Zeenews Bureau
Bangalore, Dec 12: India won a historic Test series against archrivals Pakistan after a long hiatus of 27 years on Indian soil. This came in the wake of another scintillating show by the home team which almost managed to grab a 2-0 win fixture against the visitors. With twelve more overs to go in the match, play was stopped due to bad light.
The final score for Pakistan was 162 runs for the loss of seven wickets as the Indian camp headed by Anil Kumble basked in the glory of being victors of a crucial Test encounter ahead of the series Down Under.
Yuvraj Singh claimed his second crucial wicket of the match as he clean bowled Yasir Arafat for a duck. The Indian fans were ecstatic as only three more wickets were standing before India’s victory. Mohammad Sami walked in to fill the slot as the wicket provided jumbo spin to the Indian bowlers.
Yuvraj Singh got the dangerman Misbah-ul-Haq out for a score of 37 runs as Pakistan were six wickets down with fourteen more overs to go before the end of the final Test match. Mohammad Yousuf and Yasir Arafat were the batsmen on the crease trying to save the game for their team.
India skipper Anil Kumble spun a web of uncertainty over Pakistan’s chances of a draw as he claimed his fifth wicket of the innings. He clean bowled Kamran Akmal on a duck as Pakistan were 144 runs for the loss of five wickets. Half-centurion Faisal Iqbal was the fourth victim of the skipper as he lobbed an easy catch to Ishant Sharma.
Kumble kept the pressure on Pakistan as he claimed his third wicket in the form of Salman Butt. This brought in Misbah-ul-Haq on the crease as Pakistan were 73 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Earlier, Kumble struck twice in quick succession to put Pakistan on back foot in the last session of the final Test match. He first clean bowled Yasir Hameed and then took the wicket of the in-form batsman, Younus Khan. The two wickets saw Pakistan scorecard reading 52 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Dinesh Karthik slammed his first half-century of the series in the final Test match. His effort helped India gain a 373 run lead as India declared their innings at 284/6. The Indian innings was declared soon after he was out after scoring 52 runs, as he edged a delivery by Yasir Arafat in the hands of Kamran Akmal. Pakistan had to score 374 runs by the end of the day to square the Test series.
VVS Laxman was retired hurt after a tearing fast delivery from Shoaib Akhtar hit him on his elbow. The elegant batsman was in immense pain and the team’s physio took him off the field after inspecting his injury.
Dinesh Karthik smashed a multitude of deliveries to help India take a 310 run lead as the first session of play ended. VVS Laxman occupied the crease with the usual panache as he too contributed in the making of some valuable runs for his team.
India’s Yuvraj Singh was claimed by Mohammad Sami early into his innings. The umpire’s decision created a stir in the ground as it seemed as if the bat had made no contact with the ball as it passed into the hands of the wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. He departed after scoring just two runs as India were 185 runs for the loss of five wickets.
Pakistan bowlers exploited the window of opportunity given to them in the form of a crumbling final day pitch with both hands. Sami claimed Sourav Ganguly at a score of 91 runs who was preceded by Rahul Dravid as Danish Kaneria got him out LBW at a score of 42 runs. India were 178 runs for the loss of four wickets as spinners bowled in tandem.
Ganguly and Rahul Dravid helped India cross the 150 run mark in quick time. The duo milked Pakistan fast bowlers for precious runs and dispatched the loose deliveries beyond boundaries.
Ganguly and Dravid started off the first session of the final day of the last Test match on a positive note. The team looked to score runs quickly which would allow them to give the visitors a substantial total to chase for most part of the day.
