December
8, 2007
Yuvraj, Ganguly Hit Centuries
to put India in Command By Qaiser
Mohammad Ali
Bangalore
Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly smashed centuries and their record
300 runs fifth-wicket partnership saw India amass 365 for five
wickets on the opening day of the third and final Test against
Pakistan here Saturday.
Yuvraj scored this third century (169, 203 balls, 252 minutes,
28x4s, 1x6) and Ganguly his 15th (125 batting, 214 balls, 294
minutes, 20x4s) as India dominated the two of the three sessions
after Pakistan had reduced the hosts to 61 for four in the morning.
But Yuvraj and Ganguly did not let the cheap dismissals of Wasim
Jaffer (17), Gautam Gambhir (5) and local hero Rahul Dravid (19)
affect their batting as they hammered 48 of the 56 boundaries during
the day at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
At close, Dinesh Karthik (3) was the other batsman at the crease.
The Yuvraj-Ganguly partnership broke several records and virtually
crippled the Pakistani bowling attack, with spearhead Shoaib Akhtar
bowling only 10 overs before leaving the field with back spasms.
Pace bowling all-rounder Yasir Arafat, however, had a memorable
debut as he took three wickets in 13 balls in an incisive first
spell that rocked the Indian top order.
Yuvraj showed his class and form while Ganguly consolidated his
position in the team with centuries in successive Tests.
While it was Yuvraj's third century in his 20 Tests, all three
coming against Pakistan in seven matches, it was Ganguly's second
against them.
The pair first broke the highest partnership for the fifth wicket at
this venue. Then they erased India's highest fifth wicket stand
against Pakistan, 200 between Ravi Shastri and Sandeep Patil in
Faisalabad in 1984.
And, finally, Yuvraj and Ganguly also broke the highest ever
fifth-wicket stand between the two countries, 213 between Mudassar
Nazar and Zaheer Abbas in Karachi in 1982.
Akhtar was taken to a local hospital for an MRI scan soon after
lunch interval. The tests revealed just spasms, but he did not bowl
again. The team management said that a call on him would be taken
Sunday morning.
Debutant Arafat was the only bowler who impressed in the morning
session. He bowled an inspired and incisive spell to claim three
wickets and help reduce India to 61 for four before Yuvraj and
Ganguly took over.
All the smiles in the Pakistani camp were restricted to the first
session. After lunch, it was India all the way, cheered on by a
vocal 30,000-plus crowd.
Yuvraj, who could not find a place in the top-heavy batting order in
the first two Tests despite his brilliant form in one-dayers against
Pakistan, looked in fabulous touch right from the moment he took the
guard. He played flowing drives, forceful cuts and paddle sweep
shots.
Ganguly nursed his protégé by giving him much of the strike,
preferring to play the supporting role.
Yuvraj, playing his first Test since June last year, completed his
century (137 balls, 167 minutes, 18x4s) with an extra cover driven
boundary off Arafat and Ganguly got to his 15th century (178 balls,
247 minutes, 18x4s) with an extra-cover four off part-time bowler
Yasir Hameed.
Yuvraj was finally out in the closing moments of the day when he
top-edged an intended flick to the on off Sami, giving a simple
catch to Faisal Iqbal at gully.
Ganguly and Karthik saw off the day out.
It was Sami provided the breakthrough in the morning when he had
Gautam Gambhir, playing his first Test since 2005, caught behind.
Jaffer, who scored a double century in the drawn second Test in
Kolkata, and local hero Rahul Dravid then tried to resurrect the
innings.
Jaffer got a 'life' when Sami dropped him off Akhtar when he was on
two. He seemed to be settling down hitting a couple of boundaries,
but both he and Dravid left in quick succession.
Dravid edged debutant Arafat to first-slip Misbah-ul-Haq and the
pacer from Rawalpindi, coming for injured Umar Gul, struck again in
the nest over, as Jaffer padded up to an in-swinging deliveryto be
legbefore. Two overs later, the 25-year-old pacer accounted for
V.V.S. Laxman, when the stylish Hyderabadi chopped the ball on to
his stumps.
At lunch, it was an uncomfortable Indian dressing room with the team
struggling at 65 for four. Thereafter, it was all India with the two
elegant left-handers completely dominating the Pakistani attack.
The second session, between lunch and tea intervals, completely
belonged to India as the left-handed pair held sway. The Pakistani
bowlers who had dominated the day's first two hours looked
pedestrian.
In the third session, by which time the bowlers and fielders were
clearly looked tired, the lone success for Pakistan was Yuvraj's
wicket.
SCOREBOARD
India (1st innings):
Wasim Jaffer lbw b Arafat 17
Gautam Gambhir c Akmal b Sami 5
Rahul Dravid c Misbah b Arafat 19
Sourav Ganguly batting 125
V.V.S. Laxman b Arafat 5
Yuvraj Singh c Iqbal b Sami 169
Dinesh Karthik batting 3
Extras: (b 9, lb 7, nb 6) 22
Total: (for five wickets in 90 overs) 365
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Gambhir, 7.4 overs), 2-44 (Dravid, 16.2), 3-51
(Jaffer, 18.3), 4-61 (Laxman, 22.2), 5-361 (Yuvraj, 87.4)
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)
Third umpire: G.A. Pratapkumar (India)
Fourth umpire: Suhas Phadkar (India)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Bangalore