Nur-Sultan: India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing Davis Cup tie over Pakistan as old warhorse Leander Paes along with debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won the third rubber here on Saturday.
The Indian duo of Paes and Jeevan defeated Pakistani teenagers Mohammed Shoaib and Hufaiza Abdul Rehman 6-1, 6-3 in just 53 minutes. With the win, Paes bettered his own Davis Cup record by winning his 44th doubles match.
Hufaiza and Shoaib began with a hold of serve in the opening game of the match, but the Indians broke the teenagers in the third game before holding their own for a 3-1 lead.
The Indian pair then took control of the match from the start and didn't allow their opponents to put any kind of pressure. Simply put, the Pakistani teenagers were no match against the Indian duo.
Last year, Paes had become the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he won his 43rd doubles match after he went past Italy's Nicola Pietrangeli during the tie against China.
On Friday, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal toyed with Pakistan to give India a 2-0 lead. While Ramkumar swept aside 17-year-old Muhammed Shoaib in just 42 minutes in the opening singles encounter, Sumit Nagal earned his first-ever Davis Cup win after he beat Hufaiza Mohammed Rehman 6-0, 6-2 in the second rubber.
The tie was first supposed to take place in Islamabad but after India expressed reservations over travelling to Pakistan due to security issues, it was moved to a neutral venue by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
India will now travel to Croatia for the World Group Qualifiers, to be held on March 6-7.