KARACHI, 30 November 2006 — Pakistan’ top order batted sensibly in the second innings to build a useful lead in the third and final Test against West Indies here yesterday. When play ended yesterday, some 15 fifteen minutes before schedule due to fading light, the home team had taken a sound overall lead of 174 runs, losing two wickets in the process.
Earlier West Indies were all out in their first innings for 260, conceding a small albeit crucial lead of 44 runs in reply to Pakistan’s first innings score of 304. Pakistan in their second innings scored 130 for two, losing the wickets of opener Imran Farhat and vice captain Younis Khan before the umpires offered light which was accepted by the Pakistan batsmen.
With an overall lead of 174 and eight second innings wickets in tact, the main point of interest today will be what target skipper Inzamam ul-Haq thinks would be a competitive one leaving his bowlers to bowl out a fairly strong West Indies batting line up for the second time.
Two more days of play (today and tomorrow) remaining in this final Test, the feeling in the Pakistan camp is that Inzamam would not like to take any unnecessary risk to give the visitors a smooth sailing. Pakistan are one up in the series, having won the first Test in Lahore and drawing the second in Multan and as such they would not like to lose this Test and let the opponents draw the series 1-1. Like any other home team captain Inzamam will be under pressure to win the series and with this Test at this point in time tilted in Pakistan’s favor, he would not let the initiative slip out of his hands. Overall Pakistan dominated the third day’s proceedings. Their bowlers snapped three quick wickets for the addition of just 25 runs before lunch when West Indies resumed their second innings at overnight 191 for six. Daren Ganga (77 overnight), who had batted so well a day before, was the first to fall. He could add only four runs before all-rounder Abdul Razzaq forced an edge into Kamran Akmal’s gloves. The total was now 204 for seven. Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor followed in quick succession giving Gul his fourth wicket of the innings while Taylor was caught by Akmal off Shahid Nazir.
Had it not been for a stubborn half-century by Denesh Ramdin the visitors would have been in a worse situation. The wicketkeeper — batsman hit 50, his fourth in Test cricket off 95 balls which included seven boundaries, and was last man out just before lunch.
Pakistan resumed their second innings after lunch as openers Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat batted painfully slow to add 11 runs from the first 12 overs. Both however gained some confidence as the innings progressed to take the score to 43 when Farhat fell to Powell, edging the fast bowler into keeper Ramdin’s hands. Younis and Hafeez batted with a mix of caution and aggression and took the total to 122 and an overall lead of 166 runs. At this point Younis played a very casual shot, completely misreading the spin of Chris Gayle and was adjudged leg before after making 38.
Mohammad Yousuf, the most talked about player these days with a flurry of runs to his credit during the year, joined Hafeez but soon bad light forced stoppage. Yousuf, who has already a number of records to his credit during 2006, seems set to create another. He needs 46 runs to break Vivian Richards’ record of highest Test runs in a calendar year, which the West Indies legendary batsman set in 1976. At close, Hafeez, who in the meantime had completed his fourth Test 50, was batting at 57 and Yousuf at 1.
