Nur-Sultan, Nov 29 (IANS) Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal toyed with Pakistan as India raced to a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup tie here on Friday.
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.
Legendary Leander Paes, back again in the Davis Cup fold, and debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will aim to seal the issue when they meet Hufaiza and Shoaib in the doubles rubber on Saturday.
Pakistan missed their more experienced players as most of them pulled out, protesting against shifting of the matches to a neutral venue.
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 International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The winner of the tie will travel to Croatia for the World Group Qualifiers, to be held on March 6-7.
–IANS
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