Pakistan, India 3rd Test
Bad light rescues Pakistan after Kumble burst

BANGALORE—Bad light helped Pakistan hold on for a draw as India captain Anil Kumble threatened to pull his side to victory with a burst of wickets on the last day of the third and final test.
Leg-spinner Kumble took five for 60 off 14 overs after setting Pakistan an unlikely victory target of 374 from 48 overs, but the light intervened with the tourists clinging on at 167 for seven. India won the series 1-0 after winning the opening game by six wickets in New Delhi. The second test in Kolkata was drawn. It was their first series win against Pakistan at home since 1979-80. Kumble may rue his decision to delay the declaration until an hour before tea. Saurav Ganguly made 91 before Dinesh Karthik’s 52 off 67 balls ended Pakistan’s hopes of a series-levelling victory as India closed their second innings at 284 for six.
Kumble, leading in his first test series, dismissed opener Yasir Hameed (39) and stand-in captain Younis Khan for nought in the space of three balls in his home city to stun Pakistan. The tall leg-spinner then had opener Salman Butt caught behind for a dour 58-ball eight to put the visitors under pressure. Faisal Iqbal (51) and in-form Misbah-ul-Haq (37) kept India at bay with a 71-run fourth-wicket stand before wickets fell in a heap.
Kumble had Iqbal miscue a pull to mid-on and next-man Kamran Akmal bowled off the very next ball in an unplayable spell. Part-time spinner Yuvraj joined in the act when he dismissed Misbah and debutant Yasir Arafat in successive overs. Cheered on by screaming crowds, part-time spinner Yuvraj had Misbah and debutant Yasir Arafat (0) bowled off successive overs before the fading light ended hopes of a victory.
Earlier, Ganguly, playing his 99th test, missed a rare double hundred and a century in a match when he flashed at fast bowler Mohammad Sami and Iqbal took the catch at gully after India had resumed on 131 for two.
Ganguly fell in the middle of a collapse when pacer Mohammad Sami struck twice after leg spinner Danish Kaneria trapped Rahul Dravid lbw for 42.
Ganguly, who scored a century in the drawn second test in Kolkata, also passed 1,000 runs for the calendar year. Sami had Yuvraj Singh edge to the wicketkeeper for two. But Karthik shared in a 100-run stand for the sixth-wicket, first with Vangipurappu Laxman (14 retd hurt) and subsequently Irfan Pathan (21 not out). Karthik, who hit Kaneria for a six and two fours in an over, smashed eight fours and a six in total before edging pacer Yasir Arafat behind to prompt the declaration. The series win completed a double for India, who won the one-day rubber 3-2.
Anil Kumble raised visions of a dramatic Indian victory with a five-wicket haul before Pakistan managed to escape with a draw in the third and final Test here on Wednesday. The veteran leg-spinner grabbed 5-60 with shrewd variations on a wearing track as Pakistan finished at 162-7 in fading light chasing an improbable 374-run target off 48 overs on the fifth and final day.
The Kumble-led India clinched the Test series 1-0 after winning the opening match by six wickets in New Delhi and drawing the next two in Kolkata and here.
It was India’s first Test series triumph against Pakistan at home in more than two decades, the last success coming in 1980 under Sunil Gavaskar.
India needed the last three wickets when bad light thwarted their incredible victory bid. Mohammad Yousuf (10) and tailender Mohammad Sami (four) were the unbeaten batsmen with 12 overs remaining. According to the playing conditions, both the teams had agreed that artificial lights would not be used in the series. There was no hint of collapse when Pakistan were 144-3 in the 32nd over following a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket between Faisal Iqbal (51) and in-form Misbah-ul-Haq (37).
But Kumble virtually turned the match upside-down when he dismissed Iqbal and Kamran Akmal off successive deliveries in front of his cheering home fans on a day when team-mate Sourav Ganguly missed out on a rare landmark. It was the second time the spinner had grabbed two wickets in an over, having earlier removed opener Yasir Hameed (39) and stand-in captain Younis Khan.
Kumble was brilliantly backed by part-time spinner Yuvraj Singh, who celebrated his 26th birthday by removing Misbah and debutant Yasir Arafat as Pakistan lost four wickets for 10 runs in a dramatic collapse. A dull draw looked on the cards when India declared their second innings closed at 284-6 an hour after the lunch-break. But Kumble enlivened the proceedings by striking in quick succession to push Pakistan on the verge of defeat with his 34th haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings.—Agencies