DEHLI,The first Test in Delhi is intriguingly poised after Pakistan closed day three 167 runs ahead of India at 212-5.Danish Kaneria took three wickets in 15 balls as Pakistan snared India's final four wickets for 14 to restrict the home side's first innings lead to 45.Salman Butt gave Pakistan an excellent start with 11 fours in his 67 but three wickets fell for 12 within eight overs.Misbah-ul-Haq, dropped on one, hit two sixes and shared an unbroken 51 with Kamran Akmal to add a further twist.On a fluctuating day of Test action, VVS Laxman had taken his seventh-wicket partnership with Anil Kumble to 54 before Kaneria made the breakthrough.The India captain edged a sharp leg-break to Younus Khan at first slip for 24.The 22-year-old Tanvir bowled Harbhajan Singh round his legs for one in the next over before Kaneria removed the last two batsmen Zaheer Khan (9) and Munaf Patel (0) with successive deliveries. Khan smashed Kaneria over long on for six but could only mis-hit the next flighted delivery to be caught by a running Shoaib Akhtar at mid off. Patel fell lbw first ball.Pacemen Shoaib and Tanvir had led Pakistan's fightback by triggering a top-order batting collapse on the second afternoon before Laxman added 115 runs for the sixth wicket with Mahendra Dhoni (57).Laxman, 33, who completed his 30th Test fifty, glided Shoaib through the slips for his only four in the morning before running out of partners.He hit eight fours in his 135-ball knock spanning over four hours but was left stranded on 72.Butt and Yasir Hameed calmly recorded the Pakistan 50 in the 16th over, before skipper Kumble and spin partner Harbhajan began to restrict the scoring slightly.
Kumble made the breakthrough in the 26th over when Hameed pushed forward to a full and fast delivery, the ball flew off the face of the bat and was brilliantly caught inches from the turf at silly point by Laxman.In the fourth over after tea, Younus was adjudged lbw by Simon Taufel when he was hit low on the pad pushing forward to Kumble.
That brought in the prolific Mohammad Yousuf who promptly hit two fours in reaching 10 from his first three balls.But when he was on 18, he succumbed to the first ball of Harbhajan's new spell when some extra turn caught his inside edge and gave the spinner a simple return catch.Less than four overs later Butt was back in the pavilion as well, when Kumble's googly deceived him and the edge was comfortably snaffled by Rahul Dravid at slip.
Pakistan were only 116 ahead when they lost their fifth wicket, skipper Shoaib Malik unluckily losing a solitary bail when he got a bottom edge via the pad.It might have been even worse had Wasim Jaffer taken a reasonably straightforward chance at short-leg given by Misbah off his irate captain when only a single had been added.Misbah then dispatched Harbhajan for two sixes in an over and with Akmal striking four fours in his 20, the sixth-wicket pair began to build the sort of target to give India's batsmen cause for concern as the increasingly fascinating encounter nears its conclusion.
