December 09, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 28, 1428

BANGALORE, Dec 8: Debutant all-rounder Yasir Arafat conceded on Saturday that it would a big effort from Pakistan to win the final Test to square the series against India. The 25-year-old Arafat, who grabbed three wickets in a dream opening spell, said India seized the initiative once the pitch dried out after Pakistan had them reeling at 61 for four at lunch on the opening day of the third Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“It was obvious in the morning that the pitch was helping bowlers. But it eased out under the sun, both Yuvraj Singh and Saurav Ganguly cashed in,” the all-rounder, who bowls brisk medium-pacers, told a press conference. “But the injury to Shoaib Akhtar definitely allowed the Indians to dictate terms because he really bowled fast this morning and looked threatening.”

Arafat remarked he was told to stick to the basics when he was brought on first change by Younis Khan after Anil Kumble decided to bat first after winning the toss.

“The skipper told me to just concentrate on accuracy and keep the off-stump line. I did that and was rewarded with three quick wickets. There was not much swing in the air so I stuck to my line and length,” he added.

When asked how he felt on his Test debut after playing the first of seven One-day Internationals seven years, Arafat said: “Well, this came to me as a surprise, to be honest. I never thought that I will get a chance early in my career but the thinking has always been to perform whenever I get an opportunity.”

Arafat lauded Yuvraj’s great innings, describing it as one of the best innings he had seen. “It was a tremendous innings from Yuvraj. I haven’t seen many play like this before, today it was a special knock. All credit to India for staging such a fine comeback after those early setbacks.”