India take a tumble

Akhtar8217;s figures for the day read 16-3-70-2, Mohammed Asif8217;s 19.1-3-10-2, but the scoreboard doesn8217;t describe what the Indians went through. Akhtar bowled as well as he ever has against India, an array of short-pitched deliveries 8212; the odd screaming yorker for good measure 8212; that whistled through the air and rearing up to anywhere between chest- and helmet-height.

They were pitched neatly on the line of the off-stump, the swing keeping the batsman waiting till the last moment.

Shoaib8217;s sheer speed 8212; most at 140 kmph, a few above 150 8212; left the batsmen little time to play, gather oneself and prepare for the next ball. Faster than the eye could flick.

Back in the dressing room, every player who went out to bat would enquire of the one who returned: 8216;8216;What8217;s the speed like?8217;8217; It was a rhetorical question; the answer was evident even from several hundred yards away.

Yet scoring was not impossible. One Indian player explained: 8216;8216;You cannot help but score against somebody like him. He comes at you with such speed that if you play a stroke you8217;ll either score or get out. You can8217;t defend against him.8217;8217;

Ganguly and Yuvraj, the overnight pair, had done their homework, planning what they were going to do out in the middle and doing exactly that. Both looked composed, Ganguly especially batting as if he had almost perfected the art of letting go of anything that looked dangerous.

Most of his 34 runs came square or behind the wicket, there was nothing the bowlers could lure him into. The one mistake he made 8212; pulling Razzaq, his weakest shot 8212; saw him out.

That8217;s all it takes in this match of fine margins.

8216;8216;The important thing is that they Pak bowlers did not experiment too much with the ball and maintained a good line,8217;8217; said coach Bob Woolmer, with a word of praise for the young Asif, who picked up four wickets.

The rookie8217;s job was made easier, of course, by the fact that Shoaib was softening up the batsmen, and he acknowledged as much. 8216;8216;It helps to have somebody like him bowling at the other end. He leaves the batsman in such discomfort that it automatically helps the partnering bowler to try and look for a wicket.8217;8217;

After the day8217;s play, the Indians exited the stadium in silence, refusing to interact with the media. They know they have a mountain to climb now. The pitch may be getting easier by the minute but facing Akhtar and Asif 8212; and Kaneria lurking in the shadows 8212; in the fourth innings is a daunting proposition.

First, though, they have to ensure that the Yo-Yo 8212; the current pair at the crease 8212; doesn8217;t swing the game too much in Pakistan8217;s favour.