By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Bangalore : Barring a miracle, India are set to wrap up their first home series against Pakistan in 28 years. The home side is ahead 1-0 and a draw in the third and final Test here, which on the fourth day Tuesday seemed to be the most likely result, will be sufficient to break the jinx.
The inability of the bowlers – pacer Ishant Sharma, however, took his first five-wicket haul – to shut out Pakistan quickly in their first innings on the fourth and penultimate day meant that it is now extremely difficult for India to add another win to the one registered in the first match in Delhi.
Replying to India’s first-innings’ 626, Pakistan made 537 – conceding an 89-run lead. This lead could have been bigger had India not conceded a world-record 76 ‘extras’, which let Pakistan off the hook.
In their second innings, India were 131 for two, with Rahul Dravid batting on 35 (141 minutes, 76 balls, 5x4s) and Sourav Ganguly on 63 (111 minutes, 89 balls, 9x4s, 1×6). They have raised 105 for the unbeaten third wicket partnership. India now have an overall lead of 220.
If India failed to enforce the follow-on earlier in the day, it was due to their bowlers’ failure to dislodge a determined Misbah-ul-Haq (133 not out, 407 minutes, 322 balls, 17x4s) and an equally dogged Kamran Akmal (65, 174 minutes, 114 balls, 12x4s). Even debutant Yasir Arafat (44, 70 balls, 7x4s) defied the attack for 97 minutes while playing the supporting role to perfection.
To be fair to the Indian bowlers, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch suited the batsmen as the ball neither swung much nor it assisted the spinners.
Pakistan avoided the ignominy of follow-on due to Misbah’s second successive century and his 144-run sixth-wicket partnership off 236 balls with Akmal. This stand ensured that Pakistan overhauled the follow-on target of 427 and got closer to India’s mammoth total.
Although lanky pacer Sharma took five wickets for 118 in only his second Test, the burst came too late in the day. The Delhi player was, however, guilty of bowling as many as nine no balls that contributed in the creating the world-record of most ‘extras’.
If India want to infuse some life in the match, captain Anil Kumble will have to declare the innings at some stage early Wednesday and give Pakistan a target. Younis Khan, an aggressive and position captain, would surely go for whatever target Kumble sets for Pakistan.
If the match ends in a draw, Younis will be the first Pakistani captain to lose a series in India after Asif Iqbal in 1979.
Whatever the result, this match will be remembered for its batting feats, some poor bowling and sloppy fielding and wicket-keeping. It was also Ranjan Madugalle’s 100th match as an International Cricket Council match referee.
Tuesday’s honours belonged to Misbah, who established himself as the No.5 batsman during the tour, and Sharma, who returned with enviable figures of 33.1-10-118-5 and brought himself into contention for a berth for the upcoming Australian tour.
Sharma’s last spell was particularly brilliant – 6.1-2-9-4. But three of his victims were the tail enders – Mohammed Sami, Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria – while Arafat and Faisal Iqbal were the only recognised batsmen.
The right-armer had problems with his left foot and bowled an unusually high nine no balls. But since he is just 19, he has age on his side to remove this shortcoming.
Sharma’s no balls and poor wicket-keeping by Dinesh Karthik ‘helped’ India break the West Indies’ world record of 71 ‘extras’ conceded against Pakistan in the Georgetown match in 1988. India had already broken their own previous record of 60 ‘extras’ Monday.
India ‘missed’ another unenviable world-record of most byes in an innings. Karthik, who replaced an injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, conceded 35 byes. The record is held by England who had conceded 37 against Australia at The Oval, London, in 1934.
The day began with Pakistan resuming their first innings at 369 for five, with Misbah batting on 54 and Akmal on 32. Soon after Akmal completed his career’s eighth half-century in the 64th innings of his 38th match, he became the first man of the day to be dismissed.
As he stretched forward to play off-spinner Harbhajan Singh he missed the turn and Karthik whipped off the bails. The umpire sought a replay and the TV umpire confirmed the stumping.
The sixth wicket partnership between Misbah and Akmal yielded 144 runs off 236 balls that helped Pakistan avoid the follow-on.
Misbah, looking calm and composed, continued to play effortlessly as Monday. In the company of Arafat, he tried hard to reach his century before lunch but he failed by a solitary run. He must have had an uncomfortable lunch on 99.
At lunch, Pakistan were 470 for six, having scored 101 in 30 overs in the morning session during which Akmal was the only batsman to be out.
All-rounder Arafat proved an ideal partner for Misbah as he gave him as much strike as possible while himself adding to the team total. Both raised 93 for the seventh wicket before Arafat played a Sharma delivery on to his stumps.
The wicket started a mini late-order collapse as the lanky Sharma claimed four wickets in successive overs, that of Arafat, Sami, Akhtar and Kaneria. Just minutes before the tea interval, Pakistan were all out for 537 in 168.1 overs, conceding a lead of 89.
In India’s second innings, after Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir failed to get going, Ganguly smashed a brisk half-century – his 30th. Having scored his first double century in the first innings, the left-hander played some sweetly timed drives.
SCOREBOARD
Day 4, Third Test, India vs. Pakistan, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
India (1st innings): 626
Pakistan (1st innings, overnight 369/5):
Salman Butt c Karthik b Ganguly 68
Yasir Hameed lbw b Kumble 19
Younis Khan b Harbhajan 80
Mohammad Yousuf c Yuvraj b Pathan 24
Misbah-ul-Haq not out 133
Faisal Iqbal c Gambhir b Sharma 22
Kamran Akmal st Karthik b Harbhajan 65
Yasir Arafat b Sharma 44
Mohammad Sami b Sharma 1
Shoaib Akhtar c Gambhir b Sharma 1
Danish Kaneria c & b Sharma 4
Extras: (byes 35, leg byes 26, no balls 15) 76
Total: (all out in 168.1 overs) 537
Fall of wickets: 1-59 (Hameed, 16.3 overs), 2-149 (Butt, 46.2), 3-221 (Younis, 69.1), 4-227 (Yousuf, 70.6), 5-288 (Iqbal, 96.1), 432-6 (Akmal, 135.2), 7-525 (Arafat, 162.4), 8-527 (Sami, 164.4), 9-529 (Akhtar, 166.2)
Bowling:
Irfan Pathan 37 14 80 1
Ishant Sharma 33.1 10 118 5 (9nb)
Anil Kumble 44 12 116 1
Sourav Ganguly 10 2 20 1 (1nb)
Harbhajan Singh 38 7 131 2
Yuvraj Singh 6 2 11 0 (1nb)
India (2nd innings):
Wasim Jaffer lbw Arafat 18
Gautam Gambhir b Shoaib Akhtar 3
Rahul Dravid batting 35
Sourav Ganguly batting 63
Extras: (b 4, lb 6, nb 2) 12
Total: (for two wickets in 37 overs) 131
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Gambhir, 6.4 overs), 2-26 (Jaffer, 12.5)
Bowling:
Shoaib Akhtar 9 3 21 1
Mohammad Sami 11 1 36 0 (1nb)
Yasir Arafat 9 2 38 1 (1nb)
Danish Kaneria 8 0 30 0
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)
Third umpire: G.A. Pratapkumar (India)
Fourth umpire: Suhas Phadkar (India)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)