Shahid Afridi's blazing knock was the difference between winning and losing on a difficult track to bat on.
That was the unanimous verdict of both captains after Pakistan beat India by five wickets to win the fifth One-Day International in Kanpur on Friday.
India stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid said that apart from Afridi all batsmen had to work hard for runs, his 46-ball 102 made all the difference.
"We thought 250 was a good score. If you see, it was tough going for all except Afridi. He was brilliant today and made all the difference," Dravid said.
Insisting that 250 was a fighting total, Dravid said if not for the great start given to Pakistan by Afridi the match would have been a close one.
"But once a team scores 130-odd runs in 15 overs the match is as good as over."
Dravid said, "It is always difficult to bowl to Afridi, and when he gets going the way he did today, no one has any answers. You have to get him out early otherwise he can run away with the match."
Despite being 2-3 down, Dravid said his team has a chance to level the series in Delhi, and added that they needed to work on a few things.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq was all praise for Afridi, saying the dashing batsman made their job really easy.
"To chase 250 on such a wicket is not easy. But Afridi made the difference as he gave us a brilliant start," Inzamam said.
The Pakistan skipper admitted that the wicket had eased out considerably when they began their chase but said it was still tough to score runs on it.
Asked what he told Afridi before the start of the innings, Inzamam said the batsman has his own way of playing and he only tells him to play his natural game.
Inzamam also had a word of praise for Rana Naveed-ul Hasan, who rocked the Indians in the morning session with three quick wickets in his opening spell and said they would now go all out to win the series in the final match.
Afridi, who was adjudicated the man-of-the-match, thanked the skipper and coach Bob Woolmer for supporting him despite failing in the earlier innings and added that he always tries to stay positive and give his team a solid start.
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