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 Rawalpindi,
April 15: Pressing on relentlessly in their pursuit of a first-ever
series triumph in Pakistan, India had the home side on the mat after
Rahul Dravid reached another batting landmark by scoring 270 on the
third day of the series-deciding Test here today. After scoring a
massive 600 to take a mammoth 375-run first innings lead by the post-tea
session, the visitors knocked off both the Pakistan openers to leave the
hosts struggling at 49 for two. Pakistan had made 224 in their first
essay. Dravid, who had been batting since the last session of day one,
became the first Indian to have scored five double centuries in Test
cricket before he fell after tea today reverse-sweeping an Imran Farhat
ball into his stumps. The 495-ball effort, the Indian vice-captain's
career-best knock, contained a six and 34 boundaries.
Hit hard by the absence
of their best bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who injured his thumb on the
follow-through towards the close of play last evening and did not come
out at all to the ground today, Pakistan bowlers toiled all day but got
success only when it was already too late. The highlight of the day's
proceedings was certainly the batsmanship of Dravid who again lived up
to his reputation as 'The Wall' and slammed his third double century of
the season to take his tally to five and eclipse the legendary Sunil
Gavaskar's record of four double tons. The right-handed batsman also
earned the distinction of scoring the highest total at the Pindi
Stadium, erasing Salim Malik's effort of 237.
 Dravid
displayed tremendous concentration and stamina during his marathon
740-minute vigil at the crease which saw him share century stands with
three of the top order batsmen -- opener Parthiv Patel, V V S Laxman and
skipper Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly made a fine 128-ball 77 with the help of
12 fours before he was dismissed in a bizarre fashion -- being run out
after he ducked to a throw from substitute Imran Nazir from point.
Yuvraj Singh also chipped in with a valuable 47. Dravid was the ninth
batsman to fall and the Indian first innings folded up for 600 just a
few minutes before the last drinks break. Resuming at the overnight
score of 342 for four, Dravid and Ganguly played out the initial overs
cautiously and were quite content in waiting for the loose balls for
keeping the scoreboard ticking.
A depleted Pakistan
bowling attack relied on Mohammad Sami and Fazle Akbar to provide the
breakthrough in the morning but the duo were made to look pedestrian
against some quality batting by the opposition. Dravid appeared picture
of concentration as he continued from where he left yesterday and
brought about his 150 in style, square driving Sami to the point
boundary. The pair put on 131 runs for the fifth wicket before Ganguly
was run out, paying the price for some poor running between the wickets.
The left-hander played the ball towards point and went for a cheeky
single but failed to ground his bat. Ganguly made the mistake of trying
to avoid the ball hitting him rather than running straight, giving the
fielder just that extra second to do his job.
 Yuvraj
Singh, who joined the action after his captain's dismissal, took his
time to judge the pace and bounce of the track and was quite content in
keeping the scoreboard moving with gentle pushes and nudges in the
initial stages of his innings. But after getting his eye in, Yuvraj
showed his class with some breathtaking shots, picking up Fazle Akbar
for special treatment by clobbering him for a couple of boundaries.
Dravid and Yuvraj stitched 98 runs for the sixth wicket before Sami, who
returned for a fresh spell after the drinks break, got rid of Yuvraj,
trapping him leg before wicket. The elegant Dravid, who was dropped on
71 yesterday, had another slice of luck when a confident shout for a
catch by Imran Nazir at forward short leg was turned down by umpire
David Shepherd with Kaneria being the bowler.
Irfan Pathan, who
scored a gritty 49 in the last Test in Lahore, played sensibly and tried
to give as much support as possible to Dravid who showed remarkable
application during his monumental knock. But after tea, Pathan, Anil
Kumble and Lakshmipathy Balaji fell quickly trying to put on some quick
runs on the board. At close, Yasir Hameed was batting on eight while
Kamran Akmal was on 13. (Agencies)
Published: Thursday,
April 15, 2004
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