An epic double century by Younis Khan set up a massivePakistan total and gave the visitors a chance to have a go at India in the thirdand final Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium today.
The vice-captain's enduring knock of 267 spanningeleven and half hours ensured Pakistan overcame an early bump and a minor middleorder collapse to post a daunting 570 before being all out half an hour beforeclose.
Younis became the first batsman from theneighbouring country to score a double century on Indian soil and almost carriedthe bat for the second full day, striking 32 fours and a six in a 504-ballessay.
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If the Indians were able to hold their heads high andnot allow their shoulders to droop, it was very much due to the heroic effort ofHarbhajan Singh who ended up with his 16th five-wicket haul of six for 152.
The off-spinner, under the ICC scanner after beingreported for suspect action during the second Test, put the brakes on Pakistan'ssmooth roll by picking three wickets in the second session before scalping theprized wicket of Younis to hasten the end.
At stumps on the second day, India were 55 for no losswith Virender Sehwag batting on 39 and Gautam Gambhir on 13.
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Pakistan lost their captain Inzamam-ul Haq before he added a run to hisovernight score of 184 in the very first ball he faced this morning.
They were then reduced to 446 for six after losingYousuf Youhana (37) and Asim Kamal (4) in quick succession. But Younis steeredthem out of the rough with three crucial partnerships.
After stitching 84 runs with Youhana for the fourthwicket, the 29-year-old batsman added 58 and 61 runs with Kamran Akmal (28) andMohammad Sami (17) for the seventh and eight wickets respectively.
Younis remained the fulcrum of Pakistan innings afterthe early dismissal of Inzamam.
He crossed the 200 mark, glancing Anil Kumble for aboundary down the fine leg and followed it up with another four in the sameover.
A jubilant Younis acknowledged the crowd's ovation bylifting his bat and helmet and then kissed the ground. By then, he had hit 24fours and a six facing 396 balls.
He needed 20 balls to move up from 196 but once hecompleted the double century, he came up with a couple of exquisite boundaries.
Younis' previous best was 153 against the West Indiesin Sharjah in 2001-02. One of the few to retain his place in the team afterPakistan's World Cup campaign in 2003, he had scored a century in the second Testat Kolkata.
The right hander finally perished when he went for a big heave against Harbhajanand holed out to Irfan Pathan at mid off.
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The hosts had their hero in Harbhajan. Shrugging offthe 'doosra' controversy, Harbhajan picked up three wickets in quick successionbefore and after lunch to put the brakes on Pakistan's march towards a hugetotal.
Harbhajan struck twice early in the post lunch sessionto dismiss Asim Kamal (4) and Abdul Razzaq (5). In the fifth over before thebreak, he had sent back Youhana (37).
At that stage, the visitors had lost three wickets for31 runs to be at at 6-446 in the 130th over.
Earlier, Inzamam failed to score a double century asIndia stuck early on the second day.
The skipper, who had accomplished a rare feat byscoring a century in his 100th Test, was trapped leg before by LakshmipathyBalaji in his very first ball of the day.
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It was a sort of a repeat performance by the Chennaibowler who had removed Shahid Afridi in his very first ball yesterday.
Inzamam, who was looking to build on his innings andtake his team to a huge total, was applauded for his brilliant innings but heclearly walked back a disappointed man.
Inzamam's third wicket partnership with his deputyyielded a record 324 runs which came in 368 minutes, 533 balls.
PTI
