The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pakistan completes formalities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 09, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Pakistan completes formalities

By S. Dinakar

India 287 & 241

Pakistan 489 & 40 for 1

LAHORE, APRIL 8. When opener Taufeeq Umar glanced Irfan Pathan to the fine-leg fence 26 minutes after lunch on the fourth day, Pakistan had drawn level in the three-Test series at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.

With a comprehensive nine-wicket win for Pakistan, the scores are 1-1 in the Samsung series, and the cricket caravan will now move to Rawalpindi for the decider, beginning on April 13.

With Pakistan requiring just 40 to win, left-handed openers Umar and Imran Farhat faced an over before lunch, and after the break there was some success for India when Fahrat was caught brilliantly by a leaping Yuvraj Singh at point off Balaji. The paceman then beat Yasir Hameed all ends up, but the off-cutter flew inches over the middle-stump. Soon the home team that had endured much criticism for a listless display in the first Test was celebrating.

Earlier, the Indians, resuming at 149 for five, were bowled out for 241, the batting failing to deliver for the second time in the match. After Virender Sehwag fell early to Shoaib Akhtar, Parthiv Patel offered spirited resistance with an impressive 62, but then, after India's capitulation on Wednesday, this was always going to be a losing cause.

For his brilliant spell of five for 31 in 12 probing overs that rocked the Indian batting on Monday, and for producing a peach of a delivery that castled V.V.S. Laxman on the third day, paceman Umar Gul was named the Man of the Match.

Inzamam-ul-Haq started the morning with Akhtar bowling from the College End, and Mohammed Sami supporting the spearhead from the Pavilion End. There must have been some reasoning too in Inzamam's move. A few deliveries had shot through low from the Pavilion End and Inzamam might have wanted Sami, essentially a skidder, to exploit them.

The Indian hopes hinged on Sehwag. But the Delhi dasher had in a circumspect fashion only added four runs to his overnight 86 when he flashed at an Akhtar delivery to be pouched by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. The celebration in the Pakistani camp indicated the importance of the wicket.

Irfan Pathan, promoted ahead of Ajit Agarkar, was given a torrid time by Akhtar with his short-pitched deliveries, a silly point and a short-leg waiting in anticipation. Akhtar, thundering in and generating extreme pace, finally had Pathan fending a short-pitched delivery to Taufeeq Umar in the slip cordon.

It was only after Akhtar's first spell of 5-1-13-2 that the pressure on India eased. Parthiv Patel and Agarkar, keen to prove a point after being demoted in the order, strung together a 75-run eighth-wicket partnership off 86 balls — the highest of the innings — that must have left Inzamam just a touch worried.

Patel batted well, standing up to the pacemen confidently and producing several pretty shots. The left-hander flicked Sami off his shoulder to the square-leg fence, punched Gul off the back-foot to the cover-point boundary, and when Akhtar returned, after a brief rest, pulled him with authority. Patel reached his second Test fifty, steering Gul to the third man fence, and celebrated the achievement with a fierce square-cut when Sami erred in length. Patel, who was eventually left stranded on 62, equalling his previous highest Test score, is not without ability. He played close to his body and handled the short balls well, despite being struck a painful blow in the box early on in the morning.

Agarkar opened the face of the bat to drive, push and steer the pacemen for runs square of the wicket, and when he forced Gul to the point fence it meant Pakistan would have to bat again. The Mumbai cricketer then off-drove Danish Kaneria and soon hit him straight down the ground before the leg-spinner finally snared him, forcing Agarkar to edge a delivery spinning away from him to Taufeeq Umar at slip.

Kaneria in a spell of 4.4-1-13-3 hurried the end of the Indian innings, although the decision of third umpire Nadeem Ghouri to rule Anil Kumble out stumped when the Indian appeared to have a portion of his left foot inside the crease when Akmal removed the bails was debatable. So delighted were the Pakistanis when Balaji was adjudged leg-before to Kaneria that some of the youngsters even removed the stumps, only to be reminded by umpire Steve Bucknor that there was some cricket still left in the match!

SCOREBOARD

INDIA — 1st innings: 287

PAKISTAN — 1st innings: 489

INDIA — 2nd innings

A. Chopra lbw b Akhtar 5

(27b, 1x4)

V. Sehwag c Akmal b Akhtar 90

(134b, 14x4)

R. Dravid (run out)
(0b)
0

S. Tendulkar lbw b Sami 8

(11b, 1x4)

V.V.S. Laxman b Gul 13

(27b, 2x4)

Yuvraj c Akmal b Sami 12

(19b, 2x4)

P. Patel (not out) 62

(108b, 10x4)

I. Pathan c Umar b Akhtar 0

(4b)

A. Agarkar c Umar b Kaneria 36

(48b, 8x4)

A. Kumble st. Akmal
b Kaneria
0

(3b)

L. Balaji lbw b Kaneria 0

(1b)

Extras (lb-8, w-1, nb-6) 15

— —

Total 241

— —

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Chopra), 2-15 (Dravid), 3-43 (Tendulkar), 4-88 (Laxman), 5-105 (Yuvraj), 6-160 (Sehwag), 7-160 (Pathan), 8-235 (Agarkar), 9-241 (Kumble).

Pakistan bowling: Akhtar 17-4-62-3 (nb-1, w-1), Sami 26-6-92-2 (nb-1), Gul 13-1-65-1 (nb-4), Kaneria 6.4-2-14-3.

PAKISTAN — 2nd innings

I. Farhat c Yuvraj b Balaji 9

(11b, 1x4)

T. Umar (not out) 14

(20b, 3x4)

Y. Hameed (not out) 16

(12b, 3x4)

Extras (nb-1) 1

— —

Total (for one wkt.) 40

— —