E-Paper
Dhoni, Irfan steer India to safety
At stumps, the duo had taken the Indian total past the follow-on mark.
Maverick Dhoni blasted his maiden Test hundred to steer India to relative safety, after the Pakistani bowlers threatened to finish off the Indian innings as they sliced through the top-half of the batting line-up.
The visitors reached 441 for five at stumps on third day of the second Test at Faisalabad. Dhoni (119*) along with Pathan (49*) set a record sixth wicket partnership of 144 runs and eased the Indian total past the follow-on mark. The duo counter-attacked the pace bowlers, increasing the tempo of scoring.
Dhoni, in particular, was in a swashbuckling mode, hitting four sixes and 14 fours. Pathan was more subtle, but nonetheless effective.
Before tea, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid had put on a solid 197-run stand.
They looked invincible at one stage, successfully blunting the edge of Pakistani bowling. But a spirited show by the home team, coupled with errors in judgement, broke the partnership. Dravid finished with patient 103 off 220 balls with 16 fours, while Laxman (90) missed out on a definite century.
Final Session:
Resuming the play after tea, Dhoni and Pathan continued their blitzkrieg, scoring at a brisk pace against Pakistani bowlers. Their 100-run partnership came in just 94 balls.
The wicketkeeper-batsman became more aggressive as he closed in on his hundred and even started to charge the pacers down the track.
Acting skipper Younis Khan tried to stop him, stationing two fielders back for the pull. But Dhoni's whacks were too powerfully hit for fielders to have a chance.
He soon smashed his way to his first Test ton in 93 balls. Pathan, at the other end, got to 49, as they broke the record for the sixth wicket partnership.
Post-Lunch Session:
Resuming play after break, Rahul Dravid hit his back-to-back hundred. But Pakistan blasted back to turn the screws on India.
Laxman, approaching his hundred, fell first after Kaneria's top-spin managed to get an edge from his blade.
After Laxman's dismissal, Dravid committed hara kiri, running himself out for a patient 103.
With two well-set batsmen back to the pavilion and a new ball in play, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar found it hard to adjust. The two batsmen soon succumbed to some clever field-placements by Younis Khan.
Dhoni and Pathan, however, prevented any further damage from occurring, taking the attack to the opposition. Dhoni in particular, was in a devastating mood, hitting Kaneria for two massive sixes in one over. One of them, in fact, landed in a ditch outside the ground. He reached his fifty in just 35 balls.
Morning Session:
Dravid and Laxman continued their forage for runs in the morning. Acting captain Younis, on for injured Inzamam, began with an all-pace attack, blooding Shoaib Akthar and Mohammed Asif early.
The duo extracted some raw pace and bounce from the wicket, exploiting some morning freshness and bringing the scoring-rate down considerably. But the Dravid-Laxman combine stuck to their guns and prevented any wicket from falling.
India finishing overnight at 110/1, cantered to 30 more, when irked Younis finally decided to bring Danish Kaneria into attack.
Its immediate fall-out was that both the batsmen seizing the opportunity, opened up and got the momentum back in India's favour.
