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Kolkata Test: Twists & turns on Day 3

Sachin (52) fell to a dubious decision, leaving the game keenly poised. Score | Replay | Player of the day | Bhajji's backyard

Updated on: Mar 18, 2005, 21:37:00 IST
PTI | By , Kolkata
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Indian batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid built on Anil Kumble's effort with half-centuries to put the second Test against Pakistan in an intriguing position on Friday.

HT Image
HT Image

Tendulkar scored a solid 52 before falling to a dubious decision and Dravid hit an unbeaten 54 as India recovered from a shaky 23/2 to reach 133/3 at stumps on the third day of fluctuating fortunes for an overall lead of 147.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly (four) kept Dravid company when bad light stopped play 11 minutes before the scheduled close.

Tendulkar was given out caught behind off seamer Abdul Razzaq by West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor, standing in a record 100th Test.

TV replays later suggested that the ball had missed the bat. The umpiring decision angered a section of the 35,000-strong crowd which jeered Bucknor.

Leg-spinner Kumble earlier claimed three scalps in seven overs during a Pakistani collapse which saw the tourists lose their last eight wickets for 112 runs on a slow-turning Eden Gardens pitch.

Pakistan looked set to gain a big lead after being strongly placed at 281/2 in reply to India's first-innings total of 407, before being bowled out for 393 to concede a lead of 14.

Pakistan hit back strongly when paceman Mohammad Sami bowled openers Virender Sehwag (15) and Gautam Gambhir (one) in his first two overs.

India had to rely on Tendulkar and Dravid to pull themselves out of trouble.

The pair launched a vigorous counter-attack to boost their team's hopes of setting a stiff target on a track expected to favour spin on the last two days.

Tendulkar, who made 94 and 52 in his previous two innings against Pakistan, completed his third successive half-century in the last session when he cut Razzaq for his ninth four.

Scorecard

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