Very rarely in Test cricket do you see a team managing to amass a score of almost 700 in less than five sessions. Not even the Aussies, who pride themselves on scoring at close to four runs per over, have managed to achieve this, save in a Test at Perth against a weak side like Zimbabwe in 2003-04. But Pakistan did accomplish this feat on the first two days of the Lahore Test against arch-rivals India.
 

It, however, speaks more about the quality of the pitch at the Gaddafi stadium than the impotence of the Indian attack. To say that the 22-yard strip on which the match is being played is a batsman's paradise and bowler's nightmare would be stating the obvious. Ask Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal, all of whom would readily nod their head in agreement. After all, the foursome took full advantage of the conditions and tore apart the Indian bowling en route to their respective tons. After two days of slam-bang cricket, it's the home team who find themselves in the driver's seat with the opposition still trailing by over 500 runs.
 

India did get off to a positive start early on the first day. After losing the toss, Yuvraj Singh provided the visitors with an early breakthrough, running out the extremely talented Salman Butt. The opener was caught napping by a direct throw from Yuvraj. But that was about the only reason to celebrate for the Indians for the next day-and-a-half.
 

Makeshift opener Shoaib Malik and vice-captain Younis Khan have an extraordinarily impressive record against the Indians, and the duo maintained it. Runs came fast and thick against the clueless bowlers. Pathan finally managed to break the partnership by dismissing Malik, but not before the batsman had crossed the fifty-mark.
 

But India's miseries had only just begun. In came Md. Yousuf (formerly Yousuf Youhana) and immediately got into a groove on the featherbed. But the opening day belonged to Younis Khan, who smashed his tenth Test hundred, an innings inclusive of some spanking drives, cuts and sweeps that would have done the best batsmen in the world proud. Yousuf too wasn't far behind and handled the spinners with ease making good use of his feat. At the end of the day's play, both batsmen remained unconquered, with Younis closing in on yet another 150 and Yousuf nearing his century.
 

Both managed to cross the respective landmarks on day two and India's apathy seemed far from over as it looked like yet another case of chasing the leather for the Indians. And that's exactly how it turned out to be. When India managed to see the back of Yousuf and skipper Inzamam in quick succession, little did they know that their worst nightmare was yet to come. It arrived in the form of one Shahid Afridi. The swashbuckler, who played villain by running out partner Younis Khan for a believe-it-or-not 199, more than made up for his error.
 

Afridi's innings had everything. There were stand-and-deliver shots against the hapless pacers, and of course, the trademark down-the-wicket blows against the spinners that cleared the boundaries by a big distance. In fact, Afridi made the Indians look like club bowlers; such was the audacity of his attack. Of his seven towering sixes, four came in one over of successive deliveries against Harbhajan Singh. By the time he was dismissed by Agarkar, Pakistan were only three short of the 600 mark and the declaration was delayed only to allow Kamram Akmal to get to his ton. And the 24 year-old, who celebrated his birthday just a day before, did not waste any time, spanking each and every delivery on his way to becoming the fourth centurion of the innings.
 

It's now up to the Indian batsmen to stand up and be counted. Things are never easy when the opposition has raked up a total in excess of 650. But considering the state of the pitch and the quality of Indian batting, they should be able to dig in hard and save the game. India will have to respond with a huge total on board to come out of this Test unscathed.