FAISALABAD, 25 January 2006 — Barring something as unimaginable as an early morning Pakistan’s second innings collapse yesterday, the second Test is all but over as a tame draw with only a day’s play remaining and the second innings still to be completed.
Except for a brief period on Monday, when Pakistani bowlers captured four wickets in the first hour of the post-lunch session to reduce India to 281 for 5, a result was never on the cards. After India had scored 603 in the first innings in reply to Pakistan’s 588, taking a slender but symbolic 15-run lead, Pakistan in their second innings replied with 152 for one at the close of play on the fourth day here yesterday.
The high-scoring and weather-hit first Test in Lahore had also ended in a draw and the two teams will now have to fight it out in the third Test, which begins in Karachi from Sunday.
In the absence of regular opener Shoaib Malik, who is away to attend his ailing father, Kamran Akmal opened Pakistan’s second innings with Salman Butt about 30 minutes after the lunch interval. The two gave a brisk 52-run start before Butt, who has not been in the best of form in this series, was deceived by Anil Kumble having miscued an on-drive to be caught by Sachin Tendulkar for 24.
The early setback however did not deter the Pakistanis despite the fact that they are two batsmen short in this innings as skipper Inzamam ul-Huq is nursing a back injury. Younis Khan, who is leading Pakistan in Inzamam’s absence and Akmal added 100 runs for the undefeated second wicket partnership. When play ended Pakistan had an overall lead of 137 runs. Younis (64) has so far hit 11 boundaries in his 13th Test half century and Akmal’s unbeaten 59, his second Test 50, included 10 boundaries.
Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (116) and Irfan Pathan (49) resumed India’s first innings at 441 for 5, the visitors still trailing by 147 runs. Pathan completed his fifth Test 50 in the first over of the day by driving Danish Kaneria for a four. From the other end Dhoni lashed out at Shoaib Akhtar, hitting four boundaries off the pace spearhead in the sixth over of the morning.
Pathan and Dhoni took the score to 491 and their team into a relatively safe position when Kaneria achieved the first breakthrough. The leg-spinner tempted Dhoni for a big hit who was smartly stumped by Akmal for 148, made from 152 balls. Pathan and Kumble then added 38 for the seventh wicket before the Indian fast bowler was trapped lbw by Abdul Razzaq, to miss what would have been his maiden Test century against Pakistan by 10 runs. India’s seventh wicket fell at 529 and there was hope in the Pakistan camp that they may be able to take a first innings lead. But the Indian tail — Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and R.P. Singh defied the Pakistani bowlers to dash the hope.
