Virender Sehwag hit a magnificent 201 as India posted 379 for six wickets by close on day 3 of the third Test against Pakistan at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Saturday.
At one stage the home side looked set to end the day with much more in the bag, after cruising at 337 for three, before Pakistan checked the march to finish the day 191 runs ahead in the first innings.
Sehwag hit 28 fours and two sixes over long on in his 262-ball essay. The 26-year-old was involved four noteworthy partnerships: 98 runs for the opening wicket with Gautam Gambhir (24), 74 with Rahul Dravid (22), 85 with Sachin Tendulkar (41) and 80 with Vangipurappu Laxman (51 not out) for the fourth wicket.
During the course of the day, he also completed 3,000 runs in Test cricket and became the fastest Indian to reach the milestone.
Morning session (29 overs, 92 runs, 1 wicket)
Pakistan started the day with more than enough runs on the board to launch an all-out attack. On the other hand, with Sehwag at the crease, there always was the danger of the Indians getting off to a brilliant start.
The visitors came out with a set plan. Bob Woolmer has obviously worked to create a field that would make the batsmen take a lot of risks.
They left the cover area open, inviting the batsman to guide the ball through the gap for easy boundaries. It also meant that the batsmen would be forced to go inside-out against the spin to get runs, which would in its own way give the bowlers a chance to get a caught-and-bowled or even bowled through the gap between bat and pad wicket.
As well as Harbhajan Singh bowled on day two, India were guilty of not really putting enough thought into their field placements. Pakistan did that for a few overs in the morning session but as soon as Sehwag hit a few boundaries through the covers, the close-in fielders were dispersed.
The really great captains would have had enough confidence in their bowlers to let them work on the batsmen for at least five overs before changing the field. And Arshad Khan was doing a decent job.
Without much ado, Sehwag reached his 10th Test fifty and third against Pakistan. Gautam Gambhir was giving him good support, not really doing anything silly.
The pick of the Pakistan bowlers throughout the morning session was Mohammad Sami. The fast bowler continued from where he left off in Kolkata, bowling with great pace and verve. The ball was consistently rising when it reached the wicket-keeper and often hit his gloves with a thud.
Almost an hour had passed and it looked like India had successfully weathered Mohammad Sami's initial spell of hostile bowling when Gambhir (24 off 68 balls) played a nothing shot outside the off-stump to edge the ball to the Younis Khan at second slip. (98 for 1)
Drinks were immediately taken after the wicket. This is when a player needs to really think and plan for the session ahead. Sami was already into his seventh over of the spell and was not going to be around much longer. Play out his spell and then things would get much easier with Abdul Razzaq and the spinners.
Rahul Dravid joined Sehwag at the wicket and was almost immediately beaten outside his off-stump by Sami. But he then settled down well as India reached 100 after 24.4 overs.
Sehwag was his usual exuberant self; his runs came all around the ground. A quick look at his wagon wheel revealed that 47-48 runs split on the off and on-side respectively.
At lunch, India were 147 for 1, with Sehwag on 95 and Dravid on 16. In the 29-over session, the hosts scored 92 runs at 3.17 RPO and lost one wicket.
Post-Lunch session (30 overs, 127 runs, 2 wickets)
The trick for India in the post-lunch session was to build on the good start and not lose too many wickets. Someone had talked the Indians into an aggressive frame of mind and that is exactly the spark this match needed.
Sehwag hammered three boundaries in the third over after lunch from Razzaq, and with Dravid looking solid at the other end it looked as if the Pakistanis would spend the session chasing leather. Eventually they did. But Dravid played no part in that.
In the fourth over after lunch he was trapped leg before while trying to sweep a straight delivery from Kaneria. Dravid was gone after scoring 22 and sharing a 74-run partnership.
Dravid's bad form at Bangalore continued. After eight innings on his home ground (including this one), the right-hander averages just 18.62. (172 for 2)
Sachin Tendulkar came in next and almost immediately edged one though the slip cordon for a four. For a short period it looked as if the batsmen might settle down to play a few quiet overs.
But that was just an illusion. Tendulkar then started to play his shots while Sehwag quietly settled down to milk the bowling as the field was spread out for him.
It was a game of cat and mouse. When the field was spread, Sehwag took his singles with ease and as soon as it was brought up, the right-hander went over for the big hits. There was utter contempt in his approach for anything the Pakistanis tried.
The 50-run partnership for the third wicket came off 63 balls, with Tendulkar contributing 24.
Tendulkar warmed up to the task and looked all set for a big one but he too fell in the most unexpected manner.
Shahid Afridi had been the forgotten man in the Pakistan bowling attack for 58 overs. The leg-spinner was meted out similar treatment in the second innings in Kolkata, despite claiming three wickets in the first innings.
But he needed just 14 balls to get his side the breakthrough. The ball pitched on the middle and leg stump and turned even as Tendulkar (41 off 71 balls) tried to loft it through the mid-on region. The ball clipped the edge and looped to Younis Khan at backward point. (257 for 3)
The wicket had come at an apt time, as an 85-run partnership between the duo was starting to look really dangerous.
It was a surprise to most as V V S Laxman walked in next, ahead of skipper Sourav Ganguly. Both batsmen haven't been in the best of form though Ganguly looks in worse touch.
Laxman weathered out the few overs to tea.
At the break, India were 274 for 3 after 69 overs. In the 30-over session, India scored 127 runs at 4.23 RPO.
Post-Tea session (31overs, 105 runs, 3 wickets)
The final session of the day was all about how long Sehwag could keep his act. As long as he was there at the wicket there would be no respite for the Pakistanis.
It is an amazing statistic that in each of his last six centuries he has gone on to score 150 or more. It basically shows that once he sets in he is almost impossible to dislodge.
Tendulkar, his idol, tended to lose it after crossing his 100 during his prime; Sehwag has quickly -- he is still only in his 35th Test -- developed this extraordianary appetite for big ones.
But Sehwag also has a quality that most batsmen do not: he likes to reach landmarks with big hits. He got to his 150 with a six off Kaneria; he tried to do the same when on 199 but managed to get a top-edge that landed safely in the cover region between two fielders.
But he perished soon after. Still relaxed after reaching his double century, he hit one straight back to Kaneira. The right-hander scored 201 off just 262 balls, inclusive of 28 boundaries and two sixes. He shared an 80-run partnership with Laxman.
That brought skipper Sourav Ganguly to the wicket. Ganguly's struggles with the bat have now stretched into their second year. In 2003, he was averaging 65.5. In 2004 that average dropped to 45.33, and his average before this innings, this year, was 15.00.
So it was no surprise to see him go early. What is surprising though is that he is struggling not only against short-pitched bowling but also the spinners. He used to be known as one of the best players of spin in the Indian team but not anymore.
Ganguly looked edgy and Kaneria exploited that to draw him out of the crease with a well-disguised googly to have Kamram Akmal complete an easy stumping. (343 for 5)
India's saviour of the Kolkata Test, Dinesh Karthik (10), walked in next. He looked good for the short while that he was at the wicket before he failed to keep a fierce cut on the ground. The bowler was Sami and the fielder, Asim Kamal, took a good catch at backward point. (374 for 6)
Pakistan missed a trick late in the day by not claiming the new ball at this juncture. With the light fading what harm would it have done to give Sami the new ball to try and get a few quick wickets. It would have put India on the back foot immediately.
At close of play, India had reached 379 for 6, with Laxman on an assured 51 not out and Irfan Pathan, on 0.
India have gone past the follow-on mark of 371 but there still is a lot of cricket left in this match.
The Indian team management will be disappointed by the fact that not one of the partnerships got past 100, 98 for the first wicket being the highest.
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