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India 254 all out

Prem Panicker

India, resuming at 48/0, started off fluently with six runs coming off Akram's opening over. Interestingly, Saqlain, not Younis, bowled the second over of the day.

Both Indian openers seemed completely at ease, but Akram, cutting back on pace and going for movement, produced one that pitched off and middle, straightened with the arm and had Laxman trapped in front, beating the batsman with movement and pace both. That wicket fell at 67, and Dravid joins Ramesh out in the middle.

Akram this morning appears to have had his thinking cap on -- going for variety rather than raw pace, he's been making the ball all but talk -- and Ramesh finally succumbs, a faster, fuller ball on off has him too late bringing the defensive bat down, to be trapped plumb in front. A fine 43 off 41 balls to the newcover, India 71/2.

Sachin Tendulkar walked in to a roar -- and out, just three balls later, to a stunned hush. Off just the second ball that he was facing, off Saqlain, he decided to go for the big one over the vacant midwicket region. There was no fielder there so the shot was on, but Saqlain bowled the arm ball, Sachin played for the turn, managed only to get the leading edge on his huge heave, the ball swirling off the outer edge to Salim Malik at backward point, and Sachin gone for 0, India 72/3 and in the space of about three overs, sliding from a position of strength into one of deep trouble.

The first hour ends with India 82/3, Dravid and Azhar out in the middle and struggling against some brilliant bowling by Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq. For the not outs, it is now time for a huge struggle to pull this one back, Dravid batting on 7 and Azhar on 6.

Azhar struggled against Younis, who with the older ball was working up pace, and getting late swing and seam movement both ways. But it was Saqlain, in the middle of a superlative spell, who took out the Indian skipper, floating one in on middle stump, turning to leg, Azhar tentative in defense, getting pad onto bat for Inzamam, at silly point, to be in business. Azhar made 11, the wicket falling at 103/4.

At lunch, India was on 125/4, with Dravid batting on 35 and Ganguly on 8. The morning session definitely belonged to Pakistan, with India adding just 77 runs for the loss of four wickets, to their overnight total of 48/0. For the home side, the only positive in the scenario is that Dravid, with back to back 100s in the last Test he played, in Hamilton against New Zealand, has been looking rock solid, while Ganguly too shows signs of settling down. A crucial hour ahead after lunch, when a rested Akram and Younis will return to do what they do best -- swing the old ball around in alarming fashion.

Saqlain Mushtaq and Wasim Akram rersumed proceedings, post lunch. Saqlain maintained the consistency of his morning spell, while Akram pulled out all stops in a bid to break through -- going round the wicket to Dravid, also to Ganguly, mixing inswinging yorkers with fierce bouncers, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the last two recognised batsmen in the Indian lineup.

For their part, the Cola Kids, Dravid and Ganguly, did their team proud with a superlative display of Test match batting. Both gritted out the testing spells, hung in there, waited for the loose ball to score off, and pushed the Indian score steadily higher.

Dravid brought up his 50 with a fine four off left arm spinner Nadeem Khan -- continuing the run that started with two back to back 100s in Hamilton. India at that point were 155/4, with Dravid batting 52.

Immediately thereafter, Saqlain drifting one in on off and middle, Dravid was playing for the huge turn that Saqlain was getting, pushed his pad at it without offering a stroke, the ball straightened and he was gone, plumb -- joining three Pakistan batsmen yesterday who went LBW without offering a shot.

Nayan Mongia did not last too long in the middle. Completely clueless against Saqlain, he tried the heave-ho method of getting out of trouble, waltzed down the crease a long way only to be comprehensively beaten and stumped by an arm ball from the offie, who has been bowling unchanged since lunch.

At the time of writing this, Ganguly with 33 and Kumble with 2 had got India to 186/6 -- and in what is clearly going to be a low scoring Test, with the first innings lead becoming crucial, the two batsmen were gritting it out in the middle against some very aggressive bowling from the Pakistanis.

Saqlain producing a lovely looping arm ball, Kumble's 45 ball vigil in which he managed just four runs ending as he pushes forward, only to play it off the top of the bat into the hands of short square, India 187/7 at this point and Ganguly rapidly running out of partners.

At tea, Sunil Joshi and Saurav Ganguly walked back with 192 runs on the board, Ganguly batting 34 off 97 balls, Joshi on four, with Srinath and Prasad to follow. For Pakistan, the star was undoubtedly Saqlain Mushtaq -- 27-5-71-5, of which he bowled 14 overs unchanged since lunch, getting three wickets to register yet another five wicket haul.

First Rahul Dravid, and post tea, Saurav Ganguly, getting his turn at showing that India is not entirely Tendulkar-centric.

Ganguly has been drawing on unsuspected reserves of patience in this innings -- this 50, in context of the game, could well rank among the most important Test innings the Bengal southpaw has played.

In a little battle within the war, Ganguly first weathered, finally tamed, Saqlain Mushtaq, smashing him back over his head for two superb sixes on route to his half century.

The drinks break appeared to have disrupted Ganguly's concentration, however -- Afridi picked up the bowling after the break, came round the wicket, sent down an ordinary delivery outside off and Ganguly pushed at it, getting the edge to slip. A fine innings of 54, India 229/8 at the fall of that wicket and still 9 short of overhauling Pakistan's total as Srinath walks to the wicket.

Srinath with a crisply flicked four through midwicket, followed by an attempted encore that went off the leading edge for a single to mid off, gets India on par with the Pakistan score, 2 wickets remaining.