The Hindu : Sport : Pathan steals the thunder

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Saturday, Dec 11, 2004

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Pathan steals the thunder

By Sanjay Rajan

PATHAN ON A ROLL: Rajin Saleh walks back to the pavilion after being trapped in front by Irfan Pathan.

DHAKA, DEC. 10. At 25 minutes to five, just when we had begun to think he might have to wait another day for his 435th Test scalp, came the now-familiar celebration from Anil Kumble. The quiet pumping of the fists, followed by the high-fives with colleagues.

Md. Rafique's name will go down in history books as the leg-spinner's Indian record-achieving scalp: plumb leg-before to a top-spinner, while on the back-foot, after having survived a similar appeal the previous ball.

It had been worth the wait this day, though a touch long, considering that much of the interest in the opening day's play of the first Test in the Videocon series between India and Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here on Friday had centred on when the Indian leg-spinner would upstage Kapil Dev's mark. This is the Bangalorean's 91st Test, 40 fewer than Kapil Dev.

Put in, the host was bowled out for 184. It was not Kumble, but the young left-arm seamer, Irfan Pathan, who stole the thunder in the early half of the play with his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. It was the Baroda bowler's ninth Test.

Delayed start

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's decision to bowl first was obviously influenced by the wetness in the pitch, which had delayed the start to 12 noon. The conditions aided seam bowling, and the host's top-order was in trouble from the word `go'. Pathan pitched the ball up, and reaped the rewards for doing so, while his senior partner, Zaheer Khan, kept bowling short of good length.

Reduced to 50 for five by the 16th over, Bangladesh was clearly heading for a collapse, but managed to recover to some extent thanks to Md. Ashraful's unbeaten 60 and his half-century stands with left-handers Manjarul Islam and Md. Rafique. For the record, Bangladesh's lowest score is 87 against the West Indies at this very venue in 2002-03.

Three of the top-five batsmen fell leg-before playing half-cock to Pathan, who was in line for a hat-trick on two separate occasions. Opener Javed Omar fell to Pathan, shouldering arms even as he was hit on the pad in line of the stumps. Later, Pathan claimed the other opener Nafis Iqbal, and Rajin Saleh, both leg-before, off successive deliveries with his sharp inswingers. Ashraful denied him a hat-trick. He was to deny him another later.

The onus was on skipper Habibul Bashar, the most accomplished player in the side, to bail the team out of trouble. But Zaheer enticed the hard-hitting batsman with a short delivery, which he dutifully hooked down Sachin Tendulkar's throat at square-leg.

Vice-captain Khaled Mashud played a delectable cover-drive off Zaheer, but the bowler had the last laugh when Mashud failed to get behind the line of the ball and managed to only nick it behind.

Gutsy bat

Islam is a gutsy bat. Pathan had him squaring up on a couple of occasions, but the southpaw handled the early phase impressively and settled down to add 56 for the sixth wicket with Ashraful.

Islam played some good shots. He drove Pathan to the fence in the cover-point region, cover-drove Ganguly for a boundary, pulled Kumble, who was introduced in the 21st over, for four runs, before being dismissed caught behind to Pathan in the bowler's second spell when he followed a rising delivery, which was leaving the bat.

Pathan was in line for a hat-trick again, when he had Mushfiqur Rahman leg-before with his very next delivery. It was the last ball of the 35th over.

Ashraful, who has a Test century against Sri Lanka to his credit, is a compact batsman with a sensible approach. He laid anchor, which was the need of the hour. Ashraful found able support in Rafique. The latter, who has a Test hundred in the West Indies to his name, batted freely in the eighth-wicket stand of 69, striking off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for two boundaries.

Kumble replaced Harbhajan for his second spell and claimed Rafique in his 12th over. The Bangalorean was on a hat-trick when he had Tapash Baisya caught by Rahul Dravid at slip. Last-man Mashrafe Mortaza survived.

The Indian innings could not commence owing to insufficient light, despite the floodlighting.

Speaking about his effort later, Pathan said, "It was a good wicket to bowl on in the morning. It was a bit damp. I put the ball in the right areas. You're not going to get wickets by just rolling your arm over."

Pathan continued, "For me playing for India is a big motivation, no matter what the opposition is."

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