came at Bangalore where he capped his 100th Test with a flawless 184 to set up his team's series-levelling victory.
The Pakistani skipper scored 401 in three Tests, averaging 80.20. But his main contribution was he was able to bring the best out of his young side.
He backed Younis Khan despite his deputy's twin failures in the first Test. Younis scored a hundred in the second Test and a double-century in the third to average 101.60.
Pakistan's surprise packet was Shahid Afridi, who claimed three key wickets in the Bangalore Test and then smashed a 45-ball hundred in the fifth one-dayer at Kanpur.
RSS