Pakistan were 212 for five in their second innings at close on the third day of the first cricket Test against India at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday.
NEW DELHI: On a day of fluctuating fortune, Anil Kumble and his spin colleague Harbhajan Singh sunk their teeth into the Pakistani batting order and removed the top half to leave the first cricket Test tantalisingly poised here on Saturday.
Pakistan went into the tea break comfortably placed at 108 for one before Kumble (3-55) and Harbhajan (2-51) shared four wickets between them in the final session to turn the game on its head, leaving Pakistan with their last recognized partner of Misbah-ul-Haq (29) and Kamran Akmal (21) in the middle.
The visitors now have a 167-run lead with five wickets in hands after they finished day three after bad light stopped play -- at 212 for five with the slow and low Ferozeshah Kotla track promising more for the spinners over the next two days.
Earlier, resuming at 228 for six, India's tail wagged for 14.4 overs that yielded 48 runs before they folded for 276, settling for a 45-run lead over the visitors.
Danish Kaneria polished off the Indian tail claiming three of the last four wickets and VVS Laxman was left stranded on unbeaten 72, paying the price for not taking enough strike and exposing the tailenders.
Having clawed their way back into the game, Salman Butt (67) and Yasir Hameed (36) gave Pakistan a solid 71-run opening stand to lay the foundation for a big second innings total.
Hameed hit Munaf Patel for back-to-back fours, while Butt drove Zaheer Khan through extra cover to get into the groove and the right hand-left hand combination treated the pacers and spinners with identical disdain.
Laxman finally took the cudgel on himself to pull off a blinder after Hameed, defending an Anil Kumble delivery, offered a low catch at silly point.
But with Butt and next man in Younis Khan (23) on song, it proved a minor hiccup for the visitors who cruised along. A desperate Anil Kumble tossed the ball to Sachin Tendulkar but even the Little Master's guile was not enough to put a skid under the visitors.
Eventually, Kumble himself brought the breakthrough with a straight delivery that rapped Younis on his pad and umpire Simon Taufel upheld the appeal that left Pakistan at 114 for two.
After a barren first spell, Harbhajan Singh was keeping himself warm by stretching and waiting for his turn. His belated introduction notwithstanding, the offie struck with his first ball and Mohammad Yousuf (18) returned following a tame caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Enthused by the breakthrough, Kumble opted for a two-pronged spin attack from both ends and was soon rewarded with the prized wickets of Butt and Shoaib Malik (11).
Butt could not read Kumble's googly and edged it to Rahul Dravid in the slip while Malik made a mess of a cut and ended up dragging a Harbhajan delivery onto his stumps.
Butt was impressive during his 140-ball knock that was studded with 11 boundaries.
Pakistan's first innings hero Misbah announced his arrival with two sixes of an Harbhajan over while Akmal too did his bit to figure in an unbeaten 51-run stand.
Earlier, resuming on the overnight score of 228 for six, India did wipe out the arrears in the second over but Kaneria ran through the lower order to deny the hosts a sizeable lead.
Anil Kumble (24) succumbed to a rising Kaneria delivery and offered a regulation catch to Younis Khan that ended his gritty 69-ball knock.
Sohail Tanvir compounded crisis by bowling Harbhajan (1) around his legs and Kaneria then dealt a double blow to rattle the hosts.
Zaheer Khan (9) perished attempting an encore of the six he had hammered in the previous delivery and Munaf fell for a first ball duck as Kaneria dropped curtains on the Indian innings.
The Pakistani leg-spinner returned with the figure of 4-59, while Tanvir scalped three for 83.
It was baffling to see Laxman giving strike to the tailenders and as a result, the stylish Hyderabadi eventually remained not out on 72, which came off 135 balls and included eight glorious hits to the fence.
Brief scores:
Pakistan: 231 and 212 for five in 65.5 overs (S Butt 67, Y Hameed 36; A Kumble 3-55, H Singh 2-51)
India: 276 all out.
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