Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Karthik put India in a commanding position on day 4 of the second Test against Pakistan in Kolkata, on Saturday.
The India vice-captain batted brilliantly to score 135, his second century of the match, while Karthik outshone his senior partner with a brilliant exhibition of stroke-play to register a career-best 93 before he was bowled by Danish Kaneria just before tea.
India declared their second innings on 407 for 9, setting Pakistan a victory target of 422.
In reply, Shahid Afridi blazed away to a run-a-ball 59 to help Pakistan end the day on 95 for 1 after 20 overs in their second innings.
At stumps, Taufeeq Umar, 29, and Younis Khan, 0, were at the crease.
Morning session (82 runs, 31.3 overs, 1 wicket)
The day started well for Pakistan. Sami peppered Sourav Ganguly with plenty of short balls and eventually got the desired result. It's a simple strategy adopted by all international teams -- as soon as Ganguly comes to the wicket start bowling short, into his rib cage.
Ganguly chose attack as the best option today, but Sami had the measure of the India skipper.
Two short balls in the first four deliveries put Ganguly (12 off 32 balls) on the back foot. Then, another saw the left-hander trying to go after it but ended up hitting it high up towards the mid-wicket area, where Sami moved across and took it comfortably. (154 for 4)
Watching Ganguly bat one was reminded about another left-hander, Vinod Kambli, who after a great start in Test cricket was found wanting against the short ball and that spelt the end of his career.
Ganguly's case isn't that bad but at the moment his struggles with the bat are something that the team could well do without. On batting talent alone he just doesn't make the team.
V V S Laxman joined Dravid at the wicket and survived just four balls before being struck above the left eye by a short delivery from Sami.
Laxman tried to defend but missed the ball completely and was dealt a sickening blow. The swelling was instantly visible and he was forced to go off. An update later from my colleague, Harish Kotian, who is in Kolkata, said all is well with the Hyderabadi and he should be able to come out and bat again.
Meanwhile, Sami was in the middle of a very aggressive spell. On a rather slow pitch he used the short delivery to great effect.
Karthik walked in and the atmosphere at Kolkata was electric. It was cricket in the bullring but the Pakistanis were not going to be intimidated as yet.
Having seen Laxman get hit, Karthik could well have been expecting a short ball. But Sami tried the double bluff and pitched it up. The batsman was up to the challenge and stroked a four through point. When Karthik played that shot, you saw the Indian players applaud from the dressing room Tendulkar, in particular, raised his arms overhead to clap.
This is the kind of support that a young player needs and today Karthik was getting it. But then, suddenly, the runs dried up.
For 27 balls leading up to the drinks break not a single run was scored. This is what Test cricket is all about -- the little battles in the bigger war.
A four from Dravid in the first over after the drinks break got the scoreboard ticking again.
Karthik showed great restraint but the man of the moment was Dravid. He is in supreme touch and it shows in his batting, his composure and unwavering concentration. Spinners and the quick men were dealt with equal ease.
The duo batted well to see India to lunch at 215 without any further loss.
In the 31.3 over session, 82 runs were scored for the loss of one wicket, a run-rate of 2.6.
Post-Lunch session (116 runs, 27.5 overs, 2 wickets)
Forty-four runs came in the first hour after lunch. They were scored at no great pace but with much purpose. The Indians were looking to make sure that no wickets were lost early on so that they could bat Pakistan out of the game. They managed to do exactly that.
In doing doing so, Dravid posted his 20th Test ton, off 229 balls, and third in Kolkata. It is the second time he has got a hundred in each innings -- he scored 110 in the first innings -- of a Test. Among Indians, only Sunil Gavaskar (thrice) and Vijay Hazare, once, achieved the feat.
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The youngster showed maturity beyond his years. With India's top batsmen back in the pavilion and V V S Laxman retired hurt, India could have been in big mess. But along with Dravid, the 19-year old showed no sign of nerves.
All those who doubted Karthik's place in the side better take a second look now.
The runs started to come at a fair clip as Karthik decided to take the attack to the bowlers.
On 117, Dravid survived a huge leg before appeal off Mohammad Khalil. The batsman was trapped plumb in front of the wicket but Bucknor turned down the appeal.
As many as 72 runs came in the second half of the post-tea session, which indicates how well the Indians paced their innings. After making sure they were in a good position, they launched a ferocious counter-attack, which was led by Karthik.
The youngster spared no one and with the exception of Abdul Razzaq, who bowled early in his innings, the rest Khalil (20 runs off 16 balls), Sami (16 off 22), Kaneria (31 off 56), Afridi (20 off 22) were all given the rough treatment.
At this point, the Indians were playing the kind of cricket that saw them draw the Test series in Australia -- unselfish and totally committed to the team's cause.
Then, Dravid, on135, holed out to Asim Kamal, at long-off, off Kaneria. He had put on 167 runs in brilliant fashion with Karthik.
Dravid came in to bat after India had lost Gambhir early; then Sewhag departed almost before he settled down. He then had to mount a recovery with Tendulkar before playing through those uncertain 15 minutes late last evening, when light faded and Tendulkar was given out.
This morning he saw Ganguly being bounced out, Laxman felled by a short one and was forced to rebuild the innings for the second time with a rookie. Through it all he never put a foot wrong. It was an amazing display of skill and concentration.
Karthik was back to the pavilion soon after. Kaneria bowled him round his legs for 93. There was huge applause as the 19-year old walked back, the stadium rising in unison to applaud his effort.
It was an unselfish shot to play. With his first Test century in sight, he stayed focused on the need for quick runs. It had taken Karthik 90 balls to reach 50, 43 runs came in just 50 balls after that.
At tea, India were 331 for 5, with Laxman on 2 and Pathan yet to open his account.
Post-Tea session
Indian innings (76 runs, 11.1 overs, 3 wickets)
The Indians came out after tea with one thing in mind: scoring quick runs.
And both Laxman and Pathan did that well. In the 11.1 overs that were played by India, they scored 76 runs at a fair clip.
Laxman, swollen eye and all, played some brilliant shots including an inside-out shot over mid-on for six to reach 24 off 29 balls before perishing in the search for quick runs. The right-hander was stumped by Akmal off Kaneria. (377 for 7)
Harbhajan Singh and Laxmipathy Balaji were both dismissed in the next over and it looked like India would not reach 400. But Pathan and Kumble struck some lusty blows before India declared at 407 for the nine wickets, an overall lead of 422.
Pathan scored 38 off just 30 balls, inclusive of three boundaries and two sixes, while Kumble scored 14 off 13 balls, inclusive of three boundaries.
The main point of discussion about the Indian innings was whether they timed their declaration right. India wanted to make sure they had enough runs on board to shut the door on any chance of Pakistan winning. From the way the Indian tail wagged, one could also see that even though the pitch was four days old, the batsmen could still play their shots.
And there was always the danger of Shahid Afridi getting a quick-fire fifty. Taking all that into account, one feels that India made a fair declaration.
Pakistan innings (95 runs, 20 overs, 1 wicket)
India's fears were realised in the worst manner possible as Afridi put the efforts of the Indians to shame.
If there is one batsman in world cricket for whom the state of the pitch does not matter, it is Afridi. No matter what the state of the pitch is he will continue to play his shots, because that's all he can do.
Balaji was hammered for 32 in his first four overs and out of the attack as well. But Irfan, who conceded 16 in four overs including two maidens, was also taken out. It was a strange move because the left-armer was bowling quite well.
Ganguly opted for two spinners instead and Harbhajan was smacked for a huge six over mid-wicket. That prompted Bajji to change his line from outside the off-stump to closer to the stumps.
The 50 of the Pakistan innings came off just 58 deliveries, thanks to Afridi's belligerence.
The Indian skipper was a worried man. The runs were coming at the speed of knots and that basically meant that the buffer India had built up was quickly evaporating.
But Afridi is a rare breed of cricketers, one that you can have no plan against and your only hope is that a rush of blood will see him get himself out. That's exactly what happened.
With Pakistan on 93 for no loss and just two overs left in the day's play, it looked like the Pakistan openers would go back into the dressing room contented men. But you can count on Afridi to do something incredibly foolish.
Kumble, bowling around the wicket to Afridi, bowled it wide off the leg stump. It was a bad ball, but the right-hander went for the sweep and got the top edge to Ganguly at short fine leg.
Afridi literally gifted his wicket to Kumble. A brilliant 59-run knock, off just 59 balls, came to a sad end. Pakistan had dominated the session and the loss of the wicket was completely against the run of play.
More importantly, if the two batsmen had gone back undefeated, it would have been a big morale booster to a team that has taken a battering in the field. It would have allowed room for the belief that they could save this game.
Vice-captain Younis Khan walked in next as Pakistan opted against going in for a night-watchman. The batsman was obviously still feeling confident after his ton in the first innings.
At close of play, Pakistan had reached 95 for the loss of one wicket with Umar on 29 off 61 balls and Khan yet to open his account.
