India never really recovered from the early shock although Saurav Ganguly's patient (169 minutes) half-century and Ajit Agarkar's defiant 20 helped the team equal India's lowest total of 125 against Pakistan at the same venue 13 years ago. Pakistan went on to win by eight wickets with 22 overs remaining.

India's match-winning efforts of the previous three gamesthus ended in the first over of the day. Azhar, coming back into the side after missing two games due to toe injury, won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a perfect batting track. But three down for 14 in the sixth over (Azhar guiding Akhtar into slip fielder's hands) was the most disappointing start the Indians would have anticipated.

Three run outs in the middle overs made matters worse for India as Pakistani fielders backed their bowlers to the hilt with some outstanding fielding and catching. Jadeja, who led the team to three consecutive victories in the last three games, added 12 runs for the fourth wicket with Ganguly before playing an ambitious shot to be taken brilliantly by Anwar at covers.

The decision to send in Srinath at No.6 was baffling and the Indian medium pacer became a victim of a poor third-umpire decision, as Moin Khan took a first-bounce catch off Azhar Mehmood.

Akram, who did the initial damage (first spell being 7-3-8-2) came back in the 45th over to completethe Indian rout, shattering Agarkar's stumps.Pakistan reached the target rather comfortably although they lost two wickets in the process, both falling to Kumble.

The final, thus proved to be an anti-climax in the end. The Indians were completely outplayed and demoralised. And, India's hopes of beating Pakistan in a final at Sharjah still remains a dream. Pakistan set aside all doubts about their overall superiority in this competition despite their double-loss in the league phase while India's three successive wins proved to be a mere mirage.

Agarkar proved expensive, giving away 52 runs off five overs as Anwar and Inzaman went after him. Anyway, the Indian bowlers had a very small total to defend.

Hungry young men did the trick: Victorious Pakistan captain Wasim Akram attributed the win over India in the Coca Cola Cup final to the back-up from the youngsters. ``We were always geared up for each game and had shown consistency in the last three months. The youngsters in the squad have lifted up spiritsby their exceptionally good performances. It is a matter of give-and-take. We give them all the support and they deliver the goods,'' he said, in particular about Shoaib Akhtar. ``The youngsters are hungry for success.''

Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin conceded that the loss of two early wickets made the team's task hard. ``We could not come back into the game after that,'' he said.

Scoreboard
INDIA
Ramesh lbw Akram (3b) 0
Ganguly c Yohanna b Arshad (96b, 2x4) 50
Dravid lbw Akram (1b) 0
Azhar c Azhar b Akhtar (15b) 2
Jadeja c Anwar b Azhar (44b, 1x4) 14
Srinath c Moin b Azhar (8b) 3
Robin run out (Afridi) (42b) 14
Mongia run out (Yohanna) (4b) 0
Agarkar b Akram (43b, 1x4) 20
Kumble run out (Ijaz) (21b) 7
Prasad not out (1b) 1
Extras: (nb9, w4) 13
Total: (all out, 45 overs) 125
Fall of wicket: 1-0 (Ramesh, 0.3), 2-0 (Dravid, 0.4), 3-14 (Azhar, 5.2), 4-46 (Jadeja, 18.2), 5-50 (Srinath, 20.1), 6-82 (Robin, 29.3),7-84 (Mongia, 30.3), 8-104 (Ganguly, 37.2), 9-122 (Kumble, 44.3).

Bowling: Akram 8-3-11-3, Akhtar 8-1-31-1, Azhar 10-0-31-2, Saqlain 7-0-2-0, Arshad 10-0-24-1, Afridi 2-0-8-0.

PAKISTAN
Anwar c&b Kumble (49b 4x4) 30
Afridi c Ganguly b Kumble (41b, 3x4) 24
Ijaz Ahmed not out (49b, 1x4) 21
Extras: (lb1, nb9, w5) 15
Total (for 2 wickets, 28 overs) 129
Fall of wickets: 1-53 (Afridi, 12.3 overs). 2-65 (Anwar, 15)

Bowling: Srinath 8-0-31-0, Prasad 6-0-17-0, Agarkar 5-0-52-0, Kumble 9-1-28-2

Result: Pakistan won by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Wasim Akram (Pakistan; Player of the Series & Best bowler: Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan; Man of the Series: Venkatesh Prasad (India); Fastest 50: Andrew Flintoff (England); Best Fielder: Ajay Jadeja (India).