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 Lahore, April 6:
Pakistan rode on centuries from Imran Farhat and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq
to set the stage for a huge first innings lead over India in the second
cricket Test which was marred by some controversial umpiring decisions
on the second day here today. After 22-year-old Farhat laid the platform
with a sparkling 101, Inzamam led from the front with an unbeaten 118 as
Pakistan reached 355 for three at stumps in reply to India's first
innings score of 287. Inzamam's unbroken 150-run partnership with his
deputy Yousuf Youhana, batting on 62, saw the hosts gain the upper hand
over the visitors for the first time in the series, which Pakistan trail
1-0, with a lead of 68.
After the historic
innings and 52-run victory in the first Test, Rahul Dravid and his men
were at the receiving end for most part of the day, claiming only two
wickets on a track which had lost its juice and gave little support to
the Indian bowlers who toiled without much luck. There were three close
decisions, which went in Pakistan's favour in the final session of the
day. First it was young Irfan Pathan whose luck ran out when his
incoming deliveries to Inzamam and Youhana rapped them on the pads but
umpire Steve Bucknor shot down the appeals. The skipper was on 65 and
his deputy on 35 then.
 Youhana again survived
a confident appeal for caught behind off Anil Kumble three runs later
with umpire Simon Taufel ruling in favour of the batsman. Inzamam curbed
his natural strokeplay to notch up his 19th Test century while Farhat
(101) also brought the spotlight on himself with his second century
before a small but boisterous crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium. It turned
out to be a nightmarish day for the visitors as all the Pakistani
batsmen, seeking to make amends for the Multan debacle, played with a
sense of responsibility and caution. The Indians managed to get the
wicket of Taufiq Umar (24) in the first hour of play but Inzamam's third
wicket stand of 110 runs with Farhat followed by his association with
Youhana virtually took the game away from the visitors.
The right-handed
Inzamam showed superb application and concentration during his
320-minute vigil at the crease and very rarely played a loose shot to
record his first century as captain and also the first against India.
His 242-ball unfinished knock contained 14 fours. Another remarkable
feature of this run-out prone batsman today was his good running between
the wickets. Resuming at the overnight score of 61 for one, Farhat and
Yasir Hameed (19) played cautiously in the initial stages, leaving
deliveries pitched outside the off stump. Leg spinner Anil Kumble began
the bowling operations and Farhat, who seemed to continue from where he
had left yesterday, pulled a short delivery to the square leg boundary.
Farhat was the more
aggressive of the two batsmen as he glided Pathan to the third man
boundary and then produced an elegant cover drive to the fence off the
same bowler to help the home team consolidate its position. Just when it
looked that the two overnight batsmen would play out the crucial first
hour of play, Ajit Agarkar struck in his very first over of the morning
by getting rid of Taufiq Umar who had himself to blame for his
dismissal. Umar played away from his body to a wide outside the off
stump ball and only succeeded in edging it to captain Rahul Dravid at
first slip.
The dismissal of Umar
brought Inzamam to the crease and the in-form batsman immediately got
into business by producing a delectable square cut to the point boundary
to open his account. Farhat and Inzamam continued to frustrate the
visitors who looked desperate to break the partnership and stop the home
team from taking a big first innings lead. Kumble, the bowling hero in
India's historic Test triumph in Multan about a week ago, also failed to
make much of an impact with the track easing out considerably. In fact,
he gave away quite a few runs as Inzamam square cut him to the point
boundary and then Farhat spanked him for two boundaries in the same over
to bring off 150 on the board.
 The left-handed Farhat
survived a confident shout for caught behind off Balaji when on 99 but
completed his second Test century a few balls later by taking a quick
single. But Farhat's luck ran out a few minutes later when L Balaji
claimed his wicket to terminate the 110-run third wicket partnership.
The opener fished at a widish delivery, edging it to Parthiv Patel
behind the stumps. Farhat's 204-ball knock spanned 266 minutes and was
laced with 14 boundaries. Youhana, who had scored a century in the
Multan Test, joined the action after Farhat's dismissal and appeared a
trifle tentative in the initial stages of his innings but grew in
confidence with time, clobbering Agarkar for two consecutive boundaries.
Indian captain Rahul
Dravid claimed the second new ball as soon as it was due but without
much luck as Pathan and Agarkar bowled their hearts out but could not
give the team the breakthrough. With neither the verdict nor luck going
in their favour, the Indians seemed to be a demoralised lot in the last
hour of play which saw Inzamam and Youhana collect the runs more easily
against a tired bowling attack. (Agencies)
Published: Tuesday,
April 06, 2004
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