A superb century from Shahid Afridi, cracking his highest Test score, and a calm one from Inzamam-ul-Haq, despite being hampered with a sore back, propelled Pakistan to an imposing 588 on the second day of the second Test at the Iqbal Stadium. India, led by Virender Sehwag, began with customary vigour, adding 39 in quick time but they will need to repeat their Lahore heroics to have a chance of leaving Faisalabad unscathed.

Not for the first time, Pakistan let off Sehwag early, a missed chance which they might well go on to rue. Having begun the riposte with three stinging fours, Sehwag tried to lash Shoaib Akhtar's second over, only to get an edge that sped to first slip. He would thank his luck that Inzamam wasn't fielding there, resting his strained back in the dressing-room, and Imran Farhat, the substitute fluffed the chance. He went on to crack three more fours, with the same insouciance he displayed at Lahore, and, along with Rahul Dravid, ensured against any early hiccups.

What had flattened India, though, was Pakistan's commanding batting performance earlier in the day with Afridi dominating the first hour, blitzing 71 off the 88 scored, and Inzamam solidifying their position with his third successive century on this ground. He strolled into the nineties by collecting the singles, zoomed to his century with a four and a six - the most dismissive of sixes when he swatted Irfan Pathan over midwicket - spread the field by smacking Anil Kumble high and handsome, tickled singles in the gaping spaces on the on side, and occasionally, as if to reinforce the point that fielders are redundant when he bats, pounded big ones. He went from 103 to 150 in just 32 balls, yet he found time to push singles, managed to block a few and, believe it or not, even let some go. He was ably supported by the dogged Razzaq, who offered support with a valuable 37, but, as is often the case, he was the invisible partner in a one-man show.

The six fours and two sixes thrown in between did the most damage but what Afridi managed in between was equally admirable. Of all the shots this morning, the last four stood out for it's sheer might - down the track to Pathan, giving himself a bit of room, seizing the a good length delivery, lining up and going wham. Rudra Pratap Singh, fielding at long-off, was just a few meters away but just as he begun his sprint, the ball long gone. He fell soon after, top-edging a hoick off Kumble at the stroke of drinks, and a funeral silence enveloped the Iqbal Stadium but by then, for the second time in this series, and fourth time in as many Tests, he had subjected India to a tormenting time.

Kamran Akmal and Razzaq, whose five fours went almost unnoticed, departed in quick succession but Inzamam stood firm. Batting with a runner, he cruised to his 25th Test hundred with minimum fuss and even endeavored down the track to Kumble, lofting him over long-on for a huge six. Support arrived from Shoaib, who had a frolicking time en route to 47, his highest Test score, and reaffirmed his status as one of the most improved tail-end batsmen in the last few months.

Inzamam-ul-Haq fell for a crucial 119, beaten by a cracker of an away cutter from Zaheer Khan, but Shoaib piloted the lower order with a fine blend of grit and abandon. However, with a chance to get his first international half-century, Shoaib tried to repeat his fantastic six off Zaheer but ended up holing out to Harbhajan, patrolling the deep extra cover fence. Shoaib walked back to the dressing-room completely distraught but Pakistan will be more concerned with how he can stop the Indian batsmen fighting back. Taking their catches might help.





How they were out




How they were out


Shahid Afridi c Yuvraj b Kumble 156 (467 for 5)
Top-edged a hoick to square leg

Kamran Akmal c Sehwag b Kumble 0 (469 for 6)
Holed out slogging to midwicket



Abdul Razzaq c Dhoni b RP Singh 37 (509 for 7)
Went after a wide one and edged

Inzamam-ul-Haq c Dhoni b Zaheer 110 (567 for 8)
Squared up by a corker of an away cutter and feathered an edge

Shoaib Akhtar c Harbhajan b Zaheer 47 (584 for 9)
Flayed uppishly; caught at deep extra cover

Danish Kaneria b Kumble 0 (588 all out)
Cleaned up by a faster one that kept a shade low

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

Well Day 3 is going to be interesting. The Pitch sure inst totally dead So wickets will fall. The more the better Pakistan goes!

hope pakistanwin by an innigs

Insha allah!

The danger man is out, so it is a bit easier now.

Blazing fireworks from Shahid Khan Afridi along with the decent and gentleman effort from Inzamamul-Haq brought the Pakistan team into the commanding position. Soon after getting 4 wickets, Rahul looked in a mood to demolish Pakistan after the early breakthroughs; however the luck tilted towards the Pakistani skipper with his wonderful knock. Despite the fact that the back of Inzamam had pain due to which he had been retired hurt. However after setting up of un-even hill for Indian team, Rahul Dravid will be feeling the pain in his back since Sehwag is also gone at the end of the second day play.

Not to forget the flamboyant guy Afridi who looked to be in a different style, i.e. a mixture of gentle and aggressive shots clearly reflects that this chap had changed himself. He teared down the label of ODI from his shoulder with the second consecutive and responsible century.

On the other hand, Muhammad Yousuf and Younus Khan played diligently. There was absolutely no room for India to make their way. Abdur-Razzaq also looked into a different style which contradicts with his nature. Similarly, Shoaib Akhtar proved this time with bat that it’s not only the 100 mph he wanted to achieve.

Indian bowlers especially Pathan & Harbhajan failed to snatch any wicket. However, RP Singh showed his character on this batting pitch. The Indian team must be happy with his performance but not the Ganguly who had been dropped out this time.



The start of Indian first innings was stable and it was just like Pakistan. But loosing a wicket of Sehwag is the major blow for India. Abdul- Razzaq was the man who trapped him this time. Almost all of the Pakistani bowlers bowled with confidence and they are putting a lot of effort in this game. They need a good spell tomorrow morning to take the momentum of the game, otherwise Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar & Dhoni are quite capable of taking the advantage to their side.

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pampampam, parampampam

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Inzi will not take part in rest of the test, and he is also doubtful for third test

is he in sever pain ? man. hope he feels better he is corner stone of pak team.

well immediate danger is gone but Dravid and Laxman, they are not less than sehwag. dravid gets qucker as the game progresses.

With Inzi ruling himself out of this test, it has now become extremely important for our bowlers to bowl out Indians with as much less score as possible.

And in order to this, we have to take out Dravid tomorrow ASAP because he stays there, Pakistan can be in hell lot of trouble. Hoping for the best.

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can someone tell me how to get the highlights of pakistan india seies

go to images and videos section here: http://www.pakstop.com/pmforums/f29/
reply in the very thread by saying thanks, thats it.

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Thats a bad news that Pak skipper is not in good shape. He needs to be their. Because the psychological advantage will favor the indians if he don't plays in the second innings. This definitley brought more pressure on our bowlers who needs to do an extra bit to stop the flow of runs tomorrow morning.
Dravid wicket is important. He is truly a wall. After that I think Sachin and Laxman can do some damage. So one needs to take care about them as well.
I hope Inzi will be fit enough to take part. Since he doesn't have to come out and field. It would be only in 2nd innings (if needed) to come out and play. I hope by that time he will receive some treatment and rest as well. Good Luck to Pakistan and may Inzi get well soon

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well i hope pakistan gets them out quick under 300 tommorow but i highly doubt it if tht will happen bcz laxman and dravid were looking in good touch. well everything will depend on asif, shoaib and kaneria tommorow. i hope they can pick up some quick wickets and get india out cheaply.

I'm pretty sure asif and shoaib will make the breakthrough they were both threatening and don't forget that the pitch will 'suit' a bit more to Kaneria on the 3rd day, so lets be positive

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