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Despite a first over hat-trick by Irfan Pathan,
India still found itself on the back foot after day
two of the Karachi Test. The bowlers finally had
something to laugh about as 22 wickets fell on the
first two days of the Test- a complete contrast to
the earlier two games in Lahore and Faisalabad.
But by the end of the second day's play, the pitch
seemed to have eased up enough for batsmen to
dominate once again. It was the same two Ys at the
crease again, who were looking to put together yet
another threatening partnership. This, after the
young opening pair had already put on a century
stand for the opening wickets. Both Imran Farhat
and Salman Butt notched half-centuries before the
latter was undone by a good Ganguly delivery, while
Farhat fell going for an ambitious pull against
Pathan, only to hand a simple catch to Tendulkar.
But the troubles had only just begun for India as
Yousuf and Younis looked in ominous form yet again
despite their first innings failure. The duo had
already taken their team to 173-2 at the end of
stumps, a healthy lead of 180 with 8 wickets and
three full days in hand.
Things could have been much better for the home
side if only they had not frittered away the great
start provided by Pathan and Khan in conditions
perfect for swing bowlers. The former went on to
become the first Indian to register a hat-trick in
the opening over of the Test match. The beauty of
the 'trick was the variety in the mode of
dismissals. Salman Butt was the first to go caught
in the slips, Younis Khan was trapped plumb in
front by an incoming delivery while Mohammed Yousuf
was cleaned up with a beauty of a delivery.
Zaheer Khan too justified his selection for the
Test ahead of Agarkar by providing full support to
Pathan. At one stage, the home side was reeling at
39-6, but India just did not have enough firepower
to finish off the innings as Kamran Akmal played
yet another exceptional knock. His century might
well end up to being the difference between the two
sides. But Pakistan wouldn't have got up to 245 but
for some crucial support from Razzaq and even
Shoaib Akhtar, as the Indian bowlers struggled once
the ball lost its shine.
After failing to capitalise on a dream start, the
Indian batsmen themselves found the going tough.
India sprung up a big surprise first up by opening
with Laxman and Dravid. But that did not help much.
Both fell to magnificent deliveries as India found
themselves in immediate trouble. Mohammed Asif and
Abdul Razzaq were the stars for the Pakistanis with
the ball. The latter, who has got a great track
record against Tendulkar, once again got rid of the
Little Master. And Sehwag's dismissal before that
meant that Pakistan had turned around their
fortunes unbelievably on Day one. From 0-3 to 245
and then having India tottering India at 74-4, the
home side had every right to be mightily pleased at
the end of the day one.
Razzaq and Asif continued their good work the
following day as both Ganguly and Yuvraj got starts
but could not capitalise on them. In the end, it
needed yet another vital contribution from Pathan
with some good support from Zaheer to take India
close to Pakistan's total.
The pitch has now eased out and Pakistan seem on
course for a big 2nd innings score. Though the
wicket is only expected to get better, India will
definitely have their task cut out in their final
innings. The one major positive for India though is
that they will have enough time to chase whatever
Pakistan set.
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