Spinners Have B'desh Reeling

India recovered from a middle order slump to post amammoth first innings total and had Bangladesh in dire straits taking threequick wickets on the second day of the final Test against Bangladesh today.

After the heroics of century makers Rahul Dravid andGautam Gambhir, captain Saurav Ganguly held the innings together after a middleorder collapse with a responsible 88 which took India to a commanding 540.

The hosts began on a steady note without losing awicket in the first 25 overs but lost their way as Anil Kumble and HarbhajanSingh claimed three wickets in the space of 26 balls to leave them tottering at54 for three at stumps.

The hosts, who had struggled to match the standards oftheir opponents and buckled under the slightest hint of pressure, put up animproved performance in all departments of the game as they first checked theroll of the Indian batting juggernaut with some tidy bowling and then battedwith rare resilience to deny the visiting bowlers till the spinners inflictedthe damage.

India had to rely on the sensible batting by their skipper and some spectacularpyrotechniques by 'Turbanator' Harbhajan to overcome an inexplicablemiddle-order collapse before being all out at the stroke of tea. Bangladesh,needing 340 to avoid follow on, reached 54 for three, the loss of Nafis Iqbal(31) and nightwatchman Mashrafe Mortaza (4) somewhat spoiling an otherwise goodday for the hosts.

Captain Habibul Bashar, yet to open his account, was atthe crease at stumps.

Javed Omar blocked 78 balls and hit one four for his 10before he went for a drive and edged Kumble to Dravid at slips towards the closeof play.

Bashar had said on the eve of the match that he wantedhis team to at least put up a fight, and his batsmen to see off the new ball.

Iqbal and Omar did exactly that even as Irfan Pathanand Zaheer Khan surprisingly failed to find their rhythm and often strayed intheir line.

With the pitch playing true, and although there wasgood bounce and turn, it was hard toil for the bowlers in general and theBangladesh openers showed maturity in their shot selection to almost survive theevening session.

Despite what the scoreline might indicate, it wasoverall an under-achieving batting by the Indians as they lost five wickets for78 runs in the morning session and failed to consolidate on the good work doneby Dravid and Gambhir.

Right-arm fast bowler Mortaza (3-60) triggered the collapse when he rappedSachin Tendulkar (36) on the pads off the very first ball of the day. Dravid(160) himself was guilty of a loose shot when he played away from the body foran edge to wicketkeeper before V.V.S. Laxman was dismissed in controversialfashion. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique (4-156) appeared to grass the ballafter taking a diving return catch of Laxman.

Dinesh Kaarthick did not last long either, although helooked displeased at being adjudged caught behind to Rafique.

Ganguly's sensible half century combined withHarbhajan's cavalier 47 then resurrected the Indian innings.

Ganguly displayed calm while wickets fell rapidly atthe other end before being caught at long on as he went for big shots towardsthe tea break.

He faced 153 balls and hit nine fours during his 231minute stay at the crease.

Harbhajan's 43-ball 47 studded with seven fours and twosixes fetched 75 runs for the ninth wicket partnership with Ganguly.

The captain also received valuable support from AnilKumble (23) as the two added 53 runs for eighth wicket that lifted India from412 for seven at one stage.

Bangladesh then did well to reign in the free strokingIndians by claiming five wickets for 78 runs before Ganguly and Kumble did therepair job.

Resuming at 334 for two, Tendulkar departed in dramatic circumstances after hisconcentration was affected by movements behind the bowler's head as he got readyto take strike. Tendulkar (36) needed a few minutes to take his stance as he wasdisturbed by people moving in the press box. And when he finally settled down,Mortaza had him plumb in front with a sharp in cutter.

Dravid, 145 overnight, seemed in good nick as he droveMortaza off the pads to the mid-wicket fence.

The vice-captain added 37 runs for the fourth wicketwith Ganguly before he played away from the body for a snick. His 160 came from304 balls and contained 24 fours.

Mortaza's tidy opening spell of 6-2-18-2 checked theIndian scoring rate at one end but runs kept flowing at the other.

Rafique then dealt three quick blows to push thevisitors on the backfoot.

He first dived to take a brilliant return catch todismiss Laxman (9) but he appeared to grass the ball as he landed.

Kaarthick (11) was lucky when he was dropped byManjural Islam Rana at first slip off Rafique but did not last long when he wasruled caught behind off the same bowler in the next over.

Pathan (4) then played a wild heave to top edge Rafiqueand wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud did well to hold on to the skier.

PTI