By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : V.V.S. Laxman (57 batting) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (57) Friday brought India closer to Pakistan’s first innings total of 231, after their bowlers had struck back early in the morning on the second day to dismiss the remaining two Pakistani batsmen. Laxman was at the wicket with skipper Anil Kumble (7 batting) as India reached 228 for six, still three short of Pakistan’s total.
Pakistan lasted a little over 10 overs with Misbah-ul-Haq being the top scorer with a priceless 82 (243 balls, 313 minutes, 6x4s, 1×6).
After the early loss of Dinesh Karthik, opener Wasim Jaffer (32, 65 balls, 6x4s) and Rahul Dravid (38, 73 balls, 8x4s) seemed to be steadying the Indian innings when the former left at 71. Sachin Tendulkar (1), Sourav Ganguly (8) and Dravid followed in quick succession to leave India reeling at 93 for five.
It took a 115-run stand between Laxman and Dhoni to shore up the Indian innings, but just when things started looking better for the home team, Dhoni charged Danish Kaneria but only succeeded in edging the ball to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. With Akmal whipping the bails off, it seemed to be a stumping, but match referee Ranjan Madugulle later clarified it was caught behind.
Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and left-arm pacer Sohail Tanveer captured two wickets apiece while Kaneria bagged Dhoni’s scalp.
The day started with Pakistan at 210 for eight wickets with Misbah batting at a gritty 71 and pacer Mohammed Sami giving him company with a responsible 20.
Misbah missed a golden opportunity to notch up his maiden Test century when he ran himself out in a peculiar way when 18 short of the landmark. He appeared to have crossed the crease comfortably when he leapt in the air to avoid a Karthik throw. As a result he was airborne when the stumps were broken by the direct hit.
Misbah and Sami, however, raised 87 precious runs for the ninth wicket, saving Pakistan from total humiliation after their mainline batsmen had failed.
Last man Kaneria did not last long as Kumble bowled him with the Pakistani innings lasting 96.2 overs and 413 minutes.
Kumble was the best bowler with four wickets, all clean bowled. Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan captured two wickets while Munaf Patel, Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh took one wicket each.
SCOREBOARD
Day Two, First Test, India vs. Pakistan, Ferozeshah
Kotla Stadium, Delhi
Pakistan (1st innings, overnight 210/8):
Salman Butt b Khan 1
Yasir Hameed b Kumble 29
Younis Khan c Patel b Khan 7
Mohammad Yousuf lbw b Ganguly 27
Misbah-ul-Haq run out (Dinesh Karthik) 82
Shoaib Malik c Dhoni b Patel 0
Kamran Akmal b Kumble 30
Sohail Tanveer lbw b Harbhajan 4
Shoaib Akhtar b Kumble 2
Mohammad Sami not out 28
Danish Kaneria b Kumble 0
Extras: (byes 6, leg byes 12, wides 2, no ball 1) 21 Total: (all out in 96.2 overs) 231
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Butt, 4.6 overs), 2-35 (Younis, 12.6), 3-59 (Hameed, 21.2), 4-76 (Yousuf, 29.1), 5-83 Malik, (38.5), 6-122 (Akmal, 47.2), 7-137 (Tanveer, 52.1), 8-142 (Akhtar, 53.6), 9-229 (Misbah, 95.4)
Bowling:
Zaheer Khan 20 5 45 2 (1nb, 2w)
Munaf Patel 24 5 61 1
Anil Kumble 21.2 6 38 4
Sourav Ganguly 14 5 28 1
Harbhajan Singh 15 1 37 1
Sachin Tendulkar 2 0 4 0
India (1st innings):
Wasim Jaffer lbw b Akhtar 32
Dinesh Karthik c Akmal b Akhtar 9
Rahul Dravid b Tanveer 38
Sachin Tendulkar run out (Akmal/Mohammad Yousuf) 1
Sourav Ganguly b Tanveer 8
V.V.S. Laxman batting 57
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Akmal b Kaneria 57
Anil Kumble batting 7
Extras: (b 7, lb 8, nb 3, w 1) 19
Total: (for six wickets in 63.2 overs) 228
Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Karthik, 4.2 overs), 2-71 (Jaffer, 21.3), 3-73 (Tendulkar, 21.5), 4-88 (Ganguly, 25.2), 5-93 (Dravid, 27.5), 6-208 (Kumble, 56.2)
Bowling:
Shoaib Akhtar 13 2 36 2 (nb 1)
Sohail Tanvir 19.2 4 75 2 (nb 2)
Mohammad Sami 14 1 58 0
Danish Kaneria 17 3 44 1 (w 1)
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
Third umpire: Suresh Shastri (India)
Fourth umpire: Harnarain Singh Sekhon (India)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)