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India opt for
safety after Pakistan's 537 |
Link to
Scorecard
Batsmen of both teams gave the bowlers no
chance to make serious impact even on a fourth
day track which was full of wide cracks at the
Chinnaswamy Stadium. After struggling hard to
end the Pakistani first innings which lasted
around 168 overs, the Indians were prepared for
a fiery spell from Shoaib on an uneven wicket.
They lost their openers cheaply but the
experience of Sourav and Rahul made the
difference in keeping the dangerous Akhtar and
the other bowlers frustrated. India seemed to
have secured the match with a second innings
lead of 220 and with 8 wickets in hand.
The Indians had an extremely frustrating
morning session as the bowlers just couldn't
beat the solid defense of the Pakistani batsmen,
in particular Misbah-ul-Haq. Finally they saw
the back of atleast Kamran Akmal (65 from 114
balls with 12 fours) which came after the drinks
break with the right hander deceived in the
flight by Harbhajan and the rest of the work was
done behind by an alert Dinesh Karthik. The
Indian team bagged a record which was for the
most extras conceded in an innings beating the
previous one of 70 by the West Indies. Poor
Dinesh Karthik will be the culprit if one just
goes by the scorecard, a total of 35 byes
against him. If one thought that India could run
through the tail after Akmal's dismissal, then
they are wrong as Yasir Arafat has some good
batting abilities which he showed to Pakistan
past lunch comfortably at 470 for 6. Misbah ate
his lunch on a nervous 99.
After the lunch break, Misbah celebrated his
second test century of his shockingly short
international career. Luck finally helped Ishant
Sharma to end yet another frustrating
partnership with a low ball ending Arafat's
impressive stay (44 from 70 balls with 7 fours).
Ishant then didn't waste much time as he not
only cleaned up the tail which comprised of Sami,
Shoaib and Kaneria but also ended up with a
maiden five-wicket haul. While Sami one of the
most difficult players to be dismissed by a
surprising yorker, Shoaib and Kaneria were
softened by short pitch deliveries. The Indians
however couldn't find any way in getting the
wicket of Misbah, who remained an unconquered
Emperor on 133 (from 322 balls with 17 fours).
Ishant Sharma ended with 33.1-10-118-5 which
surely would buy him a ticket to Australia.
Pakistan conceded a lead of just 89 and they
were dreaming of a demolishing spell from a
'fit' Shoaib. The Rawalpindi Express was bowling
superbly, getting the ball to jump up and down
to intimidate the two Indian openers. In
between, he cleverly bowled a slower off cutter
at 121kmph that fooled Gautam Gambhir, who was
bowled. In the 13th over, Yasir Arafat
complemented Shoaib with a low inswinger that
trapped Jaffer in the crease to make it 26 for
2. But those were the only wickets that Pak
could get in the remaining part of the day. If
Dravid was more intent at keeping one end safe,
Ganguly was instrumental in trying to get quick
runs before anything unplayable comes. Both were
successful in their respective missions as
Shoaib & co. struggled to make any damage.
Ganguly notched up a quick 63 and Dravid, a
solid 35 with India at 131 for 2 in 37 overs.
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