UPDATE 1-Cricket-India gain upper hand after Younis's 80

BANGALORE, India, Dec 10 (Reuters) - India grabbed two more wickets in the second session to wrest the initiative at tea after Younis Khan struck a masterly 80 for Pakistan on day three of the third and final test on Monday.Younis, stand-in captain for injured Shoaib Malik, shared in two fruitful partnerships after the visitors resumed at 86 for one on a placid pitch.But Younis's dismissal along with the experienced Mohammad Yousuf (24) in subsequent overs saw Pakistan, seeking to level the series, reduced to 265 for four with 162 more needed to avoid the follow-on.In-form Misbah-ul-Haq and Faisal Iqbal were at the crease on 17 and 14 respectively at tea.Saurav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan blasted their maiden double hundred and century respectively on Sunday after Yuvraj Singh smashed 169 to help hosts India post an imposing first-innings total of 626.India are 1-0 up in the series after winning the opening test by six wickets in New Delhi.Resuming at seven, Younis took his overnight second-wicket stand with Salman Butt (68) to 90 and then shared in an entertaining stand of 72 with Yousuf for the next wicket Left-handed Butt fell half an hour before lunch when he edged Ganguly, bowling gentle medium-pace, behind.

Younis, who scored a century in the drawn second test in Kolkata, batted with controlled aggression for his 20th fifty.The Indian attack looked largely ineffective barring two inspired spells by the tall seamer Ishant Sharma.Younis, who hit 12 fours in his 156-ball essay, combated India's experienced spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh with ease, despite having a minimum two men in catching positions.He was bowled by off-spinner Harbhajan trying to reverse sweep, a stroke that had fetched him a couple of boundaries earlier.Yousuf fell in the same over in which he had a verbal duel with home skipper Kumble standing at gully. He drove at an away -going delivery from left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan for Yuvraj Singh to take a low catch.

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"Younis Khan" hits fifty to lead Pakistan fightback

BANGALORE, India, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Younis Khan struck a masterly half century to steer Pakistan to a confident 180 for two at lunch on the third day of the third and final test against India on Monday.Younis, stand-in captain for injured Shoaib Malik, hit 62 and took his overnight second-wicket stand with Salman Butt (68) to 90 after the visitors resumed at 86 for one.Mohammad Yousuf (6) was at the wicket with Younis at lunch break.Saurav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan blasted their maiden double hundred and century respectively on Sunday after Yuvraj Singh smashed 169 to help hosts India post an imposing first-innings total of 626.India are 1-0 up in the series after winning the opening test by six wickets in New Delhi.Resuming at seven, Younis, who scored a century in the drawn second test in Kolkata, batted with controlled aggression for his 20th fifty.

The visitors still need 247 runs to avoid the follow-on.Younis and Butt, 50 overnight, drove left-armer Pathan freely for boundaries before Ganguly, bowling gentle medium-pace, struck half an hour before the break to dismiss left-handed Butt, who edged behind. The Indian attack looked largely ineffective on a placid pitch barring an inspired opening spell by the tall seamer Ishant Sharma, who got the ball to move and troubled Butt.Younis, who hit 10 fours, reverse swept off-spinner Harbhajan for a boundary and used his full reach to combat experienced leg spinner Anil Kumble.Yousuf looked tentative early but settled down quickly to dourly defend against the spinners, who operated with a minimum of two men in catching positions..

We have a game plan "Younis"

Bangalore: Many Indian dailies here have published news that Younis Khan had expressed his reluctance to lead the team in the Bangalore Test in place of the injured Shoaib Malek.What happened was that the reporters who published that news had checked with Ehsan Malek, the Pakistan team manager about it.Although he had categorically denied the rumour on Thursday night, the reporters went ahead and published that Khan was a reluctant captain.Some even stated that Mohammad Yousuf was also reluctant to lead the team and that there is rift in the team over selection of the replacement."I am the vice captain and I will lead the team. I was never the vice captain before and I was requested to take up the job for this series. This is a big series so I thought I needed to do it," Khan said. However, he did clarify that he does not want captaincy on a long term basis.A candid Khan then went on to say: "Whenever I have been given captaincy I have been running away from it. If you captain the team in an India-Pakistan series, your life is bound to get spoiled. You are judged on your performance. It is really tough captaining in an India-Pakistan series."

When asked whether it was his team's best chance to equal the series with many of the Indian players injured, Khan said: "We have a game plan for this match."We will play according to it. It does not matter who is playing or not. In Kolkata we proved that we can fight. Here we want to show that we can win."To a query whether his team was under pressure having to win here to save the series, Khan said: "Pressure is bound to be there in all international matches. It will be double in an India-Pakistan match. It all depends on how we handle the pressures and apply ourselves," he believes. .