CALCUTTA, 18 March 2005 — Pakistan came to India on this tour tagged as the underdogs but their performance in the first Test at Mohali and at Eden Gardens on the second day of the second Test does not qualify them for the title any more. In fact they now seem to have a proper measure of the Indian batting and bowling and look as much impressive as their hosts.
Their 273 for 2 a befitting reply to India’s 407 in the first innings says it all and by all calculations at this stage of the series they seem to be well in control. A fighting draw in the first Test has given them the fillip they urgently required to compete at equal level. They surely do look much more sure of themselves than when they arrived and were unable to have a proper practice as their three-day game was ruined by rain. In the first Test they owed their escape to young Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq who both played match-saving innings.
Here in Calcutta they were rallied by experienced Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan who each made a century to share an unbroken record third-wicket partnership of 203 against India in India after Pakistan had bowled India out before lunch and had lost both their openers with only 70 runs scored after lunch.
Both Youhana and Younis Khan dominated the last two sessions blunting in the process the Indian spin twin Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh and the pace duo Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji. At close the two batsmen unruffled and in full control were unbeaten with 101 and 108 respectively recording their 13th and seventh Test centuries.
Displaying impeccable temperament and matching stroke for stroke the two frustrated the Indian bowling and fielding by stealing quick singles and smashing any loose deliveries to the fence. At lunch Pakistan were 19 without loss having opened with Taufiq Umar and Shahid Afridi. Afridi was the first to go having made 29 off 21 balls having hit seven fours in that period. Pulling Irfan Pathan he mistimed the shot and was comfortably taken at mid-on by Sachin Tendulkar. The score then was 35.
Taufiq dropped twice off Balaji in the slips by Rahul Dravid and by Virendar Sehwag in the gully on either side of lunch failed to take advantage when he tucked one in the air at short mid-wicket to Harbhajan Singh off Balaji when 18. Not a good start for Pakistan and they had every reason to worry about that.
Those were the only damage that the Indian bowlers inflicted as for the rest of the day it was Younis and Youhana show as the two progressed merrily to 147 at tea. Younis had already completed his half-century and Youhana was with him at 44. Their 100 runs partnership had come immediately after Youhana too had reached his fifty having hit seven fours. The two were past the previous best third-wicket stand by the Pakistanis in India when they crossed 155 shared by Shoaib Mohammad and Javed Miandad at Madras in 1987.
Younis relished cutting the ball and pulling it round the corner and dispatching a few past cover and point with immaculate precision to reach his first century against India and the seventh in Tests in 212 minutes batting having hit 13 boundaries and faced146 deliveries. Not much later Youhana got his with a well-struck 4 to leg side off Harbhajan. His innings was studded with 13 fours off 171 balls. India earlier resuming at 344 for 6 added 63 more runs to be all out for 407. Dinesh Karthik was run out for 28, Balaji was bowled by Afridi off a googly, Pathan was caught at silly mid-off and Harbhajan was leg before to Abdul Razzaq for 27 having put on 44 for the last wicket with Anil Kumble.
