Third-session fireworks

Going into the tea break, Pakistan's total read 248 for 4. They had the runs on the board, but India had four top-order wickets, and on a flat pitch that was a pretty good effort. Then, in the final session, Pakistan snatched away whatever hope India had of ending the day on a high, thanks to a blistering attack by Shahid Afridi, primarily, and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

The two put on 163 in a mere 32 overs, of which 131 came off 26 in the last session: Afridi contributed 66 from 61, while Inzamam's share was 62 from 98. Rahul Dravid's one hope was the second new ball, but the hope soon turned into a nightmare, as Afridi unleashed an assault of frightening proportions. Unbeaten on 43 off 60 when it was taken, Afridi smashed 42 from his 24 opportunities with the new cherry to end on 85 from 84. The table below shows how he fared against each Indian bowler: Zaheer Khan was easily the best of the lot, while Irfan Pathan suffered the Afridi treatment, just as Harbhajan Singh had in the Lahore Test.

The most listless bowler on view was easily Pathan. Not only did he vanish for an astonishing 70 from 11 overs, he was utterly pedestrian, never even remotely threatening to take a wicket. Only 9% of the deliveries he bowled induced a false stroke from the batsmen, while for Zaheer it was 13%, and 15% for RP Singh.