Ganguly leads run riot

Sourav Ganguly scored a maiden Test double ton, and Irfan Pathan brought up his first Test century, leading India to a comfortable position against Pakistan with an almost unassailable first innings total.

By the end of the second day’s play in this, the third Test between the neighboring countries, the hosts were ahead by 540 runs, with already a 1-0 lead in the series.

Ganguly shared a 178-run stand for the seventh wicket with Irfan Pathan, after on the first day bringing up 300 together with Yuvraj Singh.

Irfan Pathan, in his first Test in over a year, was particularly impressive, snatching the opportunity presented because of injuries to the top pacemen in the country today by bringing up his maiden ton.

It was not only the runs, but the way Pathan brought them up – with aggression and style – that was worth watching, and the performance would definitely throw questions to the Indian selectors.

Not to forget, Ganguly was on the top of his form as well. The former captain’s highest Test score before was 173, and many had questioned his temperament over the years he has played Test cricket as to whether he is capable of long innings. This double ton was an answer to all those critics.

Resuming on 125, Ganguly carried on his overnight partnership with Dinesh Karthik, taking India past 400. However, the latter was removed by Yasir Arafat, the debutant pacer, around about the one hour mark since the start of the play.

Karthik’s wicket brought in Pathan, and just when it looked that Pakistan were in with a chance to bundle out the Indians below 500, Pathan hit right back at them with the sort of aggression that we once saw in him before he fell out of form more than a year back.

Pathan’s 102, which probably led the Indian skipper Anil Kumble to not declare before tea, included four mammoth sixes and 10 boundaries, all of which looked like strokes from a lower-middle-order batsman and not a tailender.

Following Ganguly’s wicket, when he was on 239, the seventh highest Test score by an India, the wickets started tumbling, and Pathan just managed to scrape through to the century before Arafat and Danish Kaneria cleaned up the tail.

Kumble then removed Yasir Hameed for 19, however Pakistan lookedat ease, and without any trouble, at 86-1, with Salman Butt on an unbeaten half century, and the pitch still looking like a batsman’s paradise.

India 626
Sourav Ganguly 239, Yuvraj Singh 169, Irfan Pathan 102
Yasir Arafat 5-161, Danish Kaneria 3-168

Pakistan 86-1
Salman Butt 50*

Pakistan trail India by 540 runs with nine first innings wickets in hand.