India subdued a fighting Pakistan to win the first Test of the Rexello Castors Peace Cup snooker tournament in Chandigarh on Friday.
After getting off to a rousing start by winning the first three matches, India surrendered the initiative and allowed Pakistan to take the next three games and level scores.
But the hosts pulled up their socks in time to clinch the decider and win the first of three Tests.
Asian Games gold medallist Rafath Habib took everyone by surprise after he was down initially in the singles match against young Pakistani talent Imran Shahzad to eventually win 59-17, 75-67.
India won three singles matches while two were won by Pakistan, with the upset of the day being that of India prodigy and current world number one Pankaj Advani, who lost to Shahzad 31-61, 53- 27.
The honours were shared by the two teams in the doubles.
The Indian pair of Rafath Habib and Pankaj Advani defeated their counterparts Saleh Muhamad, world number two and top-ranked player Khurram Agha, in 82-13, 69-29.
The other doubles match was won by the Pakistani pair of Shahzad and young talent Muhammad Atik Bux, who defeated twice Asian champion Yasin Merchant and current Asian champion Alok Kumar 57-44, 73-32.
The Indians had taken the initial lead by winning the first two singles and a doubles matches.
In the other singles, Manan Chandra defeated Khurram Agha 110-24, 70-23 while Pakistan's former world champion Muhammad Yousuf defeated Merchant 64-47, 68-41.
Overall, India won three singles matches and one doubles while Pakistan had to be content with two singles and a doubles win.
Rafath Habib, the star of India's victory, after winning the
last singles of the day, said, "We were sailing smoothly earlier in the day, but Pakistan bounced back and suddenly we lost all the advantage. I guess some tension in Indo-Pak matches is normal."
Asked how much pressure he felt in the decider, he said, "The first frame of the day's last match was the turning point. There were some hiccups, but in the second frame I gained in confidence and played well."
Pankaj Advani was also all praise for his team-mate.
"Rafat pulled off a thriller. Our advantage in the first three matches melted like snow in hot sun, but he did well to hang on despite immense pressure."
When asked what went wrong for him against Imran Shahzad, Advani said, "I think I never got into the flow in that match, but the doubles was very good."
India's coach Michael Ferreira praised his team for handling the pressure in the end.
"Rafat maintained his cool despite pressure. Our boys are looking confident and it should give them edge over Pakistanis in tomorrow's matches," he added.
Pakistan's delegate-cum-coach Ali Asghar Valika said his team had accepted the Indian invitation happily when the team had toured Pakistan last year.
"We are here not only to play, but to promote goodwill as well. We must think positive and no matter who wins in the end peace will be a sure winner," he said.
