 Kumble, Harbhajan spin India to safety at the Kotla
24th Nov 2007 20:00 IST
Agencies
But with Butt and next man in Younis Khan (23) on song, it proved a minor hiccup for the visitors who cruised along. A desperate Kumble tossed the ball to Sachin Tendulkar but even the Little Master's guile was not enough to put a skid under the visitors.
Eventually, Kumble himself brought the breakthrough with a straight delivery that rapped Younis on his pad and umpire Simon Taufel upheld the appeal that left Pakistan at 114/2.
After a barren first spell, Harbhajan was keeping himself warm by stretching and waiting for his turn. His belated introduction notwithstanding, the offie struck with his first ball and Mohammad Yousuf (18) returned following a tame caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Enthused by the breakthrough, Kumble opted for a two-pronged spin attack from both ends and was soon rewarded with the prized wickets of Butt and Shoaib Malik (11).
Butt could not read Kumble's googly and edged it to Rahul Dravid at first slip while Malik made a mess of a cut and ended up dragging a Harbhajan delivery onto his stumps.
Butt was impressive during his 140-ball knock that was studded with 11 boundaries.
Pakistan's first innings hero Misbah announced his arrival with two sixes of an Harbhajan over while Akmal too did his bit to figure in an unbeaten 51-run stand.
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