NEW DELHI, Nov 24: India’s spin twins Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh virtually spun their side into a position of control in the first cricket Test against Pakistan after another absorbing day’s play at the Ferozshah Kotla Ground here on Saturday.

Pakistan squandered an excellent start to their second innings provided by openers Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed to reach 212 for five at the draw of the stumps on the third evening, gaining a lead of just 167.

Misbah-ul-Haq, the saviour in the first innings, who came in to bat lower down the order at No 7 due to a feverish condition, has however raised hopes in the touring camp as he and Kamran Akmal survived until stumps to forge probably the defining partnership of the Test.

The sixth-wicket pair engineered a brave riposte – so far adding 51 priceless runs – with Misbah very fortunate to escape when just one as Wasim Jaffer missed an easy chance off Indian captain Kumble. However, looking as determined as he was on the first day, Misbah twice heaved Harbhajan for sixes in the same over to show his class in a pressure situation.

If Pakistan can consolidate further on the fourth day to muster up a lead of around 250, India will be up against a challenging task here since the home side’s most successful chase here has never been beyond 190 (against the Zimbabweans in 2000-01).

Kumble – on his favourite hunting ground where he made history with 10 for 74 against Pakistan in 1999 – pegged back the tourists’ progress by picking up the wickets Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan and Salman Butt in that order.

All the hard work put in by Salman (67 off 140 balls, 11 fours) and Yasir (36) who came up with only the second 50-plus opening stand in the last 15 innings, for Pakistan came to nothing.

Treating the ball on merit, the openers added 71 before Kumble separated them through a fine catch by Vangipurappu Laxman at silly point.

Salman Butt unleashed some breath-taking strokes during his confident knock. None of the Indian bowlers could make an impression on the Lahore lad while he was at the crease and looked set for a grand hundred.

Younis (23) never found his bearing and it came as no surprise when Kumble trapped the Pakistan vice-captain with a delivery that held its line as the batsman offered no shot.

Harbhajan did not lag behind his wily skipper, as Mohammad Yousuf (18) and Shoaib Malik (11) gifted away their wickets on a platter to the man the Australians aptly refer to as the ‘Turbanator’. While Yousuf lobbed a simple return catch, Malik chopped one onto the stumps via his pads in one of the most silly dismissals seen in the series.

Earlier, Kaneria silenced all those who had been questioning his inability to strike when it mattered most by picking up three of the four Indian wickets to fall on Saturday for the addition of 14 runs in 26 balls after Laxman and Kumble had extended the overnight score from 228 to 262.

Kaneria had Kumble caught off a delivery that kicked from the good length to hit the shoulder of the bat on its way into the safe hands of Younis at slip.

Sohail quickly disposed off Harbhajan when the tailender exposed his leg stump by shuffling too far across and provided the debutant left-arm seamer with his third wicket.

Kaneria then struck with successive balls to end the innings. Zaheer Khan was superbly held at mid-on by Shoaib Akhtar after heaving the previous ball over long-on for India’s solitary six of the innings.

Lastman Munaf Patel went for a golden duck when umpire Billy Doctrove pronounced him leg-before-wicket to leave Kaneria pondering on a possible hat-trick in the second innings of this Test. That wicket meant Kaneria had claimed three in 15 deliveries, his overall figures reading four for 59 in 21.4 overs.

Figures didn’t do just to Shoaib’s final haul of two for 44 in 16 overs as he repeatedly beat the bat. Although Mohammad Sami remained wicketless, he generated sufficient pace to trouble the batsmen on a pitch hardly suiting his style of bowling.

The most satisfying performer was debutant Sohail Tanvir. His peculiar wrong-footed bowling approach created a lot of trouble and confusion for the Indian batsmen. Although he was hit for some easy runs in his first spell on Friday, he came back strongly to dismiss Ganguly and Dravid and thoroughly deserved the credit for taking three for 83 in 24 overs.

The stylish Laxman, though, was left high and dry on 72 when he ran out of partners after hitting eight hits to the fence off 135 deliveries.

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