Thank Parthiv for the platform

As predicted, Shoaib Akhtar came in for short bursts but though he generated a fair bit of pace, there was no bounce or movement from him. Interestingly, he appeared faster in the second session when the ball was 65 overs old. He, however, faltered in trying to bounce the Indian batsmen, almost as though he had forgotten basic line-and-length bowling.

Rahul was a paragon of patience, which had a great influence on his younger partner Parthiv Patel. But after reaching 50, he seemed to lose his concentration a bit and was lucky to survive an easy chance he offered to Hameed at cover point off Sami. After tea, however, we saw the real Dravid: Full of confidence, executing strokes all over the ground in typical style.

His century came at the most appropriate time for India. Laxman cannot be contained by any bowler in the world when he is at his best. It is so pleasing to the eyes when he is in full flow. The only time he looked in trouble was when Shoaib was going all out with his short pitched deliveries just before tea.

But for me, the real hero of the day was that baby-faced wicketkeeper who gave a superb exhibition in grit, determination and resilience. The way he batted, with restraint when confronted with loose deliveries and with strokes when confident, was fantastic. He, along with Laxman, also deserved centuries. He created the perfect platform for the more famous Indian names to build on.

What India need now is for the Dravid-Ganguly partnership to carry on the good work and provide India with a 250-300 run lead that will put pressure on the Pakistan batting. The wicket may not crumble so easily on the last two days and the evidence is that it is getting flatter and flatter and still has a good number of runs in it. Make no mistake about it, India will also struggle to get the wickets when Pakistan bat the second time. And time will be of the essence.