Wasim Jaffer hit a brisk half-century as India kept alive their hopes of forcing a win in the second Test against Pakistan in Kolkata yesterday.
The opener followed his first-innings 202 with 56 to help the hosts reach 141-2 in their second innings for an overall lead of 301 at stumps on the penultimate day.
India, leading 1-0 in the three-Test series, shuffled their batting order to gather quick runs in a bid to set a testing fourth-innings target for Pakistan on the fifth and final day.
Hard-hitting Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28) and Sourav Ganguly (24), who were promoted in the batting order, were at the crease when bad light stopped play.
In-form Jaffer showed the way with a 75-run stand for the opening wicket with Dinesh Karthik (28). Dhoni and Ganguly then kept the momentum as India made 121 in the closing 29 overs.
Pakistan will need to bat more than two sessions on a last-day pitch today if India declare their second innings closed during the morning session.
Misbah-ul-Haq earlier gave Pakistan a lifeline when he remained unbeaten with a gutsy 161 to help his side avoid a follow-on.
The middle-order batsman showed remarkable determination and concentration under pressure, forcing India to bat again in the match when he had only tailenders to give him company.
"I will always remember this knock as it was my son's birthday when I scored my first century. So, definitely it was special," Misbah said.
"It was not easy to bat second in these conditions. So if a team fight back, the confidence level goes up and that is what happened to us. If we manage to draw the Test, it will be good for us," he said.
"If they set a target then we will go out there and play normal cricket. If a situation develops where our openers give us a good start, maybe then we can decide whether to chase the target or just play out the day," Misbah said.
Needing 417 to avert the follow-on, Pakistan were a shaky 358-6 at stumps on Sunday, but achieved their objective in the morning when Misbah turned part-time seamer Ganguly to square-leg for two runs.
The 33-year-old Misbah, playing only his ninth Test, faced 351 balls and cracked a six off spinner Harbhajan Singh and 14 fours in his maiden century. He added 53 to his overnight score of 108.
Pakistan were bowled out for 456 in the afternoon in reply to India's first-innings total of 616-5 declared, with Misbah and Sami adding 91 crucial runs for the seventh wicket.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to