Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal easily won their opening singles battles on Friday to give India a 2-0 lead over Pakistan in a Davis Cup clash moved to neutral territory because of the arch-rivalry between the neighbours. Ramanathan dispatched Muhammad Shoaib 6-0, 6-0 in 42 minutes in the first match in the Kazakhstan capital of Nur-Sultan.

Nagal then outplayed Huzaifa Abdul Rehman 6-0, 6-2 in one hour and four minutes. India will travel to Croatia in March 2020 for the world group qualifiers if they win the best-of-five rubber. The International Tennis Federation moved the Asia/Oceania Group 1 away from Islamabad because of India's security fears even though Pakistan opposed the decision.

Pakistan's top players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan pulled out of the tie in protest, giving teenagers Shoaib and Rehman their chance alongside Yousaf Khalil. India last played a Davis Cup tie in Pakistan in 1964, when they beat the hosts 4-0. Pakistan lost 3-2 when they played in Mumbai in 2006.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019