Pakistan face uphill struggle after India post huge total: Sehwag first Indian to hit triple century
By Tanvir Ahmad
MULTAN, March 29: Virender Sehwag wrote a new chapter when he became the first Indian to score a triple century as the visitors piled a mammoth 675 for five declared on the second day
of the first Test against Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.
When stumps were drawn for the day Pakistan had replied with 42 for no loss in the remaining 45 minutes with left-handers Imran Farhat (17) and Taufiq Umar (20) surviving 16 overs.
But it was a day of records for India, spearheaded by Sehwag's superlative 309 and Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 194. While Sehwag made history, India posted their third highest total in a Test innings which is also the highest by a visiting team against Pakistan. Sehwag and Tendulkar recorded the highest third wicket stand of 336 against Pakistan.
It was yet another nightmarish day for Pakistan when as many as three catches were floored. Sehwag was dropped by Taufiq Umar at 274, then Imran Farhat let off Vangipurappu Laxman at 26 and finally Saqlain Mushtaq then failed to hold a hot one from Tendulkar off his own bowling when the batsman was on 176.
India resumed at the already imposing total of 356 for two with Sehwag (228) and Tendulkar(60) taking on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, bowling with semi new ball. The pattern of their batting was almost the same as on the first day, the first session producing 111 runs without loss.
Both Sehwag and Tendulkar played with caution and discretion for the first hour of the day, Sehwag in particular was circumspect against Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.
It was about half an hour before lunch that the two decided to accelerate the scoring with Sehwag reaching 250 and Tendulkar posting 100 off 209 balls with the help of 13 boundaries in 302 minutes.
Tendulkar, playing his 112th Test, moved to within a century of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar's world record of 34. Pakistan then lost yet another opportunity of removing Sehwag.
When the total was 448, Taufiq at first slip floored another catch in the 26th over when the Indian opener was on 274. At lunch India were 467 for two. Encouraged by the third life of his innings, Sehwag launched a strong attempt to reach the landmark no Indian had reached before.
He blasted Saqlain over mid-wicket for a huge six to bring up his 300 in 497 minutes off 363 balls with the help of 38 boundaries and six sixes.
Pakistan's first breakthrough came 40 minutes after lunch when Taufiq made amends of his earlier lapse by holding on to a sharp catch at slip to see the back of Sehwag, giving Sami a well deserved second wicket. But by this time Sehwag and Tendulkar had put India in total control at 509 for three.
Laxman, who came next, looked unsettled from the start. He was dropped by Imran Farhat off Saqlain Mushtaq at 26 but did not last long and after adding just three runs was run out by Yousuf Youhana while going for a second run. India were 565 for four at this point.
Tendulkar and the new batsman, Yuvraj Singh decided to accelerate the scoring, adding 110 for the 5th wicket with the left-hander Yuvraj contributing 59 off 58 balls in 66 minutes with the help of eight boundaries.
Tendulkar was left stranded six short of what would have been his fourth double century when stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid declared the innings closed at 675 for five at the fall of Yuvraj's wicket.
Scoreboard
INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 356-2):
A. Chopra c Imran b Saqlain 42
V. Sehwag c Taufiq b Sami 309
R. Dravid c Yasir b Sami 6
S.R. Tendulkar not out 194
V.V.S. Laxman run out 29
Yuvraj Singh c and b Imran 59
EXTRAS (B-8, LB-20, W-1, NB-7) 36
TOTAL (for five decl, 161.5 overs) 675
FALL OF WKTS: 1-160, 2-173, 3-509, 4-565, 5-675.
DID NOT BAT: P.A. Patel, Irfan Pathan, A. Kumble, Zaheer Khan, L. Balaji.
BOWLING: Shoaib Akhtar 32-4-119-0; Mohammad Sami 34-4-110-2 (1nb); Shabbir Ahmed 31-6-122-0 (1nb, 1w); Saqlain Mushtaq 43-4-204-1 (5nb); Abdul Razzaq 15-3-61-0; Imran Farhat 6.5-0-31-1.
PAKISTAN (1st Innings):
Imran Farhat not out 17
Taufiq Umar not out 20
EXTRAS (LB-3, NB-2) 5
TOTAL (for no wkt, 16 overs) 42
TO BAT: Yasir Hameed, Inzamamul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed.
