da pinup bet： After having picked up eight Pakistani wickets for 142 in the first twosessions, India ran out of steam after tea as Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Sami took Pakistan to 210 for 8
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran in Delhi22-Nov-2007
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Anil Kumble and Co had Pakistan floundering but couldn’t polish off the tail © AFP
Anil Kumble’s first day as India’s Test captain went nearly perfectly fortwo sessions, but a spirited rearguard action from Misbah-ul-Haq andMohammad Sami redressed the balance somewhat on an engrossing opening dayat the Feroz Shah Kotla. Misbah, who had never gone past 41 in hisprevious seven Tests, batted more than four hours for his unbeaten 71,while Sami embarrassed more illustrious team-mates with a defiant 20 thatspanned the entire final session.After having picked up eight Pakistani wickets for 142 in the first twosessions, India ran out of steam after tea, with nothing more than halfchances coming their way. The best of them came just before stumps, whenMisbah pulled Munaf Patel to midwicket. Harbhajan Singh got his hands toit, but the ball was struck with such force that it burst through hisfingers and went for two.By then, with the partnership mounting and spin not providing an answer,Kumble had opted for the new ball, but by the time play was called off 4.2overs early, the ninth-wicket pair had survived 31.4 overs while adding68. The application that they showed was a far cry from theheadless-chicken act that went before, with batsman after batsmanpressured into mistakes by disciplined Indian bowling.The key wicket arrived shortly after lunch, when Mohammad Yousuf playeddown the wrong line to Sourav Ganguly to be trapped in front for 27. Heand Younis Khan had taken heavy toll on the Indian bowlers in recenttimes, but the failure of either to play a big innings here put Pakistanunder severe pressure.For Shoaib Malik, whose decision to bat first in overcast conditions hadbeen most likely prompted by the reluctance to face Kumble in the fourthinnings, it proved too much. Fortunate to survive a confident leg-beforeshout off the first ball he faced from Ganguly, he departed without makinga dent on the scoreboard, fending at a Munaf delivery that left him atouch. When Kamran Akmal walked in with the score 83 for 5, he might havebeen reminded of the Karachi Test last year, when his brilliant centurywon Pakistan the game after they had slumped to 39 for 6.He played a couple of cracking drives and flicks through midwicket, butwhen Kumble returned more than an hour into the second session, he hadno answer to a delivery that shot through at shin height to knock back theoff stump. It was reward for some disciplined bowling at either end, withGanguly especially outstanding in his role as support seamer. Misbah triedto stem the relentless Indian tide with a superb six over long-on offHarbhajan Singh, but the support from the other end was paper-thin untilSami arrived.The innings had started inauspiciously, with both Zaheer and Munaf bowlingprobing spells. Yasir Hameed had the scoreboard ticking with a lovelycover-drive, but Salman Butt was becalmed at the other end. His miserylasted all of 20 balls before Zaheer shaped one back in to beat atentative prod.Younis and Hameed tried to wrest the initiative with some singles, butZaheer’s second intervention of the morning put India firmly on top.Younis had committed himself to the front foot when Zaheer surprised himwith a short ball at the body. The hook was a hurried one, and despite hisreputation as not the most athletic of fielders, Munaf held on to thecatch at fine leg.Yousuf embarked on his innings with a steer to third man and a delightfuloff drive, but when Kumble and Ganguly came on to relieve the openingbowlers, the runs dried up again. Hameed flicked Kumble for a four throughmidwicket, but Ganguly’s use of the seam was causing Yousuf problems atthe other end.A glorious cover-drive broke the shackles briefly, but when Yasir playedall around a straight one from Kumble, it was again backs-to-the-wall forPakistan. Yousuf ended the session with two magnificent square drives, buton a pitch that was hardly a minefield, it was clear that Pakistan wouldneed to perk up after lunch.They couldn’t, and when Harbhajan and Kumble polished off Sohail Tanvirand Shoaib Akhtar in quick succession before tea, Pakistan werein danger of not being able to match the 150 they made here on their firsttour 55 years ago. But as the sun started to shine and the pitch easedout, Misbah and Sami started to grow in confidence. A reverse paddle-sweepgot Misbah his 50, and he then produced a gorgeous on-drive when Munafoverpitched with the new ball.The real star though was Sami, doughty and unflappable in equal measure. Aprecise cut for four off Harbhajan showed what he could do, and thereintroduction of Ganguly only prompted a charge down the pitch and amassive six down the ground. It summed up India’s evening, though they hadevery reason to be otherwise pleased with their day’s work.