 Pakistan inch closer to safety in Bangalore
10th Dec 2007 20:04 IST
Agencies
Pakistan relied on a gritty batting display to break India's stranglehold in the third and final Test with the visitors needing just 58 runs to avoid the follow-on at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today.
Resuming at the overnight score of 86/1, most of the top order Pakistani batsmen came up with useful contributions to fight their way back into the game on a benign track, which gave little assistance to the bowlers.
The first session produced 94 runs for Pakistan in which they lost Salman Butt, while the post-lunch session yielded 85 for the loss of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf (24).
The final session proved even more productive with 104 runs coming for the loss of Faisal Iqbal (22).
The in-form Misbah-ul-Haq (54) and wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal (32) were at the crease at stumps on the third day with the tourists reaching 369/5 and looking quite confident to avert the threat of the follow on with five wickets still intact.
Apart from Misbah, Butt (68) and Younis (80) were the main scorers for Pakistan who desperately need to win the match to level the three-match series 1-1.
Resuming their innings at 86/1, the visitors lost their first wicket of the day when Butt perished caught behind off Sourav Ganguly after a well-made knock.
Butt made a confident 68 before a Ganguly delivery induced a thin edge from his bat to give an easy catch to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps.
Butt, who hit four boundaries this morning before falling prey to the man with the golden arm, had a respite earlier when Gautam Gambhir, fielding at short leg, failed to hold on to a chest-high catch off Harbhajan Singh.
Younis and Yousuf hardly looked uncomfortable at the crease in their partnership of 72 runs, as the stand-in Pakistani captain hit twelve fours in his knock of 80.
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