 Pakistan inch closer to safety in Bangalore
10th Dec 2007 20:04 IST
Agencies
It was Harbhajan who broke the Younis-Yousuf partnership when the former was clean bowled while trying to reverse sweep.
Irfan Pathan struck soon after when Yousuf played a loose shot away from his body and edged the delivery to Yuvraj Singh at backward point.
After Tea, Faisal was taken by surprise by the extra bounce of the second new ball in a good length delivery by Ishant Sharma and offered a simple catch to Gautam Gambhir at forward short leg.
But for the most part of the day, the pitch showed no signs of deteriorating and the Indians found the going tough with none of the bowlers being able to make much of an impact.
The large number of 70 extras, including 31 byes, only compounded the misery for the home team who now need a miracle to stop the match from heading towards a tame draw.
Incidentally, Misbah and Akmal were the two batsmen who had helped Pakistan stage an unlikely comeback on day three at Eden Gardens and the needle today pointed towards every indication of a repeat act as both of them helped settle the nerves of the tourists.
Karthik, however, cut a sorry figure behind the stumps, conceding 31 byes.
In all, India conceded a whopping 70 extras, highest by them in a Test innings beating the previous figure of 60 against England in 1969.
The Indians, who amassed a mammoth first innings total of 626, will not be under any pressure to push for a victory as even a draw will give them their first Test series win on home soil against Pakistan in 28 years. |
