"I think getting Younis out with the first delivery of the morning was the turning point. It allowed us to put pressure on Pakistan," Ganguly said on Sunday.

Younis, who scored a century in the first innings, was stumped for nought by Dinesh Karthik off the day's first ball, sent down by leg-spinner Anil Kumble who eventually finished with 7-63.

Pakistan, chasing a 422-run target, were bowled out for 226 to concede a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

"It's a fantasic win after a disappointing draw in the first Test," the Indian captain said, referring to the match at Mohali where Pakistan salvaged a draw from a losing position.

Kumble began the slide with the first-ball dismissal as he then removed reliable middle-order batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq (13) and Yousuf Youhana (22) to complete his 29th haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings.

This was the seventh time, and the second against Pakistan, that Kumble had taken 10 or more wickets in a Test match. He grabbed three in the first innings.

"When you play on such a good track you know the match will go to five days. We knew it would be tough to bat on the fifth day and Kumble bowled superbly," said Ganguly.

"I don't think Kumble needs my comments or anybody's on his bowling. He is close to 500 wickets and is a match-winner," said the Indian captain.

Ganguly also praised man-of-the-match Rahul Dravid for scoring a century in each innings of the match here.

"We were 154-4 on the fourth day for an overall lead of 168, but Dravid played yet another good knock. He allowed us to set a stiff target for Pakistan," said the Indian captain.

Ganguly, under pressure after scoring 12 in each innings here, said he was not worried by criticism over his batting form.

"Winning is very important to me. The India-Pakistan matches are always big so everyone has his opinion," he said.

"I know I need to score runs. I have not scored in only the last three innings."

A disappointed Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said his team's inability to gain the first-innings lead severely affected their chances.

"The first turning point was not getting a good lead in the first innings. Then we lost a wicket off the very first ball on the fifth day and it jolted us," said Inzamam, who suffered his fifth defeat in 11 Tests as captain.

Pakistan squandered a golden chance of gaining the lead after they resumed at 273-2 on the third day in reply to India's total of 407, with Yousuf Youhana and Younis batting with unbeaten centuries.

The tourists then lost their last eight wickets for 112 runs in a dramatic collapse.

"Had any two batsmen batted for a full session on the fifth day we could have saved the Test," said Inzamam.

Pakistan's chances of chasing the huge target receded sharply when they lost three big wickets in the space of 20 runs in the first hour on Sunday.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)