Lahore Test Start

Seeking to put the lid on the controversy surrounding the selection of Sourav Ganguly at the cost of a regular opener, Indian coach Greg Chappell, today said the best playing eleven was selected for the first Test against Pakistan.
Chappell said Ganguly's experience and knowledge of the conditions were taken into account while finalising the team composition.
"We wanted to make sure the best eleven would be selected for the match. Experience and knowledge of conditions here were also taken into account," Chappell told a press conference after the opening day's play.
Chappell, whose public spat with Ganguly during last year's Zimbabwe tour made headlines, also blamed the media for reading too much into the animated discussion involving him, captain Rahul Dravid and Ganguly before commencement of play.

What were they discussing? Team India captain Rahul Dravid and his predecessor Sourav Ganguly were seen engaged in an animated discussion with coach Greg Chappell looking on just before the start of the first Test between India and Pakistan.
Going by Chappell, they were discussing cricket''.
His explanation could not convince the scribes who were speculating that Ganguly and his successor were involved in a spat.
They were discussing cricket. I don't know where all these talks come from. There was nothing of the sort,'' Chappell said, advising media not to read too much into it.
An important Test match was being played and people should focus on that, he said.
Even the television commentators were surprised by the episode and a former Pakistani skipper felt these things should be confined to the dressing room.

Lahore Test First Day

Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf shares an unbroken 190

Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf have taken Pakistan to a commanding position on the opening day of the first Test against India at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. When stumps were drawn, Pakistan were 326 for 2 with Khan on 147 and Yousuf on 95.

Earlier, the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first, but suffered an early setback, losing opener Salman Butt in the third over of the match. Butt was run out for six, thanks to a direct hit by Yuvraj Singh. Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan then put up a 124-run partnership, but Harbhajan Singh struck and Malik was sent back, courtesy a catch by Irfan Pathan.
Mohammad Yusuf then joined Khan at the crease, and the duo spared none of the Indian bowlers, as they consolidated Pakistan's first innings.

Lahore Test Second Day

Afridi Attack demoralizes India

Pakistan batsman Shahid Afridi revealed he made a conscious attempt to hit six sixes in a single over on Saturday. Afridi went 6, 6, 6, 6, 2, 1 against Harbhajan Singh on day two of the first Test against India, as Pakistan racked up the runs on a placid Lahore wicket.
He said: "Before the over began I told my partner Kamran Akmal 'I am going for six sixes' so he had said 'good luck'.
"I tried to hit the fifth one over the mid-on area but the ball turned so it ended up going straight." Nobody has ever hit six sixes in a Test match before.

Afridi was eventually dismissed for 103, but put on 170 at almost eight an over with Akmal (102) as the hosts declared on day two on 679-7. Earlier, Younis Khan, who was run out for 199, and Mohammad Yousuf (173) put on 319. India had little difficulty in their reply, reaching 65-0.

Lahore Test Third Day

Sehwag shines while bad light stopped play

The Indian opening duo of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag held fort at 145 for no loss when play was called off on day three due to bad light.
Meanwhile, India coach Greg Chappell, on Saturday, described captain Rahul Dravids decision to open the innings in the first Test against Pakistan as a calculated risk and called him courageous even as the issue lingered on.
There was intense speculation as to who would open the Indian innings with vice-captain Virender Sehwag before Dravid walked to the field, as India chased Pakistans mammoth first-innings 679 for seven wickets declared.

Opener Virender Sehwag lifted the spirits with a dazzling and unbeaten 96 by the time play was called off at 3.20 p.m. immediately after tea break on the third day of the Test. Captain Rahul Dravid , the makeshift opener, was the other unbeaten batsman at 37 (135 balls, 5x4s). Sehwag (89 balls, 20x4s), who has not been very prolific with his bat lately, returned to form in a fine manner as he made 60 of the 80 runs that India scored Sunday. He played in typical style scoring 80 of his 96 runs through boundaries.

Lahore Test Fourth Day

Sehwag relishes batting paradise

Opener Virender Sehwag said the Lahore pitch was the best he had played on as India ended day four of the first Test against Pakistan on 403-0. Sehwag and partner Rahul Dravid are just 10 runs short of equalling the highest first-wicket stand in Tests. Sehwag, who smashed the second-fastest Test double ton in his 247 not out, said: "I have played a lot of cricket but this is the best track to bat on.
In the morning session, he had completed his 100 in 93 balls, to rewrite the record for the fastest century by an Indian opener to surpass former captain Sunil Gavaskar's 23-year-old record. Sehwag, unbeaten on 96 yesterday off 89 balls, scored a single in Shoaib Akhtar's opening over of the morning, before smashing Kaneria to reach his 11th Test century in his 40th Test with the help of 21 fours.
Gavaskar had reached his fastest hundred as an Indian opener against Clive Lloyd's mighty West Indies in the 1983 series at Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi in 94 balls. Sehwag is also the holder of the best-ever Indian Test score of 309, made in the first Test against Pakistan at Multan in the last series between the two teams held in 2004.

"Tuesday will be another practice day for the batsmen because it will be a drawn match," Sehwag said. He was unhappy the pitch would not produce a result.
"We are ready to play on any wicket but such wickets are not good for cricket."

Lahore Test Final Day

India pair fail to set new record

Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid were unable to set a new world record opening stand in Tests on the final day of the drawn first Test in Lahore. Sehwag fell for 254 as India came off for bad light on 410-1 on a final day in which just 14 balls had been bowled. Sehwag was caught off the seamer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan with the score on 410 and the match ended soon afterwards. The pair were an agonising three runs short of the 50-year-old record established by two of their countrymen. In 1956, Indian openers Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy put on 413 against New Zealand. Pakistan declared at 679-7 in their first innings - and with Sehwag and Dravid finding batting so easy the match had been written off as a draw. But after most of the final day had been lost to rain, the Indian pair agreed to bat in bad light

Lahore Test Scoreboard

Day Three

Pakistan 1st Innings 679 for 7 (143.3 overs)

India 1st Innings 403 for 0 (75.0 overs)

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Shoaib Malik	c Harbhajan Singh	b I K Pathan	59	145	7	1
Salman Butt	run out		6	6	1	0
Younis Khan	run out		199	336	26	0
Mohammad Yousuf	st M S Dhoni	b A Kumble	173	199	21	2
Inzamam-ul-Haq	lbw	b A Kumble	1	7	0	0
Shahid Afridi	c Harbhajan Singh	b A B Agarkar	103	80	7	7
Kamran Akmal	not out		102	81	11	2
Naved-ul-Hasan	c S C Ganguly	b A B Agarkar	9	13	1	0
Mohammad Sami	not out		1	2	0	0
Extras		8nb 2w 4b 12lb	26
Total		for 7	679

Bowler O M R W I K Pathan 32.0 4 133 1 A B Agarkar 24.0 3 122 2 S C Ganguly 6.0 1 14 0 Harbhajan Singh 34.0 5 176 0 A Kumble 39.3 2 178 2 V Sehwag 6.0 0 24 0 S R Tendulkar 2.0 0 16 0

Fall of wicket   12 Salman Butt 136 Shoaib Malik 455 Mohammad Yousuf 456 Inzamam-ul-Haq 477 Younis Khan 647 Shahid Afridi 668 Naved-ul-Hasan

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
V Sehwag	c Kamran Akmal	b Naved-ul-Hasan	254	247	47	1
R Dravid	not out		128	233	19	0
V V S Laxman	not out		0	1	0	0
Extras		17nb 2w 2b 7lb	28
Total		for 1	410

Bowler O M R W Shoaib Akhtar 16.2 6 46 0 Naved-ul-Hasan 16.0 1 94 1 Shahid Afridi 11.0 0 55 0 Mohammad Sami 12.0 1 67 0 Danish Kaneria 10.0 0 69 0 Shoaib Malik 12.0 1 70 0

Fall of wicket   410 V Sehwag

Indian Cricket Team for Lahore Test

India: S C Ganguly, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni, I K Pathan, A B Agarkar, A Kumble, Harbhajan Singh

Pakistan Cricket Team for Lahore Test

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria

The Venue

Gadaffi Stadium is named after the Libyan leader "Gadaffi", who was very popular in Pakistan during the '70s. Located in the historical City of Lahore, Gaddafi Stadium was completely renovated during 1995/96 for the 1996 World Cup. Designed by the famous architect - Nayyar Ali Dada - who modelled it along the Mughal School of red hand-laid brickwork and arches, the new stadium is completely covered with seating rather than concrete benches. All-new air-conditioned dressing rooms with VIP enclosures equipped with TV also were added. The lower portion under the stands has been enclosed and converted to shops for boutiques and offices. This was the first stadium in Pakistan to be equipped with modern flood-lights which have their own standby power generators. Modern facilities for the media have been provided. No other cricket ground in the world matches the spaciousness of the playing area of this stadium and that it has the largest green field. Gaddafi stadium hosted the final of the 1996 World Cup, which was watched by over 60,000 spectators.